Posted on 11/25/2011 7:34:02 PM PST by Recovering_Democrat
Freddie Mercury died 20 years ago today. The Queen singer and songwriter had been secretly battling AIDS for four years, announcing that he had contracted the disease on Nov. 23, 1991, one day before he passed away of AIDS-related bronchopneumonia. He was 45.
Known for his wide vocal range and unparalleled showmanship, the Zanzibar-born Mercury (nee Farrokh Bulsara) also wrote many of Queen’s biggest hits including the six-minute-long rock opus "Bohemian Rhapsody,” sports anthems "We Are the Champions" and “We Will Rock You” and throwback "Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
(Excerpt) Read more at hollywoodreporter.com ...
>> I still think he was one of the best singers of his time.
No doubt.
I pray he found the Peace that passes all understanding before he left this world.
I think his genius as a singer, songwriter & performer was something we won’t see again in 100 years.
You probably thought, “He’s not gay, he’s just British.”
~~~~~~~~~~
That’s what I thought. I heard rumors about this singer and that singer being gay but at that time I never believed any of it.
I used to love that song until I saw the movie "Reservoir Dogs." The scene with Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, and that song in the background is just something I don't want to revisit in my mind. I've never been able to listen to that song since then! As they say, some things just can't be "un-seen."
Mark
We must remember, at the time it was considered cool to be somewhat questionably orientated, if you get my drift. By the time News of the World came out, he was, ...well, not so questionable.
Unlike lots of bands in those days, they could play live, sounded great.
A friend of mine (whom I also linked upthread) made this video a couple months ago of him singing Somebody to Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREKkAk628I
That got him just about 5 million views and an appearance on Ellen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyC77mlkyXA
Yeah I’m not sure how that whole performance got put together. Marc is from Montreal but lives in Nashville; he is co-frontman for the band Downhere.
“hahaha, back then...didn’t we all?”
LOL! Very true, very true.
“Unlike lots of bands in those days, they could play live, sounded great.”
Good point. Somebody should start a thread sometime, called Great Bands I have Seen Live. I bet it would hit 500 posts, easy. They don’t make em like they used to, that’s for sure.
Saw “Chicago” live in 1977. Those guys could play!
I never saw them live, but who can dispute their talent? I’m headed for bed, so it’s probably not a good time to start reeling off my concert experiences. Briefly, I will say Bowie’s shows were consistently stellar, the one time I saw The Who they were not at their best, and seeing Metallica at the height of their career—twice—was unforgettable.
One of my sisters is just getting into Queen, having seen specials about them recently. She was shocked to learn Freddie Mercury had died. I’m like, yeah, didn’t you know that? But no, she was listening to other stuff 20 years ago and Queen just didn’t register with her.
Now she’s bought a couple of the albums and is having a great time getting to know the music.
The same thing happened to her with Jimi Hendrix. After she listened to some albums I bought back from college, she was ecstatic but then majorly depressed when I told her he was dead. For sisters, I have to wonder sometimes what world she was living in to miss this stuff. I mean Hendrix and Queen - you’d almost have to be living under a rock not to know them - especially if you lived during their heyday as we did.
Actually I liked the video for “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. Those chicks were hot! In fact in my adolescent brain I thought how “lucky” Mercury was that he got to sleep with them after they wrapped. I had no idea about his “preferences” at the time.
You summarized everything I would have said. I still terribly miss hearing new music from him.
RIP Freddie Mercury.
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