“Bohemian Rhapsody” is now half a century old, but it’s not getting any easier to play, says Brian May.
The Queen guitarist explains that the hit song is so complex it requires him to “keep my wits about me” every time he plays it.
Clocking in at nearly six minutes and containing several distinct sections, including May’s own guitar solo, the song combines elements of balladry, opera and rock in one of contemporary music’s most beguiling — and challenging — musical works.
May, who was present while singer Freddie Mercury composed the tune, says he was inspired as he heard it take shape.
“The idea for all the instrumental stuff in ‘Rhapsody’ was growing while I was listening to him developing the song,” May tells Rolling Stone. “Freddie had some amazingly lateral thought processes. It was always easier for me to play on his songs than mine, ’cause there was so much stimulation coming.”
Fifty years on, some stimulation is still required to play the song’s guitar parts, including May’s celebrated solo. Recorded with his Red Special electric guitar into a Dallas Rangemaster treble booster, a custom-built Deacy amp and a wet/dry/wet setup of multiple Vox AC30 combos, May’s big moment in “Bohemian Rhapsody” is regularly cited as one of the greatest guitar solos in rock history. Its presence in the song is entirely due to May deciding he wanted to, in effect, sing a verse on guitar.
But May says that, like the rest of the tune, it isn’t exactly ingrained in his muscle memory.
“‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is never that easy to play, even after all these years,” he admits. “I still have to keep my wits about me or I’ll fall off the train.”
Part of the challenge is, no doubt, the layered vocal harmonies. As May reveals, Queen were inspired by none other than the Beatles, whose three-part harmonies on their recordings influenced countless groups.
In particular, May says the vocals in “Bohemian Rhapsody” were influenced by the Fab Four’s “Because,” a gorgeous, complex piece of sonic magic from 1969’s Abbey Road.
“We were transfixed,” the guitarist says. “I can feel the shivers going up my spine. We thought, ‘Oh, my God, that has to be the most daring piece of pure harmony we’ve ever heard.’”
We thought, ‘Oh, my God, that has to be the most daring piece of pure harmony we’ve ever heard.’”
— Brian May
The Beatles achieved the effect by stacking their vocal harmonies in the studio to create an even bigger sound than their three singers — John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison — could produce on their own. May says that technique inspired Queen to overdub their voices countless times to create a chorale effect.
But it wasn’t just “Because.” Even an earlier track like 1964’s mesmerizing “This Boy” helped inspire Queen’s approach.
“It was everything the Beatles did,” May says. “We were able to sort of take up where the Beatles left off.”
Don’t expect to see May performing “Bohemian Rhapsody” in the U.S. anytime soon. The guitarist was eyeing a Queen + Adam Lambert residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas after seeing an Eagles concert there last year.
But the Trump administration’s ICE enforcement tactics — which have been linked to numerous deaths, including those of U.S. citizens — forced him to reconsider.
“America is a dangerous place at the moment, so you have to take that into account,” May told the Daily Mail. “It’s very sad because I feel like Queen grew up in America and we love it, but it’s not what it was. Everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment.”
