The name of this particular band causes a wave of appreciation in any audience all over the world, and the sounds of their melodies cause a wave of excited screaming of the band’s numerous fans and admirers. Everyone knows the names of the band’s members. Their path towards fame was short and wonderful, their triumph lasts still. Their most famous singles were adopted and covered by many different musicians of different generations.
The appearance of Queen blew up every stage they stepped on. All of the songs and albums this band released have become legendary and are known all around the world. The impact this band had on the history of rock music cannot be underestimated. Queen has influenced many artists and changed the idea of a performance of a rock band or a musician in general. Queen’s album called “A Night at the Opera” released in 1975 that includes its most famous single “the Bohemian Rhapsody” is of big importance for the development of rock as a genre, it changed the looks of rock performances and the idea of music videos.
The way from zero to hero was very quick for the members of Queen. The band was formed in 1971 and by 1973 Queen already had their first contract for recording. The first album by Queen appeared the same year. A while after that the band headed off to their first of many tours. In a couple of years the band was already gaining the popularity on the world’s arena. The tours started to become international. Queen started to perform in the USA and in Japan. The demand for tickets and number of people willing to see the concerts was so huge that the band had to add more shows.
The members of the band had to work very hard. Logically, a big pressure and exhaustion has created health problems. First Brian May had to take a sick leaf because of hepatitis – because of that several concerts had to be cancelled. Then Freddy Mercury started to develop throat problems. Freddie’s rare four-octave voice was in danger and many doctors advised the singer to take a break, but he refused to disappoint thousands of fans and continued to perform through the pain. Through the whole history Queen has produced eighteen albums and eighteen top singles. The income from the album sales is so high that Queen is considered one of the most popular and best-selling rock bands in the world.
It is a well known fact that the more successful albums a band or an artist produces, the more pressure and expectations it creates. After a while releasing a product that will keep up with the previous success is becoming harder and harder. The history of Queens’s shows and albums started with small performances in the clubs of London. The first album was called “Queen” and it was not very popular. “Queen II” has seen the world less than a year after “Queen” and already included some of the band’s special experimental techniques. The seven albums that followed the first two have “cemented” the band’s name into the history of rock. “Night at the Opera” released in 1975 became the band’s first platinum album (Band History, n. d.).
The big break of Queen started with this album – i think this could already be considered a history altering fact because if “Night at the Opera” had not appeared the world would have never seen Queen. The album’s reviews say that it shows the band’s special style and openness towards experiments, the sounding has evolved from heavy-metal to pop-rock. Queen’s songs are lyrical and the use of choruses and vocal rounds makes their melodies recognizable and outstanding (Nicholson 1976). Everyone knows the songs by Queen and their famous harp and piano effects. This was new impact on the history of rock, not many bands could adopt this kind of innovations and adjust them for their own style.
“A Night at the Opera” has songs with many different subjects. For example, “I’m in Love with My Car” and “Sweet Lady” were written in Queen’s traditional style of abstract snarl. “Death on Two Legs” is known as Freddie’s tribute to the band’s former manager. “You are My Best Friend” is a glorious single that sounds closer to the genre of pop, while “Love of My Life” is very romantic and endearing song that touched many hearts all over the world. Ones of the most well known songs of this album are Brian May’s “The Prophet’s Song” and “39”, though the absolute triumph went to a song that is known and loved by generations – the magnificent “Bohemian Rhapsody”.
This particular song has made the album’s popularity skyrocket. After this single has seen the world there was no longer a doubt that Queen is going to stay in the history of rock forever. At first “Bohemian Rhapsody” was not predicted to be so big in the music world. It was said to be too long as it lasts for nearly six minutes. Mercury took it to a radio station to a friend of his. After it was played once it never stopped being requested. The single became huge in the UK over just one weekend and then it started to conquer the hearts of foreigners. “Bohemian Rhapsody” is my favorite song by Queen, once I have heard it for the first time – it mesmerized me and won my heart right away. A trait that made “Bohemian Rhapsody” stand out even more was a music video Queen made for this song. This video is considered to be the first official promotional music video in the history. It has started the whole new dimension of music – the music clips.
To sum up, Queen is a true legend of the history of rock music. They had many amazing qualities, various achievements; they brought lots of innovations and have made a huge impact on the development of rock as a genre. Queen was one of the first bands that were especially interested in making a fantastic show for the fans; this is why their bright and memorable concerts attracted such unbelievable masses of people. Queen has brought changes to the sounding of rock music – added new unusual instruments and techniques in the use of voice. Queen has produced the first in history promotional video clip to a song.
Another special thing about Queen is Freddy Mercury’s openness about his orientation and a huge impact into a development of social and public tolerance towards homosexuals in rock community of that time. These days many different artists still mention Queen as the source of their inspiration and an ultimate role-model – among these artists are Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, Green Day and Katy Perry (White 2014). The songs by Queen are used in various films; the lines of their songs are being cited by many directors, song writers and artists.
Reference List
Band History. (n. d). Queenpedia. Web.
Nicholson, K. (1976). A Night at the Opera. Web.
White, D. (2014). Queen. Web.