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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Freddie Mercury


There was a documentary about Queen, the British rock band, on the Biography channel last night. It was fun to see clips of some of the band's performances from the 80's.

What I hadn't realized before watching the show last night was that Freddie Mercury, their flamboyant singer, was also their primary songwriter. He wrote Bohemian Rhapsody, their signature number. Production for the song was so complicated that it took place at five studios, and the other band members had no idea how the finished product would sound.

Mercury also penned Killer Queen, Somebody to Love, Don't Stop Me Now, We are the Champions, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

Wikipedia also had a surprise about Mercury. His birth name was Farrokh Bulsara, and he was born in Zanzibar (now Tanzania) to Parsi parents from the Gujarat region of India. He grew up mostly in Bombay, where he learned to play the piano.

Mercury's natural speaking voice was evidently a baritone, but he sang mostly as a tenor. Remarkably, his range extended from low bass to high soprano.

Mercury was, in his own words, "as gay as a daffodil." I've certainly never seen a gayer -- i.e., more exuberant -- gay man. He was a spectacularly ebullient performer, but had the saving grace of always seeming to be making fun of himself at the same time. He would prance around on the stage wearing ridiculous outfits, and dance and posture like a madman, but it never seemed to affect the quality of his singing.

All of the songs linked here, in particular Bohemian Rhapsody, show evidence of his genius. A couple demonstrate his showmanship as well.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did wiki also say that he was a Zoroastrian?
G

John Craig said...

G --
Yes they did. You were obviously more familiar with the Mercury story than I was. I thought of including the Zoroastrian angle, then I figured it would get too involved to explain the whole Parsi angle, so didn't get into it.

dgh said...

John, I really did not appreciate Queen when I was a teenager, it wasn't until I had a kid who loved their music. My favorite song is "Fat Bottomed Girls", a take on the Country genre. The lyrics are laugh out loud funny! Freddy was definitely brilliant - no question!Donna

John Craig said...

Donna --
I liked Bohemian Rhapsody from the first time I heard it. I'll have to listen to Fat Bottomed Girls again. The tune didn't catch me so I didn't pay much attention.

John Craig said...

PS -- Just looked up those lyrics. I prefer the ones to Spinal Tap's satirical "Big Bottoms":

The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'
That's what I said
The looser the waistband, the deeper the quicksand
Or so I have read

My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo
I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about bum cakes, my girl's got 'em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?

I met her on Monday, 'twas my lucky bun day
You know what I mean
I love her each weekday, each velvety cheek day
You know what I mean

My love gun's loaded and she's in my sights
Big game is waiting there inside her tights, yeah

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about mud flaps, my girl's got 'em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?

My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo
I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo

Big bottom, big bottom
Talk about bum cakes, my girl's got 'em
Big bottom drive me out of my mind
How could I leave this behind?