Looking for famous Queen chords? You will find them all here. Founded in London in 1970, Queen consisted of Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums and Freddie Mercury as the lead singer. A year later bassist John Deacon was added. Initially, the band played mainly progressive rock and heavy metal. However, as time progressed it would become increasingly difficult to assort the band into a specific musical genre. Bombastic, camp and excessive are just a few examples of words used to describe their music. Their signature song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a six minutes long musical trip across distinct styles of music, was described by Freddie Mercury himself as a mock opera. Anyway, the song exemplifies the theatrical extravagance that made the band world famous. Interested to learn which chords Queen used in this epic track? You will find them below!
Breakthrough
Queen signed a record deal with EMI in 1973 and released their self-titled debut album during the same year. Although well-acclaimed, it failed to deliver the band the attention of a wider audience. Their second album Queen II, hit the shelves a year later. Already a bigger commercial success than its predecessor, it would be their next album Sheer Heart Attack, issued later that year, which really set them up for international fame. For the first time showcasing their use of a variety of musical genres, it was a success throughout Europe as well as in the U.S.
Queen reigns
The British band released A Night at the Opera, their fourth album, in late 1975. It is claimed it was the most expensive album ever produced and often considered their best work, frequently appearing in lists of the greatest albums of all time. Besides their smash hit “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the album also contains the ballad “Love of My Life.” With its beautiful, dreamy chords, this Queen song remains popular to this day! Many albums and hit singles would follow throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including a successful collaboration with David Bowie. Their live performances became legendary and Queen was seen as the biggest stadium rock band in the world, with their 1985 concert at Live Aid often described as the best rock performance of all time.
Freddie Mercury’s death
Starting in 1988, the media began to speculate about Freddie Mercury’s health, the suspicion being raised he suffered from AIDS. The flamboyant singer always denied this, also never clarifying he was a bisexual. Only in 1991, he released a statement admitting he had AIDS. Freddie Mercury died a day later of complications from his disease. Although Brian May and Roger Taylor did later on record new music and tour with different supporting artists as Queen +, the death of Mercury was never really overcome. As Elton John put it: “It must be like having a Ferrari in the garage waiting for a driver.”
