Queen is one of the most recognized, commercially successful, rock and roll bands not only in British history but in the world. With Freddy Mercury’s astounding vocals and Brian May’s legendary solos and riffs, this is one of the best bands to learn rock to. Here are some of their best songs:
There is no denying that Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the most emblematic rock songs in music history. Lead singer and frontman Freddy Mercury wrote this song in the span of approximately ten years. It is one of the few songs that was not developed by the band but more of a Freddy Mercury creation.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a six-minute rock opera/progressive rock anthem that became the lead single for their fourth studio album, A Night at the Opera (1975). Interestingly enough, many critics and music corporations believed the song would never have the impact it had, as it was too long.
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This song is in the key of Bb and, although it is piano-centered, the solos recorded by Brian May (guitarist) are a great addition to your soloing repertoire.
Although this song is another example of Queen’s more piano-driven compositions, it is one of their critically acclaimed songs and is home to another rocking solo by Brian May.
Don’t Stop Me Now was the third single released for their seventh studio album Jazz. Musically speaking, the song’s main elements are the piano, John Deacon and Roger Taylors groovy drums/bass combo, and the trademark harmonies that granted Queen their reputation.
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Again, interestingly enough, the song was not an instant hit as it didn’t chart that high as a single. However, due to its constant use over the years in commercials, TV shows, and films, it became one of the biggest songs in their career.
It is pretty noticeable that Queen’s bassist John Deacon was the mastermind behind this song. It has one of the most iconic bass lines in rock history, and it’s one most people can recognize.
Another One Bites the Dust was written and released in Queen’s eight studio album, The Game, and did become an instant hit. So much so that this song is Queen’s best-selling single in their whole career.
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John Deacon’s inspiration for this song came from funk and disco music, which was one of the most popular genres at the time. An interesting fact about this song is that John recorded almost all the instruments in the song. Brian May contributed with all sorts of guitar sounds, but the guitar riff is John Deacon’s creation.
This song is in the key of Fm, but live versions are in Em. I’d recommend placing a capo on the first fret to follow along.
Under Pressure is a song that included the help of UK legend David Bowie. It was released in 1981 as a single and later included in their tenth studio album Hot Space in 1982. Under Pressure became Queen’s second #1 hit in their country.
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Queen bassist John Deacon recognized that even though all Queen members and David Bowie were credited for the song, Freddy Mercury was the song’s primary songwriter.
There is some controversy as to who wrote the iconic bass line of this song. Everyone finally agreed that John Deacon wrote the initial riff, and David Bowie later reworked it, leaving us with the final bassline.
Under Pressure is in the key of D major. There several guitar parts that add to the overall arrangement of the song. This is a good song to learn the chords as well.
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We Will Rock You is another of Queen’s most commercially successful songs in their career. Written by guitarist Brian May, this song was released in 1977 on their sixth album, News of the World.
We Will Rock You is ranked number 330 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
This song is interesting because apart from the last 30 seconds of the song where Brian May’s guitar solo resides, this song is fully acapella.
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We Will Rock You has had many covers, remixes, and samples made since its release. It is a very popular song in sport’s events and one of their best-known songs.
We Will Rock You is in the key of C major and has an excellent overdriven guitar solo for you to learn.
Killer Queen is a song from Queen’s third studio album Sheer Heart Attack. Freddy Mercury wrote this song, and it became their first-ever US hit, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Freddy Mercury stated in later interviews that he wrote the lyrics before the melody, something unusual for him. He also stated that the song talks about a high-class girl. As for the composition, you can see two of Queen’s main trademarks: complex vocal harmonies and multi-tracked guitars.
In an interview, guitarist Brian May admitted how proud he was of this song and how important it was for their career. “It was the song that best summed up our kind of music and a big hit, and we desperately needed it as a mark of something successful happening for us… I was always very happy with this song.”
Crazy Little Thing Called Love is a song included on their eighth album The Game. Freddy Mercury wrote it the year before; he later admitted he wrote the song in just five to ten minutes. Crazy Little Thing Called Love became the band’s first number-one single on the US charts.
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Freddy Mercury also said in later interviews that this song was a tribute to rock and roll legend Elvis Presley. It would also be the first song he would perform on acoustic guitar in the following concerts.
As for Brian May, all of his contributions are licks here and there to add to the song, along with a rocking yet simple solo. Crazy Little Thing Called Love is in the key of D and has great bluesy licks for you to learn and incorporate into your playing.
Fat Bottomed Girls is a rock anthem featured on their seventh album, Jazz. Guitarist Brian May wrote the majority of this song, and it is one of the few ones where he used an alternate tuning. This song was released as a double single, along with Bicycle Race.
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The song begins with an acapella chorus with a lot of harmonies, much to their style. Following the intro, you have a great rock and roll riff in D. The guitar’s tuning has the 6th string dropped from E to D (Drop D tuning). Fat Bottomed Girls is a great song for you to learn both some rock riffs and to get familiar with Drop D tuning.
Somebody to Love is a gospel-oriented song that is included on their fifth album A Day at the Races in 1976. This song was compared to their earlier composition, Bohemian Rhapsody, as it used complex harmonies and guitar solos.
Freddy Mercury wrote Somebody to Love as a soul-searching piece that questions life without love. His admiration for black singer Aretha Franklin inspired the creation of this song.
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Drummer Roger Taylor said in an interview: “Somebody To Love” is Aretha Franklin-influenced. Freddie’s very much into that. We tried to keep the track in a loose, gospel-type feel. I think it’s the loosest track we’ve ever done.”
Somebody to Love is in the key of Ab. If you are looking to play the song’s chords as a play along, you’ll benefit from a capo in the first fret.
I Want to Break Free is a song that appears in Queen’s eleventh album, The Works. They released three versions of the song: album version, single version, and extended version. Bassist John Deacon wrote the song and proposed the concept for the music video, which became a big part of the song’s success.
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An interesting thing to consider with this song is its structure. This song follows the traditional order of a 12-bar blues in the key of E major. The concept of the song, as the title suggests, is the idea of breaking free from an intense feeling of love.
I Want to Break Free is in the key of E major and has multiple guitar harmonies Brian May multi-tracked. For this song, Brian May used the Red Special, a guitar he designed and built.
Radio Ga Ga was the first single from their eleventh album, The Works. Drummer Roger Taylor wrote this song as a commentary on television taking over radio and how visuals were starting to become more important than audio.
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Radio Gaga is a heavily synth-based song, and it features the use of the Roland VP300+vocoder. This song was a worldwide success as it reached #1 in 19 countries, as well as #16 in the US.
It is in the key of F major and has some scarce guitar parts that add to the overall arrangement. This is another song I’d recommend you also learning the chords to sing on or have your friends sing along to. If you do so, the chords’ tab suggests a capo on the 1st fret.
We Are the Champions is one of the most recognizable anthems in music history. Freddy Mercury wrote this song
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