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Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury passed away on this day in 1991, one day after he announced that he announced to the press that he had been diagnosed with AIDS. Mercury was 45 when he passed away from bronchial pneumonia, and his legacy remains unparalleled to this day–his three-octave range, penchant for theatricality, and sly wit made him one of rock’s most unquestionbly iconic performers. Of course, he’ll be forever enshrined in the world of classic rock radio (and fans of Mike Myers) for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but that’s hardly the only song to which he brought his unique persona. A few more classic Queen selections after the jump.
“These Are The Days Of Our Lives”
I could go on (and on and on) but you get the point. Feel free to post your favorite clips in comments.
I don’t think you’ll ever see a rock death quite like that again — where a cultural moment (a signal moment in the public’s attitudes toward AIDS), a Zeitgeist moment (the imminent chart comeback of “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and a kind of twist ending (the 24-hour outing-to-death) all come together at once.
Only Lennon’s death was bigger, not only because Lennon was Lennon, but because he’d just released the comeback single/album weeks before the assassination. Johnny Cash’s death was important, too, but by the time he died in late 2003 Rick Rubin’s comeback machine had been working its magic for nearly a decade, the Nine Inch Nails cover had been out for months, and June’s death was months old too.
Don’t Stop Me Now
Tie Your Mother Down
Need Your Loving Tonight
The cultural moment was particularly interesting because Queen commanded such an audience among hard-rock and heavy metal fans. Somehow this ties it all together:
On the one hand he really really *really* did rip off early Sparks to help get himself and Queen fully going to town. And as a Sparks lover unto forever, that still bugs.
On the other hand, I can’t lie — I heard him and Queen first and they were, first and foremost, a brilliant pop act.
@Ned Raggett: I hope you’re in Southern California, as Sparks is performing “Exotic Creatures of the Deep” & “Kimono My House” @ Royce Hall in Los Angeles (UCLA) on Sat. Feb. 14…
four octave range!
Can’t post at the moment, but “Brighton Rock”- the way his voice changes tone just on the word “magic” never fails to stun me. And yet, I never feel like he is fawned over the way that he should be, not the way a Lennon, Joplin, Hendrix or Cobain is.
This is amazing and depressing. Amazing at the amount of talent and chutzpah that bands, Queen especially so, seemed to used to carry around in buckets pre-internet. And depressing because this just does not exist now and likely never will. Sigh.
@Varina: Same thing on “The Fairy Feller’s Masterstroke” on “Queen II” – somehow, his voice becomes almost like a woman’s. Weird, but amazing. Their full-length albums were hit and miss after “A day at the Races”, but damn, I miss that band…
Thanks for this, Idolator. You can never have too much Freddie and Queen! Will have to put on an album when I get home tonight.
Queen is a weird case, where they didn’t really truck with a scene. They are an isolate of sorts, despite the Bowie collaborations. Queen did their own thing, all others be damned. They seem to exist in their own bizarre realm, kinda like Foreigner but better.
I still thank my dad for exposing me to Queen as a kid born in ‘78. I didn’t care for it much until I hit my teen years and realized how much variety the band had.
Live Aid. The whole thing’s even on YouTube.
Ridiculously amazing.
@Varina: hear hear!
Freddy dead for 18 years……I still remember this day as it was yesterday…..He was my hero in my youth, now I turned 40, and I still miss him every day….after 18 years there has not been a single person in the world who could reach the level of singing like Freddy…I still get goosebumbs everytime I hear “love of my life”… You will always be part of my life, Freddy….I still love you……..
Not sure how similar Mael/FM are. Light/mock opera are common influence, barely. by 11/’74 of Spark’s Propaganda, Queen II was released 3/’74 – had nothing of this manic gilbert & sullivan-art rock/proto-new wave. Queen II era had burlesque blues (see what a fool), wall of sound pop, baroque queenish rock-pop, bo rhap-ish epic, bizzare metal. Sheer heart attack 11/’74 even more varied, had nothing Mael-like except 1% falsetto. FM solo was bipolar: MOR/torch disco; opera+pop-rock of Barcelona.
Going thru 70s Queen song by song, it’s hard to pinpoint any Mael/Sparks influence due to the sheer diversity of genres, vocal styles attempted. But go by impression of their most (overplayed) song & its (overhyped) mock-opera section, it’s tempting to call it rip-off of Sparks’ light opera. Bo Rhap’s predecessors are not Spark-like at all: My fairy king, March of black queen, Lap of Gods Revisited. Nor is Millionaire Waltz probable in Sparks catalog.
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