Queen’s appearance at the historic Live Aid Concert at London’s Wembley Stadium in July 1985 remains one of the greatest rock performances of all time. Mercury solos again at the end of the song with a loose vocal reference to Duke Ellington’s It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). It is a driving, high spirited and fearless vocal solo. Here, he employs scat singing and the opening syncopated repetition of a single note hints at Ella Fitzgerald’s influence.

Mercury demonstrated his versatility, genre crossing and creative exploration on the 1985 song Living On My Own. His vocal timbre could depict a delicate vulnerability, especially with his falsetto, or use dynamic extremes to accentuate lyrics with screams and growls. Strong musicianship, excellent pitch and vocal control enabled Mercury to draw on a broad array of note choices, dynamics, tone colours and vocal effects. A lyric rock tenor with over three octaves in range, Mercury could belt into his upper register with his signature fast vibrato, or use a controlled pure falsetto with smooth legato phrasing.

Technically masterful, Mercury possessed a voice that was powerful, agile, and highly expressive. The song, which topped the British charts for almost nine weeks, was described by Mercury as a “ mock opera”. This six-minute epic is unrivalled in complexity of form, lavish production, vocal layering and the sheer number of choral overdubs. In 1975’s Bohemian Rhapsody, perhaps Queen’s most famous song, Mercury took genre crossing to a new level. He gives us just a hint of his vocal range in the bridge, on the lyrics “she gives me hot and cold fever” where Mercury effortlessly uses an octave yodel. In the song, Mercury subtly models aspects of Presley’s vocal tone and rockabilly styling in the catchy chorus. Mercury’s 1979 composition Crazy Little Thing Called Love pays homage to Elvis Presley. He wrote songs with poetic and heartfelt lyrics, witty metaphors and memorable melodies, with Queen drawing influences from The Everly Brothers, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and the Beach Boys. The composerĪs a composer, Mercury drew on an eclectic range of genres.

He fearlessly pushed artistic boundaries, believing in the spontaneity of live performance: every show was different. A prolific songwriter, arranger and music producer, a consummate theatrical entertainer and one of the 20th century’s best-known lead singers, Mercury fronted Queen from 1970 until his death in 1991.Īrtistically, he challenged many of the prevailing pop and rock parameters, willing to take musical risks and happy not to be part of the mainstream. ↑ File:Screenshot.just-dance-3.1200圆75.18.Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara in 1946) died on this day 30 years ago.

Lyric crazy little thing called love