What Is Bob Rock's Net Worth?
Bob Rock is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer who has a net worth of $100 million. Bob Rock has produced music for bands and artists such as Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, Bon Jovi, The Cult, 311, Motley Crüe, Metallica, Bryan Adams, Our Lady Peace, The Offspring, Black Veil Brides, and Michael Bublé.
As a musician, Rock has released four albums with the band the Payolas and one each with the bands Strange Advance, Zappacosta, Rock and Hyde, and Rockhead.
Bob played bass on Motley Crüe's 1989 album "Dr. Feelgood" and Metallica's 2003 album "St. Anger." He also provided background vocals on "Dr. Feelgood" and co-wrote all 11 tracks on "St. Anger." Rock has produced, engineered, or mixed for several other artists, including Blue Murder, David Lee Roth, Cher, Skid Row, Veruca Salt, Our Lady Peace, Tonic, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Gavin Rossdale, The Offspring, Bush, Nelly Furtado, Survivor, and Loverboy. He directed the 1992 music video "Rockhead: Bed of Roses," and he produced the 2004 music video "Simple Plan: Still Not Getting Any…"
Catalog Sale
In 2021, it was announced that Bob sold his producer rights to 43 songs by Metallica and Michael Bublé to the U.K. investment firm Hipgnosis Songs Fund. The most valuable songs in the sale were connected to Bob producing Michael Bublé's 2011 "Christmas" album and Metallica's 1991 album that's commonly known as "The Black Album." The Black Album is certified 16X platinum. The album is so successful to this day that it has long been alleged that the performing Metallica members could live extremely well off the Black Album annual royalties alone. It apparently still sells 5,000 copies every week even though it is 30+ years old.
Early Life
Bob Rock was born Robert Jens Rock on April 19, 1954, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He grew up in Langford, British Columbia, where he met Paul Hyde, who also dreamt of becoming a rock star. Bob and Paul both loved British rock 'n' roll, and in 1973, they went to England and tried to break into the London music scene. The following year, the two friends went back to Canada, settling in Vancouver. There, Rock took a job at the Little Mountain Sound recording studio.
Music Career
After high school, Rock and Hyde co-founded the band the Payolas, which had a hit with the 1982 single "Eyes of a Stranger" from the album "No Stranger to Danger." The song was featured on the "Valley Girl" soundtrack, and it reached #4 on the charts in Canada. The Payolas also released the albums "In a Place Like This" (1981), "Hammer on a Drum" (1983), and "Here's the World for Ya" (1985), and Bob and Paul released the 1987 album "Under the Volcano" under the name Rock and Hyde. "No Stranger to Danger" earned the Payolas several Juno Awards, including Most Promising Group. Rock and Hyde's 1987 single "Dirty Water" reached #20 in Canada and #61 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. Bob has also performed on the albums "Worlds Away" by Strange Advance (1982), "A to Z" by Zappacosta (1986), "Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe (1989), "Rockhead" by the band of the same name (1992), "St. Anger" by Metallica (2003), and "Lustre Parfait" by Gord Downie (2023).
Production Career
Rock has produced albums by artists such as The Cult, Mötley Crüe, Loverboy, David Lee Roth, Cher, Bon Jovi, Veruca Salt, Bryan Adams, Tal Bachman, Our Lady Peace, Simple Plan, The Tragically Hip, Michael Bublé, The Offspring, 311, Bush, and Sarah McLachlan. He has produced seven Metallica albums, including their 1990 self-titled Diamond-certified album, and he played bass on the 2003 album "St. Anger." Bob was featured in the 2004 documentary "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster." Rock has also worked as an engineer/mixer on albums by Survivor, Loverboy, Chilliwack, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and more.
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Personal Life
Bob married his longtime girlfriend, Angie, in 1988, and they welcomed two children together, daughter Aja and son Robbie. In an interview with the "New Zealand Herald," Aja said of her childhood, "There were a lot more rock stars around when I was growing up. My parents separated when I was about 3 and there was so much happening. We were constantly moving. Two houses. It was sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. The best advice my Dad gave me was to never marry a rock star. I've got lots of friends in the industry but I think it's better to be friends than be too involved."
Awards and Nominations
Rock has won Grammys for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Michael Bublé's "To Be Loved" (2014) and "Higher" (2023). He has earned 17 Juno Award nominations, winning for Best Producer for Tal Bachman's "If You Sleep" and "She's So High" in 2000 and Producer of the Year for Metallica's "Some Kind of Monster" and Simple Plan's "Welcome to My Life" in 2005 and for Michael Bublé's "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "Haven't Met You Yet" in 2010. At the 2007 Juno Awards, Bob was recognized for "his lifetime contribution to popular music" as both a musician and producer. In 2010, he received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Sound in a Comedy, Variety or Performing Arts Program or Series for the "Michael Bublé" episode of "At the Concert Hall." Rock was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' (CARAS) Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and CARAS President Melanie Berry stated, "Bob is a musical craftsman whose wide range of talents show no signs of slowing. He has helped to define rock as we know it today, and we are very proud to recognize him in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame."
Real Estate
Rock moved to Hawaii in 1995. In a 2011 interview he explained: "We have land in a place called Kula, here on Maui. It's 20 acres, and that's where our horses are. It's not a beach paradise. It's rugged. It's very raw and rough – it's rock, land on the side of a volcano. It gets storms; some of the experiences I've had there were frightening. And yet it's the most peaceful, most beautiful place on the Earth. In a way, it's a tropical Canada. When I'm there with my wife and my kids and my animals, there is no place I'd rather be, absolutely."
