This day in HISTOROCK !! Queen !!

        This day in HISTOROCK !!

           In 1973, Queen released their debut single 'Keep Yourself Alive' in the UK. The track didn't even make the charts !! A perfect example of, it didn't start out good, but ended up "INCREDIBLE" !! Queen would go on to become one of the biggest and best bands in rock'n'roll history !! It all started in 1968 when Brian May and Roger Taylor were in a band called Smile . Freddie  Mercury was a big fan of the group and would later become lead singer . He also convinced the rest of the band to change the name to Queen !! Said Freddie of the name : "I thought up the name Queen . It's just a name, but it's very regal obviously, and it sounds splendid . It's a strong name, very universal and immediate . It had a lot of visual potential and was open to all sorts of interpretations . I was certainly aware of gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it !!" Freddie is also responsible for the design of the Queen logo, which is a combination of the 4 members zodiac signs !! In 1971 John Deacon joined on bass, and  they released a 4 song demo and had no takers !! Inspired by the line "Mother Mercury, look what they've done to me" from the song "My Fairy King", Freddie decided to change his last name from Bulsara to Mercury !! In 1973 they finally got a deal with Trident/EMI and released their debut album which received good reviews, but the lead single "Keep Yourself Alive" sold poorly !! Fast forward 35 years later in 2008 and "Keep Yourself Alive" which I always thought was one of the standout tracks on the album, along with "Great King Rat", was ranked no 31 on the Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitar songs of all time !! It also became the 1st of many, many CLASSIC hits and records from one the greatest groups of our era !!  Freddie had one of the most incredible voices you will ever hear in any genre !! The ultimate charismatic frontman who strutted around the stage with his mic connected to only the top half of the mic stand !! A Freddie Mercury trademark !! Sadly in 1991 on November 23, in a prepared statement made on his deathbed, Mercury confirmed that he had aids . Within 24 hours of the statement, he died of bronchial pneumonia, which was brought on as a complication of AIDS . RIP Freddie !! Check out the great live video of "Keep Yourself Alive" filmed in Montreal,Quebec,Canada for the live DVD "We Will Rock You" which was later released in 2007 as a live 2CD  "Queen Rock Montreal" !! Freddie was at his best !! This album was recorded 10 years to the day of Freddie's death on Nov 24/1991 !! 

Keep on ROCKIN !!
Trike :-)