Why Queen is the Greatest Band of All Time
A position peice by IC25
Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has finally arrived for the 1970's bracket - possibly the best top to bottom bracket in the entire tournament. And the #2 seed in that bracket is the greatest rock band in history - Queen.
I realize I may not get EVERYONE to jump on the "greatest of all time" bandwagon, but Queen should win this tournament. They will certainly go deep. (Insert Freddie Mercury joke here. Is that out of your system now? Good.)
For your reading pleasure, I explain why Queen is the greatest of all time, and why they certainly go over Blondie in this first round.
1. Influence on Music. Here is a shorthand list of bands who have come out and said Queen has had an influence on them: Anthrax, Dream Theater, Bang Camaro, Ben Folds Five, Boston, Blind Guardian, Kurt Cobain, Def Leppard,The Darkness, Extreme, Foo Fighters, The Germs, Work, Neal Century, The Go Go's, Davey Havok, My Chemical Romance, Jeff Scott Soto, The Killers, Green Day, Guns N' Roses, Helloween, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Kansas, Manic Street Preachers, Metallica, George Michael, Marilyn Manson, Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, Mika, Nine Inch Nails, Panic at the Disco, Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, Switches, Max Cavalera, Styx, Sweet, DragonForce, Cesare Cremonini and Threshold keyboardist Richard West.
I should be able to stop here, but I will press on.
2. Innovative styles of Music. So many bands make a name for themselves by carving out a niche in one style or genre of music and then going ahead with it. Queen would do an entire music style for ONE SONG, and then move on. Let's look at a few examples:
Arena Rock - We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions
Rockabilly - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Speed Metal - Stone Cold Crazy, Sheer Heart Attack
Fantasy Rock - 7 Seas of Rhye, Ogre Battle, Dragon Attack
British Music Hall - Killer Queen
Ballads - One Year of Love, Who Wants to Live Forever
Ragtime - Bring Back that Leroy Brown
Caribbean - Misfire, A Kind of Magic (feat. great steel drum work)
OperaRock - Anything off "A Night at the Opera"
Progressive Rock - "The Prophet Song"
Gospel Rock - "Somebody to Love"
Hard Rock - "Tie Your Mother Down"
Synth-Rock - Flash Gordon, Another One Bites the Dust, Play the Game
3. Presence in Pop Culture. Queen found there way into too many films and TV shows to list. Even taking out the films that featured "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions," Queen still saw massive soundtrack play. The album "A Kind of Magic" alone made up the soundtrack for "Highlander" both in film and television, with songs such as "Princes of the Universe," "Who Wants to Live Forever," "Don't Lose Your Head," and "Friends Will be Friends." And don't tell me that whenever Bohemian Rhapsody comes on with you and your friends in the car, you don't turn up the chorus and headband a la Wayne's World! Whenever it's on the radio in New Jersey, I see people headbanging in their cars just like I do. Flash Gordon is such synth-cheese, but it's wonderful synth-cheese, just like ABBA.
4. Legendary Live Shows. Here is where I appeal to the UK members on the forums. The 1986 Wembley Stadium shows are LEGENDARY, and nothing else comes close. Queen packed a stadium with crazy fans like no other band in history. With only two dates at Wembley available, Queen played a third night at Knebworth Park. 120,000 fans showed up. In 1976, Queen played a free show in Hyde Park. 150,000. Legendary.
5. Historical Context. Hall of Fame in 2001. Queen albums have topped the UK charts for a total of 1,322 weeks - the equivalent of 27 consecutive years - which is more than The Beatles or Elvis. Queen's Greatest Hits remains the UK's #1 selling greatest hits album of all time at 5,407,587 copies. Over 300,000,000 worldwide albums sold. Here's a great stat - Queen is the only band to have EVERY MEMBER record MORE THAN ONE #1 Single in their career. Not even The Beatles can say that - nice job, Ringo. In 2003, Queen became the ONLY band to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
I am going to stop here, because I do have to actually work while I am at work. But this alone is enough research and evidence to show you why Queen is the greatest band in music history - or at least worthy of your support and consideration.
