November 17, 2022 – Bohemian Rhapsody

Happy Throwback Thursday! Today, we’re spotlighting the year 1975, the year that Queen released one of the most iconic songs in rock history, Bohemian Rhapsody! Freddie Mercury started writing the song in 1968 while studying at the Ealing Art College. He referred to it as a “mock opera” that was a combination of 3 songs he had written. It was recorded in August and September of 1975, with Mercury, drummer Roger Taylor, and guitarist Brian May singing their vocal parts continuously for 10 to 12 hours a day. Due to its length, the band’s record label was skeptical about releasing the song as a single. To get around it, they gave a copy to DJ Kenny Everett, who ended up playing the song 14 times over the course of 2 days. The demand for the song was so high that the record label executives relented and agreed to release the song as a single. It became the UK’s third best-selling single of all time. In 2018, after the release of the Freddy Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody”,  it became the most streamed song from the 20th century. Learn more here.