Somebody to Love - R.I.P. Freddie Mercury 11/24/91

I work hard every day of my life

I work till I ache my bones

At the end I take home my hard earned pay all on my own

I get down on my knees

And I start to pray

Till the tears run down from my eyes

Lord, somebody, ooh, somebody

Can anybody find me, somebody to love?

Somewhere along my day today I came across a posting that marked the 23rd anniversary of the death of Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, and had I known earlier I would've given him a Song of the Day tribute, for sure.  Rather than wait until tomorrow, though, I figured I'd mark the day...the real day...to honor someone who left us way too soon.

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A couple of weeks ago I posted a Flashback Friday song of Freddie and Queen with David Bowie doing Under Pressure, a great, great tune. In my search for the video, I came across a video of Queen, sans Bowie, performing the song at Wembley and Mercury played with the audience for about two minutes in his own unique way, yodeling melodies that the crowd would repeat back to him. They were eating it up and for those two minutes Freddie Mercury's greatness shone through.     

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Queen is one rock band that I've always loved, from the early days of the great Bohemian Rhapsody to Another One Bites the Dust, Fat Bottomed Girls, Radio Gaga (from which Lady got her name!), and so many more.  To look back 23 years ago and think of all they might have added to their catalog had he not lost his battle with the now very manageable AIDS.  Anyway, for what it's worth, here's to you Freddie Mercury!

  

Flashback Friday Song of the Day - Under Pressure - Queen w/David Bowie

This week's Flashback Friday song was easy to choose for me.  Pressure is what I'm feeling a lot of these days and I'm always looking for something, anything, to help me to ease that stress.  Sometimes a cool song like this one lightens the mood for a couple of minutes at least and makes you forget. That's one of the great things about music...  

Song of the Day - I Want to Break Free - Queen

myfreddiemercury

In case you missed it, I did my 'Q' post yesterday on the inimitable rock band Queen, and so I just had to post one of their tunes here this morning.  This one's from 1984's The Works album, and it's classic Queen, catchy and fun, and something we can all identify with I think.  Oh, and Freddie Mercury in drag...haha!

Queen / I Want To Break Free from InsiteGayTV on Vimeo.

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Queen: One of the Greatest Rock Bands Ever!

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I remember hearing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody on the radio back in 1975.  I was around 10-11 years old at the time and I remember had absolutely no idea what the song was about, but I couldn't help singing along to it whenever it came on...

Is this the real life

Is this just fantasy...

Queen bohemian rhapsody by erichedly

Oh yeah, that song is classic!  So complex, many highs and lows, with a little bit of opera thrown in alongside those hard rocking guitar riffs.  Back then I didn't know much about music.  I was just beginning to be aware of it and in those early years I was a bona fide rock fan.  In the years since, my musical tastes have changed, but some of my rock favorites stayed with me throughout the years, like KISS, Aerosmith, Foreigner, and Queen.

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The members of Queen included guitarist Brian May, bass player John Deacon, drummer Roger Taylor and the incomparable, flamboyant and energetic lead singer Freddie Mercury.  The foursome tore up the music scene in the 70's and 80's with such classics as the tender Somebody to Love, the Elvis-inspired Crazy Little Thing Called Love, the irresistibly bass-heavy collaboration with David Bowie on Under Pressure and so many more.  In all, the band has had 18 #1 albums and 18 #1 singles, making them one of the most successful rock bands of all time.

My very first Queen album, News of the World, was one of the hottest records of 1977-78 and it had one of the coolest covers of any record anytime.  The album spawned their anthem for all anthems, We Are the Champions, and the percussive chants of We Will Rock You.  That song still gives me goose bumps whenever I hear it.  Jazz came next and that one was another great album that included this ode to 'back' long before Sir Mix-a-Lot ever rapped about it.  Check out Fat Bottomed Girls:

  

Fat Bottomed Girls (Queen Live 1982) by vicken

Ooh yeah, what a great rocking song!  Sadly, around 1988 Freddie Mercury began to appear ill and speculation was that the singer was suffering from AIDS, which he flatly denied.  Unfortunately the rumor turned out to be true and Mercury passed away in November of 1991.  Though the band has had various incarnations and comebacks in the years that have passed since, the success of their earlier years with their lead singer were never matched.  Yet, the band Queen leaves a legacy to be enjoyed by all for years to come.  Here's one of my favorite Queen songs from 1975's A Night at the Opera.  So beautiful!

Queen - You're My Best Friend by stevanhogg

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