Exec FORBID Band From RELEASING Song-so Singer LEAKED IT…Became #1 Hit of Century!-Professor of Rock
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- Опубліковано 28 кві 2023
- Today’s featured song is an undeniable masterpiece. Not only has it been hailed not only as Queen's greatest track, but also as one of the foremost rock songs ever written. Two words: Bohemian Rhapsody! Technically, it is three of the best songs ever written… since it is made of three distinct sections… Rock, ballad, and opera. Yes opera. And it all flows together seamlessly. So naturally, the record label hated it. No way in hell were they releasing this monstrosity as a single. So the song’s composer Freddie Mercury leaked it to a local radio station. And the response was of course overwhelming. Calls poured in and listeners stormed record shops looking for a copy. The label ate crow. Brian May loved it. It rocked the 70s and then it rocked the 90s when the comedy film Wayne’s World used it. It went to the top 5 yet again! The story of the greatest song in history.
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Hey music junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. Tell you what, if you remember taking a VHS tape back to the rental store and feeling guilty that you forgot to rewind the tape realizing this just when the be kind rewind sign flashed in your face you’ll dig this channel of musical nostalgia… Make sure that you subscribe below right now. click the button click the bell so you get notified! I know you will dig this channel. Also the support we receive on our patreon is fantastic. Its helps us keep this channel moving and do more interview. consider supporting us there! The link is below.
So it’s time for another edition of our series The New Standards. This show takes an in-depth look into songs that transcend genre, decade, and fads - songs that are monumental touchstones in our culture and society. On previous episodes we have covered some big ones: Dream On by Aerosmith, Time by Pink Floyd, and Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin
Today we are continuing that trend, breaking down an all-time Queen classic… the incomparable masterpiece Bohemian Rhapsody. I know it’s been covered a lot but we are taking a different approach. You will walk away from this with a new outlook and with facts not generally covered before… This work of musical genius was written by frontman Freddie and released on Queen’s fourth studio album, A Night at the Opera. This is the song that put Freddie Mercury in the running for the greatest singer of all time. His vocal and emotional performance has no equal. It is quite simply one of the most vital entries into the rock and roll canon.
Leading up to A Night at the Opera, Queen was on the rise, having already scored a #2 UK hit with the single Killer Queen. That was from their third album Sheer Heart Attack. The song also reached #12 in the US. Also by this time, Queen had two more UK hits under their belt, the #10 Seven Seas of Rhye and #11 Now I’m Here. Although neither charted in the US, Queen was poised to break out in the States with their next album.
And A Night at the Opera would do just that… Released on November 21, 1975, this record is without a doubt one of the most celebrated in the band’s career… achieving with world-wide sales in excess of 6 million. And also reaching #1 in the UK and #4 in the US. - Розваги
Poll: What is your pick for the greatest vocal on a rock song EVER?
Plant STH
Animal Def Leppard
Hysteria Def Leppard
Hammer To Fall Queen
I don't know if it's the best, but there's a video on this platform of David Bowie and Freddie singing "Under Pressure", but the vocal tracks have been isolated, allowing you to hear just how insanely talented they were.. Hearing Freddie's track will put goosebumps on your arms it's soooo good!
Don't Stop Believing, Journey
Who Wants To Live Forever, Queen
With Or Without You, U2
Mother Father - Steve Perry
Freddie wants an awful lot of things. He wants to ride his bicycle, he wants to break free, he wants it all, and wants to make a supersonic man outta me.
All he hears is radio gaga.
At the very end of One Vision, he wants his fried chicken.
@@AGhostintheHouse Brilliant observation I suppose you'll be running the country soon.
Well said
But he will ROCK You!!!!
I loved the fact that on July 1, 2017 in Hyde Park a crowd of 65,000 punk rock fans spontaneously sang Bohemian Rhapsody in its entirety.
That is an amazing video.
Add "Green Day" and anyone can find it
It was amazing to see that
Yes, Queen is the only band who can hold a concert with thousands of fans and not even be there. 😂
Thanks for directing me to this. 33 million views, well deserved. That was a very inspirational rendition.
My sister-in-law recently passed away from cancer. She asked that Bohemian Rhapsody be played at her funeral. It was a great moment and everybody was smiling, which is what she wanted.
Great video… even better t-shirt! Made me smile.
I was fortunate to see Queen and Freddie 11 times in concert. To this day, nothing can compare to Freddies singing. Greatest singer
ever! I will never forget that incredible feeling of hearing Freddie Mercury singing live. His voice grabbed you and picked you up like nothing else. Thank you for this tribute!
I agree. Rhode Island wasn't the biggest place for concerts, but I did get to see them 5 times.
Can I be more envious? nah. Seriously: what? you are really lucky... I was 12 when Freddie died...
11 times!!! 😍 6 times here.... first in 1975 and still love those first albums the best. The Faeryfeller, the White Queen and the Black Queen....❤️❤️❤️
I first saw them at the Winterland in S.F. - Thin Lizzy opened for them. After Thin Lizzy was done I thought no way Queen could top that performance. Boy, was I wrong, Queen put on a MIND-BLOWING experience! Great memories!
I am so jealous! Sadly Freddy was gone ....Before I was old enough to get to a concert!
Freddie was a phenomenal, once-in-a-generation voice with a killer range, but the vocals of May, Taylor, and Deacon cannot go unmentioned. Their parts make the song complete
To my knowledge John Deacon was not a vocalist.
@@FrancoM7747 I could definitely be wrong, but I thought all four members sang on the opera part, with Taylor hitting the high note at the end of the opera before the rock section
They were ALL phenomenal players.
@@chrisggoodwin777 I can't swear that John's voice isn't mixed in there somewhere, but he generally did not sing and certainly wasn't a major part of the Queen vocal sound (on this or any other record). But you're surely correct that Roger and Brian were extremely important to what Queen did vocally, especially on their earlier stuff. I can't really think of anyone I'd regard as better backing vocalists, although it wouldn't really be correct to call them backing vocalists as they both sang lead on a number of album tracks (on the earlier albums). Brian has a sort of soft voice and Roger has a very distinctive raspier voice, plus the high stuff (including the sort of screamy/wailing stuff on the earlier records). They could do something really special with the three of them together.
@@adriandevine5955 yeah as far as harmonies and strong vocals go, I'd put Queen up with the Eagles as my personal favorite groups, and probably above the Eagles since I'm more of a straight ahead rock guy than I am a country rock guy, but the overall talent certainly cannot be denied
Several years ago, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra performed several themed performances including Led Zeppelin and Queen. For the Queen performance, they had to get five different vocalists, three female and two male, because they couldn't find any single vocalist with Freddie's range. He was really something unique.
At the Tribute concert, no-one could cover the same range as Freddie... they all had to change the key of the songs in order to cover them.... (in the case of Def Leopard, even that didn't help. Must've been an off day for them.)
It wasn't that he had a four octave range, it was that his range went from bass low F up. Getting the range starting from that low is what made him so unique.
Even Freddie didn't have Freddie's range.
Robert plant said this about the tribute concert for Freddie. He said no one could really sing Freddie's songs, that was a great tribute! They definitely admired one another as bands
Its said that either he or other people wanted him to get his teeth straightened. Turns out that if he did his resonance would have changed. His overbite was something that always bothered him but once he found out it was a blessing in disguise. He swore he would never change them. Its a good thing. He was an incredible vocalist.
I didn't discover Queen until I left home in 1983. I grew up in a Baptist household where the local preacher dictated what we could and couldn't listen to, and most rock groups were taboo. As soon as I was free, I had my eyes and ears open to some of the greatest rock bands ever. A friend had Queen's greatest hits, and we sat in her apartment listening to it. I was blown away by Bohemian Rhapsody! I'd never heard anything like it before or since. It became my freedom rally song. I fell in love with Freddie's voice and bought all of Queen's albums that I could get my hands on. Only three other artists have ever enamored me that way - Neil Diamond, Prince, and Mick Hucknall of Simply Red. And while Neil will always have most of my heart, Freddie, Prince, and Mick all have a small section of it too.
Roger Taylor actually sings the highest parts on the acapella section - he had a great range and killer voice.
I'm glad you remembered!
And he sang with Freddie Mercury. That says a lot for his character and dedication to music.
That is, as opposed to seeking personal glory as some big egos in the business do.
@dennygray207
That may be true, but I heard one of the other band members (Brian I think) say Roger sang the highest parts on this section.
@@dennygray207
Ah.
It was December 17, 1977 and I was 15 years old. My best friend and I got tickets to see Queen at the Oakland Coliseum. The stage was covered in a huge, forbidding black crown. Freddie defiantly captured the crowd opening with "We Will Rock You" and never loosened his grip. The 24th song of the Night was Bohemian Rhapsody and it cemented my opinion that I had seen the best rock singer of all time. I still get "shivers down my spine" when I think of that night.
I was at that Concert, County Coliseum, really never heard much of Queen. But I won the tickets on the radio. So me and my friend went to see it. What a great show Freddie and Queen put on. I've been a diehard fan since. He is one of the great ones
I never did get to see them live 😰
Beyond jelly
I agree - I was there also. I Saw him twice that year. I have seen him in concert 11 times in total.
I saw them on that same tour at the Sam Houston Coliseum. I was 17.
As a vocalist my entire life...i can tell you that "someone to love" is why i have said Freddy is the best rock vocalist of ALL time. Unmatched to this day
Perry
Steve Walsh
Yes! Somebody to Love 💕
This last weekend after a 3 year hiatus, I sang SOMEONE TO LOVE as a request at my show. I was a little intimidated but I put everything I had into it. When I was done 250 people stood in applause. I’m still riding that high as I write this.
FREEDY taught me to sing from a cassette in my car.
I’ve sang all over the world, and QUEEN is why I’ve had that opportunity.
Show Must Go On is another I would add as support to this. I would also throw Steve Perry in the mix. Much like Freddie, Steve did some unfathomable things in the studio. Steve recorded Mother Father in ONE TAKE (Freddie did the same for Show Must Go On). Lay It Down is another monster vocal Perry 'Layed Down' on the ESCAPE album, which is overshadowed by the perfection of his vocal on Don't Stop Believin' (seriously, he is perfectly on pitch throughout).
I have done tribute shows for both Journey and Queen (as the vocalist). I can say from my experience that learning Freddie's parts was more challenging than Steve's. I enjoyed learning both, but I gravitate towards Freddie more - so much emotion in his singing.
Have ALWAYS loved Queen! I am a 61 yrs old grandmother, and this song stills gives me goosebumps! My youth in the 70's and 80's was Queen, Genesis, Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, CCR and... a lot of other great bands/performers... too many to list here... 😁💕
Ahh pink Floyd! I forgot to put them on my list, we had shine on you crazy diamond for my husbands funeral and it was perfect
So, you are generation X, like me. He said we discovered Bohemian Rapsody because of that movie. But I'd say we grew up with it, wouldn't you agree?😅
@@dustylong Yep! Still, music have changed, and even me, as a 62 yrs old grandma, loves rock, rap, metal, and some really odd types of music... like didgeridoo and bagpipes... and what I listen to the most, is from the 70's and 80's... closest to my heart.
@@tovemagnussen4423I totally understand as a 58 year old granddad whose music catalog ranges from AC/DC to Wu Tang Clan. If it sounds good to my ears, then it's good music.
I love the rollercoaster ride it creates with the different styles. It broke the mold and will last well beyond anything written today. God Bless Queen!
Facts!
It’s still making a mark today. I am a teacher and had 4 9th grade students talking about how great the song was this week and singing. They asked that I play it as kids were coming into class yesterday. I played it and had a lot of happy students.
I also played old rock to my students!
Awesome!
You are doing it right!
When I was in high school, no one was listening to music from the Thirties, that fact that Queen is still relevant and is still kicking a** tell me I grew up in the golden years of rock.
@@foxglove404 I was a teen in the sixties…was there for Queen, Beatles, Elvis and more! We were lucky! 🤗
This song lines up with the five stages of grief, denial, depression, bargaining, anger, and finally acceptance. The opera section fits bargaining, anger is the rock stage, and finally acceptance with Freddie singing "any way the wind blows". The song is just as relevant today as when it was first released.
Grief, Denial, Depression,
Bargaining, Anger, Acceptance
Thats six stages lol.
Scott Gould. Reread what the person said. Tsk tsk
@@scottgould6590 it should have read as "the 5 stages of grief: Denial, depression, bargaining, anger, and acceptance."
Great way to describe this song... a true masterpiece.
You just blew my mind! I have never thought of it this way but it fits so perfectly!!!!!
Greatest "Rock" song of all time...and yes, the greatest vocalist in the history of Rock. Unlike some many artists, he could sing any chord high and low and put more emotion into his music than anyone has ever done before or after. Queen has been apart of my everyday life since getting my first Queen CD in 1992. I loved them in the 80's then rediscovered them on my 21st birthday in 92. Since then, Freddie has been with me as a true companion. My wife and three children even appreciate his mastery of music. They sing along with about any Queen I put on the radio. He will never be forgotten. Only hope to meet him after this life is over.
Each member of Queen is an outstanding musician. I would love to see more about John, Roger, and Brian.
My mom bought this album for me Xmas 1975. Little did we know it was our last Xmas together -- she was gone suddenly the next year at age 35. We must have sung this song 100x together.
That’s so sad.
Yes it is😢
But what a great memory around great music!
beautiful memory.
Do you still have the album?
This album has mythical status in my family. My dad owns no music. Except for this album. That's it. We didn't even own a record player. My brother and I were always so intrigued by the cover art and the mystery behind its existence in our house. Why did dad own this vinyl record? Where did it come from? What does it even sound like? Is it opera music?? Is it the Queen singing? What is this thing??? We didn't really know until Mtv answered some of our questions. The entire 70s we just had questions. We made up stories. The album was absolutely a mythical item. Just last year, my brother told me he found the album back. Amazing! We have moved at least a dozen times in the last 50 years. My brother had a friend with a drug problem who stole from us, my dad's house was straight up robbed 10 years ago, but last year, my brother found A Night at the Opera. I do not think it has ever even seen a needle. He is going to give it to me when we see each other again. I still don't own a record player. This album, our dad's mystery album, has been in our family for almost 50 years now. I am a huge fan of Queen, even with Adam Lambert. I would love to put on some huge headphones, turn off the lights, and immerse myself in Bohemian Rhapsody, played from an original pressing. I am still debating whether I will ever actually put the vinyl on a turntable. It has been a crazy random thing that helped my brother and I bond our entire lives. We had so little in common. My friends were all valedictorians and his were druggies. But we have always had this curiosity about this album. We were scared to even touch it. It was a thing of fragile beauty to us. Now that I have heard this album in other formats, it deserved every minute of our reverence.
This was an amazing and nostalgic story! In fact you're a great storyteller.
May you and your brother enjoy Queen together!
It didn't need a chorus when it was catchy from beginning to end. It was the perfect of different elements that most people can't put together yet Freddie's sheer genius did just that. He excites listeners with this masterpiece.
A Night At The Opera is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. I was 16 when it came out. It was inspiring, imaginative and different. I don't think it will ever be equaled. ❤
This review really touched me. I was 15 years old when Bohemian Rhapsody came out in 1975. I was blown away. For Christmas that year, my dad bought me a modest record player with speakers like you saw back in the day from Sears. I had no records yet but under the tree was obviously a record LP wrapped up. I opened it and it was A Night at the Opera. My older brother had bought it for me because he knew how much I loved that song. I was really surprised because he was 10 years older than me and was a Doors, Beatles and very classic rock fan. So, watching your review, listening to your anecdote about your father, took me back to Christmas day in 1975, setting up my Sears stereo with my brother's help and putting on that Queen album for the first time which also happened to be the first album that was all mine. And I have always listened to Queen and I always will.
Awesome to hear!
I was 14 when this song came out and I can relate to your experience very much!
I got my Montgomery Ward hi-fi with those clunky speakers when I was 13, along with some 8-track tapes of John Denver. That was Christmas, then I got a Garrard turntable 7 months later for my birthday. My older brother gave me his album, "Time Peace" by The Rascals that wasn't cool to him anymore, but I loved it. The first album I saved up my allowance and bought was Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", I still love that album. "Funeral For a Friend" is magnificent!
We were young during a great era for music.
And what an album! Bo-Rhap not even the best song on it in my opinion.
I remember the first time I heard The Prophet's Song through headphones - wow! Then you've got '39 and the song that led to the greatest live crowd response ever - Love of my Life (at Rio).
Amazing. Very touching.
And you had a very thoughtful & unselfish brother!
Roger Taylor is so underrated in this. For the longest time, I thought that high note in “for me” was a guitar and later found out it was him.
I agree. I ran out of time. Wanted to talk more about each individual.
Now, that’s something!
It's been said that Brian May is a great singer in addition to being a superb guitar player, Roger Taylor is great drummer with one of the best rock voices. They just didn't sing more often because they happened to play in a band with Freddie Mercury.
@@dottore3870 Brian sang "The 39", "Driven by you" and a verrsion of "Too much love will kill you"
Roger sang a "B" side, "I'm in love with my car"
Those are the ones I know
In the Liveaid concert Freddie's voice hadn't been pushed for a time so he was kinda lacking in stamina.
And Roger Taylor pulled him through Rhapsody doubling the lead vocal.
Just watching you can't tell but upon close dissection of the video it's there hold up the Queen of Rhapsody.
I never knew either until I saw a breakdown of their performance
I never met the man, was never in the same room as him, and never saw him perform live, but I will be forever grateful that I shared a planet with Freddie Mercury. It is such a privilege to have lived during this time simply because I got to experience Queen. May sentient beings be captivated by Queen a thousand years from now and billions of light years away.
There will never be another Freddie, ever! Thank you for highlighting his genius and beautiful soul ❤
I am a forever Freddie fan. The whole band is amazingly talented. The talent in the 70's was superb and Queen stood out even in that company.
Agree 100%
Thanks Professor. I never tire of listening to people realize Queen/Freddie's greatness.
He's one of the best EVER!
Se
Me neither. Not even mustache girl on Amazon is testing that.
I've regularly listened to Bohemian Rhapsody for the past 35 years and I still keep it playing to the end when it comes on the radio when I have arrived at my destination. That's when you know a song is not just great...it is legendary!
I still remember where I was when I heard Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time. I thought they'd never play it again but it was the most phenomenal thing I'd ever heard on the radio. Happily I was wrong; I wasn't the only one who loved it.
I was a teen and saw the video on SNL. It was mind-blowing.
Every time I see or hear anything associated with this song I STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN. That’s the power it has over me. I’m a 70 year old female, and it still gets my attention, and my vote as the greatest song ever.
it is one of my absolute favorite songs too...
even my mother (she died sept 2014 aged 83) was absolutely smitten by this song.
68 years old, and long before I was a fan, when the song was first on the radio, I liked just knowing who they were, because if anybody was in my car when it came on the radio they Always said, "Who Is That?" and I could say "Oh, that's Queen, the British band! Amazing, right?!" lol
Those of us who know Queen records by heart, acknowledge that "March of the Black Queen" was the original rhapsody.
One song most ppl have never heard or acknowledged. I listen to it ever day when I drive. That and the "White Queen".
absolutely my favorite Queen song
@@VelveteenRabbitinRedFern Love those so much, but I liked to drive to "Ogre Battle!" lol
yes. THATs the Queen i love ...
Hear, here.
There will never be a better voice in modern music than Freddie Mercury and BoRap has gone down and remains one of the greatest songs of all time! Long live Queen!
Freddie was the penultimate showman. I'm lucky enough to have the original 1975 vinyl without a scratch on it.
I'm 64 years old and have been a fan since Queen II. Every Queen album, including the first one, has musical gems in them.
Especially the first one.
I was in High School when this came out. Here in America, we had, every Friday night at Mid Night, the Midnight Special where up and rising, and already famous musical artists came to perform for Television. If you were a teenager and you were a rock fan, you NEVER missed the Midnight Special. Well, one night the show was pre-empted for a special viewing of Queen performing BR. Well, that was it for me. I already knew of Queen and, though they were slow to catch on in the USA; I had became a fan from the release of Killer Queen (still love that song today). But watching that performance of BR -- seeing Freddie sing for the first time (for me) was the final clincher. Now, at 62 years of age, I am still a die-hard fan and cannot turn away from any song of Queen. Freddie was a one of a kind; but the band as a whole was also one of a kind and there will probably never be another 'perfect storm' band again. At least not in my mind. Thanks Professor, for this one.
Exactly. Not a single dud from them.
I loved watching midnight special with my older brothers
yes! Queen was lightning in a bottle. I loved them instantly in 1974 and am just as rabid today as I was then at 14.
The first songs I remember hearing by Queen were "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". I also bought their Greatest Hits on cassette and it was one of about 3-4 cassettes I *always* had in my car or cassette case and never "rotated out".
I always liked Bohemian Rhapsody for it's uniqueness, but didn't really appreciate what a masterpiece it was until it was featured in Wayne's World. WhenI saw the driving scene in the trailer, I have to admit my first thought was,"Really?? Bohemian Rhapsody??? Not We Will Rock You????". But - like many others - that scene renewed my interest in the song, so I took my Greatest Hits tape and began listening to it again. And this time, it blew me away.
I think Stairway To Heaven is one of the greatest songs ever written or performed. There are very, very few other songs that could even compare to it.
Bohemian Rhapsody is one song I *would* place on that same level!
I remember when I was in Jr. High when A Night at the Opera came out.
Everyone was jumping straight to the last track on the album, Bohemian Rhapsody.
I quickly realized that in order to fully appreciate that album, you MUST listen to it from start to finish!
It is a rare, perfect album.
Or spend a day at the races.
My daughter at about age 10 introduced her mom to Queen! She had read in a movie magazine how this band was very educated, and I think that impressed her! I now have quite a collection of Queen’s music, and I adored Freddie! My son also bought their music, so this band was important to all of us! Freddie was a genius! Gone way to soon! Can’t ever forget Live Aid! Queen ruled!
So sad. So much great music was left in him...
Don't forget that Dr. Brian May is an Astrophysicist who played an instrumental role in several NASA projects. Then there is Roger Taylor, who studied biology and dentistry before making music his life. Finally, John Deacon was an electrical engineer, who created the DeacyBox - one of a kind amplifier that Brian May still uses to this day (in addition to his use of the Vox AC30s.) That Deacy Amplifier gives some of the most unique sounds ever created. They are all geniuses and a band with that much brain power that stayed together for as long as they did will likely never occur again.
@@francisseidel8014Exactly! I was always impressed with their educational endeavors! Have followed their careers! Thanks for reminding everyone here of their brilliant careers! They were one of a kind!
Kinda hate the impetus of your journey on every level, but the important thing is your here, so welcome aboard 😉
@@stevenfunderburg1623 ?
Queen was just an amazing band full of intelligent and thoughtful, not to mention, incredible musicians. The older I get, the more I admire them. Now I have to look up the video and watch it again… for the millionth time.
I was 15 and on January 30th of 1976 I was watching Burt Sugarman's Midnight Special when the video for Bohemian Rhapsody came on. (thanks internet for helping me find that date) I was in utter amazement and wanted more. I talked my mom into driving me 60 miles to Peoria, Illinois so I could buy the album, ended up with 2 Queen albums. I actually wore out the grooves on the records playing them so much. To this day Queen and Freddie are my favorite group and I never tire of listening to them. A song doesn't have to have a meaning or be like other songs as long as it makes you happy hearing it.
FLASHBACK: In Nov 1975 I was a young kid. My Father had the family of 5 traveling from Long Island, NY, to Clearwater, FL for a vacation. During that drive in a Buick station wagon, my spot was the rear of the vehicle, laying with my pillow, blanket and a radio and a book. I was reading "Jaws", but over time the song Boeheim Rapidity came on I would pause and listen to it. I heard that song a 100 times in that trip. I then moved to FL and have seen Queen at least 5 times live. That was an amazing time to grow up. That is priceless. Along with Led Zeppelin.
You should check out Rick Beato going through this song with Brian May. It was phenomenal. Actually, you and Rick should team up every once in awhile. Your unique perspectives would mesh well as a team dive.
Would love to...
Rick is great!
@@ProfessorofRock would love to see a vid with you and Rick together...there would be a landslide of info , great chat and enthusiasm.
Yes interview Rick at the least!
Rick really gets into the nuts and bolts of a song.
I knew almost immediately which song you were talking about. Queen is one of my favorite bands of all time.
I just graduated high school and had a job in 1974. I brought an 8-track player to work, and a guy I worked with brought 8-tracks in. We would take turns listening to them on headphones. He brought in Queen II and I got hooked immediately, and played it over and over and over! Freddie's vocal range and Brian May's incredible guitar playing were like nothing I had ever heard before.
I tried to get my other friends into them when we partied on weekends, to no avail. I used to tell them that Queen is going to be big, and they just scoffed. Queen was virtually unknown here then and never got any radio play at all. One day I went next door to my friend's house and I heard Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio for the first time ever. I got all excited and kept saying, "This is Queen! This is Queen!"
Of course I ended up buying every Queen album since then, and they're still one of the things I listen to over and over again.
I haven't heard all of Queen's material but I think the vocals on "Who Wants to Live Forever" are amazing!
Bowie & Freddy "Pressure" also astounds me.
Quite possibly, the only rock song in history that can be accurately described as a masterpiece. Others may disagree & that's ok. It should also be mentioned, it took a LOT of hard work in the studio by every member of the band to create the finished product. I believe, the finished product is a result of Queen being not "just a band" but a family.
RIP Freddie.
The Show Must Go On
EDIT: I forgot to say there is at least one other rock song that is an absolute masterpiece & that is "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. Just flawless.
You also forgot at least several other masterpieces, like Black Sabbath, Child In Time, Comfortably Numb, Sympathy For The Devil, for example...
@@AndE667
Black Sabbath & Comfortably Numb I agree with but Sympathy for the Devil? A masterpiece? No. I'll get back to you on Child in Time. Haven't listened to it in years
I realize I should have originally said "one of the very few" songs in rock history that is a masterpiece, not "the only". But like I said, others may disagree & that's ok.
Ok, I listened to Child in Time again. It's decent but it's far from a masterpiece
@@AndE667
Speaking of Black Sabbath, "War Pigs" is absolutely a masterpiece
Remember when this came out in 1975 and who "woulda thunk " the band would become legendary. This and Boston's "More than a Feeling" were absolutely fantastic at that time. What a great era of Rock n Roll!
My dad was Queen fan , go figure, a frustrated Vietnam vet with anger issues had over 5000 records, his favorite was Queen’s Jazz album. I was 6 when Queen did the Flash Gordon movie soundtrack. I totally became a major Queen Acolyte at 6 years old. My dad let me go through his records and I found Night at the Opera. Bohemian Rhapsody is mind blowing 🤘🏿🤘🏿RIP dad RIP Freddie Mercury
I first heard Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975. I went to a number of Queen concerts including Milton Keynes Bowl. They never failed the audience, and they lasted up to 2 hours. I have many happy memories of those days.
This is the only song I know that is played a zillion times on the radio since '75 and I've never gotten sick of it.
With a band full of an electrical engineer, a dentist and an astronomer, it was Freddie that was the ultimate genius of the group. There will never be another like him.
May's not an 'astronomer'. He's an astrophysicist. He's the true genius of the group.
Together they were Queen
@@jackdelaney3285 True. None did well on their own. Their singular albums didn’t do as well. They knew that to. Each was 1/4 of the band Queen.
Actually May is an astrophysicist, Taylor has a degree in biology, Deacon has a degree in electrical engineering and Freddie Mercury had a degree in graphic art and design
Period.
I’m not sure it is the best rock song, but it is the finest vocal performance I’ve ever heard. I seen Queen live during The Game Tour from the front row in Pittsburgh. I was mesmerized by the sound, majesty, and the unapologetic attitude.
I agree that some songs should be open to interpretation! The mystery makes it more fun! Musically, it’s one of,if not,the most beautiful rock ballads,ever recorded! The only reason I wish I was 10 years older was to see Freddie live with Queen. Their Live Aid set is the best set I have ever seen!
Songs are nothing more than poetry set to music and if the point is to move people than it would defeat the purpose to tell people they have been moved incorrectly. I really respect May for pulling a Douglas Adams (iykyk) and saying it means whatever is right for your situation and there is no specific correct meaning. Pearl Jam’s “Alive” is another example, with fans hearing it as life affirming and Vedder intending a much darker meaning. Vedder wound up saying that the meaning had changed for him, so even the writer’s original intent might not mean much.
One of, if not the GREATEST SONGS EVER!!
Wayne’s World was the first time I heard Bohemian Rhapsody and I’ve been hooked since. I made sure I introduced it to my kids and whenever I hear it I still stop and sing along especially in front of my kids.
Somebody to Love is the best Queen song in my opinion and Freddy said his favorite... The vocals on STL are phenomenal ❤❤❤❤
@@barbaramay5048 STL is a great song but in my opinion Bohemian Rhapsody is way better! Even people that aren’t Queen fans know Bohemian Rhapsody when they hear it.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is one of those songs that has truly stood the test of time-The first time I heard it was my junior year in high school-I was completely blown away-The fact that it was a top forty hit three times proves that you can't keep a good song down.
Although… I truly think “Somebody to Love” is his most technically difficult song to sing, which he just takes to the woodshed. Lot of great singers out there, but Mercury’s range and stage presence makes him number one in my book.
This song alone...
The performance of it by the members of Queen with George Michael at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert is astonishingly good. Sublime.
Unless your George Michael
@@caryriggs5719 Not tracking.
He could bulldoze even the more complex ones.
Freddie was a musical genius and no one will ever reach the heights he did and would have.
I've been a member of a choir for over thirty years now, and the best moment still has to be a performance of this, on Australian tv in 2009 for The Battle of the Choirs, with three other courts all given different pieces of this song to sing. Bringing it all together was magic. An absolute highlight. Winning the competitor was pretty good too 💜
Freddie Mercury was the best rock and roll singer that ever lived!!
I love him forever!
#Queen #FreddieMercuryTheBest
As you put it, what more can be said about this master work? I remember vividly when it came out, it was so different from anything else that it stopped us in our tracks. Conceptually and lyrically brilliant, too. What could be more unconventional than a rock song sounding like opera? And those glorious harmonies! It’s a timeless classic that will be played for decades to come. Job well done, Adam!
It's a PERFECT song.
WELL SAID robster, my comment would've echoed yours!
Bohemian Rhapsody is more than just a song. It’s GOD.
I agree with you, robster, but let's not forget that The Who made an entire album with operatic undertones (Tommy, released in 1969). The most significant thing about Tommy, for ME anyway, is that I was at my best friends house back in the day and her parents were gone and we were listening to the stereo in their living room. That's what we did then. Anyway, I phoned into the radio station while they were taking requests and said, and I quote, "I'd like to hear Pinball Wizard by The Who please, thank you" and they played what I said on the radio and then the song. We were screaming and freaking out because we were idiots. I just remember that I said it really fast.
@@juliehughes1258 Great point, Julie! Tommy was in fact classified as a rock opera. Great album!
I remember being on Easter vacation, with my family in Texas. We went every Easter to see my Dad's family.
And no, we didn't know what to make of it.
I was still only seven years old.
But that IS my legacy.
Dad loved the King, and all the oldies, & my brothers were listening to Howard Stern, when he was in Detroit. And about that time, I started being a KISS fan.
SO many influences. So many directions, & the radio was completely different in the mid 70's.
I am a man out of time. And I'm grateful for it.
Thanks Doc.....
When I was 9 years old, this video played on tv late at night. Freddie scared the crap out of me in his outfit and make up, but I could NOT look away or stop listening, as a music lover. I was fascinated.
Soon after his death, is when I "got it", and bought the 3 disc set, and played them on repeat, learning all their other beautiful songs, which I still listen to in my car daily. I believed Freddie knew about his demise based on his lyrics in several of his songs, but after watching every you tube video about him, I have concluded that is probably not true.
I love Freddie Mercury. There will never be another talent as such. RIP Freddie. Your fans love and miss you.
I love these deep dives about songs we all know and love. Keep ‘em comin’ Professor!
Thanks Sean!
I honestly don’t remember the first time I heard this masterpiece. It just seems to have been around for all my life. And I’m grateful for that presence.
Hey Prof.of rock when I was 16 in 1976 I was lucky enough to see Queen at the L.A. Forum and B.R. will be the all time Greatest songs live and on Record !!!
I was a very stoned 26 year old in 1981 when I 'rocked out' to BH in a friends car in Capetown. I was the worker from 'overseas' (UK) and I don't think they had ever seen anything quite like it. This song connects so many to so much. Thank you for your tribute.
I remember I had walked down the street to the mailbox, carrying a little yellow, transistor radio to mail a letter and that song came on. It was instant love at first listen. Since that day, I’ve been a lifelong queen fan to me. It’s the greatest song ever written ever song. I can’t imagine a song topping that.
Seeing Queen perform this live, 7/5/1980, was one of my concert-going highlights.
There will never be another song like it. Freddie's vocal range was phenominal. His talent is missed.
When you take into account that the word Bohemian refers to a socially unconventional person, it makes more sense that song, the person telling their story, and the way we interpret it is all unconventional and that is what makes it so glorious!
Great video professor. I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes because of your comments about your dad and the bonds we make as parents. Having tragically lost my youngest son in December, one of the bonds I have with my kids is music.
Please keep sharing your special bond with your dad. And rock on.
Steve... I wish you only peace my friend. I offer my sincerest condolences.
I am so sorry for your loss. (((Hugs))) 🙏🏻💔🙏🏻
So sorry for your loss. Hang in there Steve 💐
I’m sorry to hear of your loss and am praying for you as you grieve! 💔
Hey Steve. Greetings from Oz. Sorry to hear about your loss mate. I lost my middle son in October, aged 30. One of the last things he ever texted me was a music video he thought I'd like. You're right. Music is one of many bonds we have with our kids. My remaining two boys reminisce over music even more now, though I do tell them we need to be careful of its power over our emotions at this time. I'm sure you know what I mean. God bless you mate.
My daughter graduated high school in 2017. Bohemian Rhapsody was her graduating class’s chosen song. It’s timeless, and it’s so cool they inherented such great music. 😊
I love that Mike Myers got to play the record exec in the biopic telling the band it would fail when it was Myers that wanted the song featured in Wayne's World which really brought the song into the recognition it deserved.
My personal introduction to Queen was 1991’s “Innuendo“. That masterpiece of a song introduced me to so many of their other masterpieces, such as this one. I have re-re-discovered Queen again. Their music is so incredible, but it also makes me sad that musicians today are not capable of creating music like this anymore. Even sadder is the shortage of people to simply be able to appreciate this kind of music. (Yes, yes, I just wish those darn kids would stay off my lawn!) 🤷🏻♂️
there are a few bands that are making good music, but they are very hard to find and of course never as polished or amazing as Queen.
That (Innuendo) is my favorite song of theirs. Tough to pick just one…but, that one is 🤯❤️. Yeah, let’s do a Bolero reference and add some Spanish Flamenco in there. So quintessentially Queen.
I think the complexities of this song are so overlooked simply because it has such a mainstream audience. There are so many layers and textures here and THAT’S the stuff on which I gauge excellence. Thank you for sharing the little known nuggets that help us to have a deeper understanding of why these songs are so damn good. 💜
I trust you have immersed yourself in some Radiohead. Paranoid Android has the same jumps to different feels/styles, and is even more complex, with constantly changing metre and unpredictable chord progressions.
Queen will never, could never be the same without Freddie. Personally think Mr. Mercury is the best male vocalist and best ever "front-man" as well. No matter what genre you love best just listen to him for 10 minutes and he will touch you with his voice .... one in a trillion, wont see his like for a long long time.
One in a trillion indeed.
Nobody will ever top Freddie.
Simply the greatest singer ever. Both my daughters have loved Freddie since they were old enough to listen to music and sing along.
My favourite memory of this song is years ago working at a kid's summer camp, one weekend between camps when there were no campers and most of the staff were home for the weekend I decided to pass some of the time playing the old piano in the hall. Someone had left the sheet music to Bohemian Rhapsody in a big stack and so I decided to start sight-reading it. I worked my way through the intro and the first verse and just as I was playing the part with the left hand crossing to play the high octaves for the second time I heard an approaching rumble. Suddenly, as if on cue, the half-dozen other staff who were also staying the weekend burst into the room right on time to belt out "Mama! Ooooh!" I could barely keep it together to play the rest of the song as they serenaded me because of how hard I was laughing. They had heard the piano from across the empty camp and came running.
It is a highly unusual song but very memorable . A mix of rock, musical and opera. I can’t think of anything like it.
Bohemian Rhapsody is the Mona Lisa of all rock music
Back in December of 91, still saddened by the loss of Freddie, I went to a shelter and saved my second cat (a tuxedo) and was told “he” was soon to be put to sleep. So I took him. Renamed him Freddie. Freddie turned out to be a fixed female. (How fitting). Since I was an amateur photographer I took many pictures of my cats. Than one day I bought Mr. Bad Guy and his cover pose was exactly mirrored by a photo I had taken of my cat Freddie. She lived to be 20 years old.
I was born in 1954. Our family-of-origin watched “The Ed Sullivan Show” Sunday nights. At about 11 years old, I listened to rock&roll (770 AM, WABC NYC) on my small transistor radio, then FM on my clock radio.
It surprised me how many of Queen’s songs played in the background of my life (prior to 1998 when DH&I bought our first computer). The DJ’s really did not articulate the artist of the songs they would play.
DH&I went to the movie theatre to see Bohemian Rhapsody when it came out. I was shocked to realize I could sing most of the songs in the movie.
🤘🏼 *Definitely one of the best songs ever recorded!* 🎶 🎵
For sure.
I was 14 when this song was released, and it was all anyone talked about at my high school for at least a month. I never saw that happen with any other song. I couldn't get to the record shop fast enough to get my "Night At The Opera" so I could play it non-stop.
Even my mom said Freddy had one of the greatest voices she'd ever heard. Mom would be 103 this year if she was still around, and although we had an age difference of 41 years, she liked a lot of good music across genres. She loved Michael Jackson from the first time she saw him as a child on "Ed Sullivan", and she liked my Harry Nilsson albums, but I was always careful to skip that ONE song on "Son of Schmilsson"... track 5, I think.
I was grateful that Harry started that song with a long trombone blast, it alerted me that it was time to run to my hi-fi and turn the sound down all the way before Mom heard the "F" bombs!
💯
Definitely!
Best show ever!!! Ya nearly have me in tears. The first time I heard how this song was made and produced I went into awe. Mezmerising. Profound respect for Freddie Mercury and the band. Considering the technology of the time Bohemian Rhapsody was done... my God what talent!!! Makes me think of Emerson Lake n Palmer n the amazing music we were so blessed to hear. Thanks for making my life that much better.. many blessings ya'll.
I met the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my LIFE (guys, think along the lines of Farrah Fawcett for real) and long story short, she'd never heard of Freddie Mercury (!!) -- she's 26 yrs old. She was absolutely FLOORED in hearing this and gasped several times at Freddie's voice ("life had just begun" w/the vibrato and "...If I'm not back again this time tomorrow" w/his perfect pitch and sharp enunciation of the word 'tomorrow') plus the operatic cut. I had her eating outta the palm of my hand....
that's the great thing about yesteryear's music. To the under-30 crowd, it's all brand new again.
First time I heard this on the radio, I knew I had to have it. Local record store didn’t have it and were blown away by the requests for it. Finally, when it was released I rode my 10 speed along an insanely busy road for 10 miles to pick it up. I played that single until I wore out the grooves.
My first concert March 1977: Queen.
I saw Queen 4 different times "Day at the Races" tour and "News of the World" tour.
Amazing, terrific, unique and exceptional.
Wow!
I knew this was the Queen song you were referring to! A truly epic song that will never be matched! Freddie Mercury was truly one of the greatest singers of all time and this song showcased his versatility. Kudos to Kenny Everett for having the bravery to play it in the first place - he had a hilarious comedy show on TV in the UK when I was a child.
In 1999, between December 26th and New Year’s day, the Dutch public radio broadcasted the Top 2000, to celebrate and welcome the new millennium.
Six days long 2000 pop songs (elected by radio listeners ) were played, ranging music from the 50s to 90s. It was meant to be a one-time event. Now 23 years later the Top 2000 still exists.
Bohemian Rhapsody has been mostly number 1. Only 5 times they weren’t and on all these occasions they were second. Every year new fans of the song emerge.
Top2000 has become a celebratory and bonding experience in the Netherlands for numerous people.
Bohemian Rhapsody is not a song about AIDS. It was released 6 years before the first case of AIDS was reported in 1981, although it was around in a couple of decades before that it was never defined before that. I can’t count the times I’ve read a comment saying ‘ FM must have written it when he was diagnosed but I’m 61, so I watched them for the first time on The Midnight Special in the first music video that wasn’t just a recording of a band playing their hit song. I was mesmerized by it. I was 13.
Too right.
True.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing the first time I listened to this song in 1976 on the radio. I remember thinking that when they sang "any way the wind blows" they actually sounded like the wind! When I saw the marquee outside the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium announcing their coming concert, I bought tickets. So thankful I got to see them so early in their career. Thanks for the deep dive into this one of a kind piece of music!
I remember hearing this for the first time in 1975 as a 12 year old and waiting by the radio every day waiting to hear it again. My cousin came home for a visit and wanted to buy me something. I told him i wanted this album. He took me out to buy it and I put it on the minute we got home. And thus began my love affair with Freddie and Queen. My favorite Queen album to this day is Queen II. Masterpiece!
Great memory! Thanks for sharing!
Cool!
This came out my senior year in high school. I was not the most street-wise person on the block, just a naive kid from rural Kansas. I never felt like there was any real meaning to any song unless it was Olivia Newton-John singing "I Honestly Love You" directly to me. (yeah, right)
This album, I had it on vinyl, on 8-track then on cassette and on cd/dvd. It was passionate, it was melodic, it was freaking brilliant. No meaning (to me) just what might be the absolute best piece of music. Thanks for the backstory. I appreciate it. I always enjoy your channel.
This song was amazing! Freddy killed it, and Roger’s high notes just blew it All away! Still, and always be a favorite!
Iconic,what can I say that hasn't already been said in a million ways. Unreacable. Freddie Mercury was light years ahead in the music world. He was a genius.
Freddie was from another planet. Arguably the most amazing and beautiful song ever. Pure genius.
There is a Queen documentary or was on UA-cam. It was made for TV and has the band members talking about what went on and places they went. The visited the recording studios that recorded at including the farm they wrote at. They interviewed the bands producers and manager(s). I think it was the manager who said when he was frirt hired ,Freddy invited him to his apartment. When they arrived Freddy showed him around the apartment. He said when they went into the bedroom the first thing he noticed was the head board of Freddy's bed was a piano. The bed was pushed right up to it. He said Freddy didn't sit on the bed and play it, he laid on his back while piecing songs together . As he went he would play a part to see how it sounded. Freddy didn't turn over t play the piano he, laid on his back and reached up with his hands and played it. Picture this. Freddy was double jointed and could turn his hands completely over and comfortably play. Now think about this. His hands were backwards to the way they would be sitting at the piano. His right hand had to play the keys his left hand should be playing and his left hand would be playing the keys his right hand should have been playing . Queen had the same manger as Elton John (Elton and Freddy knew each other ) Freddy told the manager the took it to Elton and Elton listened to it. Elton's response was ,"Is he fking nuts !?!?! " . The video they shot for the album where it shows their heads in multiples was cutting edge technology at the time . My oldest daughter graduated high school in 2008. She was in music corelle (spelling ?) and her senior year they sang BR . She and many of her classmates were Queen fans . The song has become super iconic. I'm sure many have seen the more recent videos of 65,000 Green Day fans signing BR before the concert.
The first time I heard it, I was either nine or ten. I fell asleep watching Rockford Files with my mom, I woke up “Midnight Special” was on, it was in the middle of the operetta, I was hooked, and a fan of Queen ever since. Brian May’s guitar completely wowed me.
Love the clip of the Green Day concert, everyone knew all the words . Epic !
Wish I saw it upfront.
The technical achievement of this song will never be matched. And I’m blown away by the fact that the entire intro was all Freddie singing every harmony and layering them all together. Greatest rock vocalist ever and best rock band ever. He’ll just best band ever cause you can never put Queen into any musical genre because they did it all.
I'm pretty sure Roger and Brian made huge contributions to the harmony vocals.
Each could carry lead vocals and Roger did on a couple their deep cuts.
Brian talks about the process of recording BH harmonies with Freddie and Roger.
@@c.e.anderson558 As stated by @camaronshoultz6137 Freddie did ALL the harmonies (including the very high harmonies) in the INTRO of BoRap by layering his voice over and over and over again. All vocals up to the operatic section were all Freddie. Freddie wrote all the lyrics, the melody, the instrumentals including the guitar riff. He had everything in his head. The harmonies of the opera section, also known as the 'Choir' section of the song, were where all four members sang with Freddie, and that included John who sang low harmonies with Freddie and Brian. Brian and Freddie sang low and middle harmonies and Roger and Freddie sang Middle and high harmonies, with Roger brilliantly hitting the very highest note at the end. Brian wrote his wonderful guitar solo after Freddie let him know where he wanted it in the song, but the guitar Riff of the Rock section was written by Freddie. All four members contributed to the overall sound of the song, but this was definitely Freddie's masterpiece and there are many interviews and documentaries where Roger and Brian affirm this.
I met a man in an online forum for a random thing we're both interested in. We went from chatting in there to eventually talking on the phone and agreeing to meet up for real when vacation time came around. Up til that meeting we spoke on the phone every evening. We're none of us very talkative and we would both be tired from a day's work, so there were sometimes just silence at each end of the phone. I got a bit annoyed with how much effort I had to put in to actually make this man talk and didn't know if that meant he was less interested in me than I hoped he was. One evening, just because he'd been so quiet, I told him I wanted him to sing 'Bohemian Rhapsody' to me - and he did! He is no Freddie Mercury, and he only has one voice, but he had total dedication, he managed to skillfully cheat his way around the highest notes and the parts with many voices involved and also remember every single word! We've been married for seven years now and I don't think I'll ever forget that performance of the song.