It’s simple to overlook just how big of a musical phenomenon Freddie Mercury was, even with all of his stage antics. Mercury was equally skilled behind any instrument he tried, writing classic musical passages throughout “Bohemian Rhapsody” and even the subtle guitar lick in “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” He may have been able to perform Queen’s songs for any crowd that would listen. Mercury was willing to contribute in the background to everyone’s song. But he had a bad feeling about one particular song
It’s simple to underestimate the number of Queen songs composed without Mercury’s assistance. Even though the frontman wrote the majority of the band’s classic hits, other members of the group wrote some of the band’s best songs. Such as Brian May’s “We Will Rock You” and Roger Taylor’s “These Are the Days of Our Lives,” which quietly served as the ideal prior to Mercury’s death.
John Deacon has to be considered one of the group’s unsung heroes. Despite being regarded as the quiet band member for the entirety of the group’s existence. Deacon served as the inspiration for numerous band classics. He takes small phrases and crafting them into memorable lyrics like “I Want To Break Free.” And “Another One Bites the Dust.” However, Deacon was a little careless in giving it to the group when it came to one of his first big hits.
When assembling A Night at the Opera, May remembered that Deacon was anxious about the majority of his work. He said to Classic Albums, “He was always shy.”When we asked John if he had anything, he would respond, “Yeah, I got this, I don’t know if it’s any good.” This happened as we were going over the material. That first conversation would pave the way for “You’re My Best Friend.” This song went on to become one of Queen’s most sincere love songs.
“His melodies have always come from a Tamla-Motown thing,” Freddie Mercury observed. He remembers how he always admired the style that Deacon worked in during the record’s creation. And I admire singing along to songs like that. You really can’t define anything he produced as heavy. Although Deacon’s famous keyboard introduction opens the song, Mercury is going to play the keyboards. This changed when he saw what they were using, which shocked him.
Freddie Mercury was gentle about not using the conventional piano for the song from the very first notes. When Mercury first changed to a Fender Rhodes electric piano. The thought of using the instrument initially disgusted him. He stated, “I refused to play that damn thing.” I don’t like them, and it’s tiny and horrible. “Why play that when you have a beautiful, excellent piano?”
Deacon subsequently added his own keyboards to the track after sorting out the song on the Rhodes. He realized there was no other way to express his message. The keyboard sound would become crucial to the band’s later output. This was despite Mercury’s negligence regarding the electronic qualities of the instrument.
With songs like “Body Language” and “Machines,” Queen would dive headfirst into electronic soundscapes across albums like The Game and Hot Space. “You’re My Best Friend” was the beginning of things to come. However, the Queen that fans knew in the 1970s was mainly an organic rock band.
