The Queen of America Freddie Mercury was desperate to be and the song she inspired
Something about Freddie Mercury has always felt completely singular.
A uniquely positoned vocalis, Mercury commanded the stage with the same powerhouse audacity as a pantomime lead. Brutish and ballsy, he would strut the boards demanding the attention of every set of eyeballs in the room, and he could do so because of his richly layered talents.
bwing attention grabbing is certainly a skill in itself, but more so than anything else, Mercury had vocal power. An inexorably brilliant range, Mercury’s devotion to his craft made him one of rock music’s most beloved singers. But, despite being one of a kind, Mercury always found himself dreaming of replicating one queen of American music, Aretha Franklin.
Lady Soul is worthy of all the praise we can give, but there’s something special about the singer. One of the key indicators is how effortlessly Franklin could express the emotions of almost any song, her powerful vocal trumping pretty much any vocalist around. But what set her apart was not her talent but her powerful connection to the expression.
When considering the sheer power of Aretha Franklin‘s soulful vocals, it might not be hard to guess that Freddie Mercury was thinking of her when he dreamed up ‘Somebody to Love’.
Of his thought process, he said in an interview, “We had the same three people singing on the big choir sections. But I think it had a different kind of technical approach because there was this sort of Gospel way of singing, which I think was different to us. Sort of going to Aretha Franklin, sort of made them go a bit mad.”
Detailing further, Mercury continued: “I just wanted to write something in that kind of thing. I was sort of incensed by the Gospel approach that she had on hear albums, the earlier albums. Although it might sound the same kind of approach on the harmonies, it is very different in the studio, because it’s like a different kind of… a different range.”
“People will obviously no matter how hard you try will think in terms of your past hits. That’s inevitable,” he said, “But I think it’s up to the group and musicians to really think in other terms. From my point of view, I mean, as far as the writing side of it is concerned, I said ‘Ok. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a big hit’.”
The enigmatic lead singer went on to conclude: “But as far as my writing ability is concerned I think I can write better anyway. I mean, I went and wrote, for my estimation, I think a song like ‘Somebody To Love’, is in my estimation, a better sort of… from the writing aspect a better song.”
Of course, when looking back at the icons of contemporary culture, it is always fascinating to discover the ways in which artists can inspire one another, even in unexpected ways. Even Brian May, Mercury’s axe-wielding bandmate, was in on it, as he commented: “Freddie wanted to be Aretha Franklin. You have to bear this in mind. That explains everything. He loved Aretha. This was his Gospel epic…Freddie came in very well prepared with a lot of vocal parts. We just worked our way through it. A very good feeling. I always remember feeling ‘This is going to be something great’.”
Listen to ‘Somebody to Love’, below.
