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Somebody to Love (Queen song)

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"Somebody to Love"
Song

"Somebody to Love" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by the lead singer/pianist Freddie Mercury. It debuted on the band's 1976 album A Day at the Races and was also featured on their compilation album Greatest Hits.[1]

The song offers listeners something similar to that of Queen's earlier hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" with its complex harmonies and guitar solos; however instead of mimicking an English choir, the band turned to a gospel choir. It reached #2 in the UK and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.[2][3] This song made it clear to fans that "Queen could swing as hard as it could rock, by channeling the spirit of gospel music."[4]

Written by Mercury at the piano, "Somebody to Love" is a soul-searching piece that questions God's role in a life without love. Through voice layering techniques, Queen was able to create the soulful sound of a 100-voice choir, with that of only three voices: Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor. John Deacon did not sing backing vocals on the recorded album. Mercury's fascination and admiration for Aretha Franklin was a major influence for the creation of this song.

Queen played "Somebody to Love" live from 1977–85, and a live performance of the song is recorded on the album Queen Rock Montreal.[5] In addition to these live performances, there were collaboration tributes to "Somebody to Love" after Mercury's death in 1991. The song was played live on 20 April 1992, during The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, with George Michael on lead vocals.[6]

Since its release in 1976, the song has appeared in a number of television shows, such as American Idol, The X Factor, Glee and Gossip Girl, as well as movies, including Happy Feet and Ella Enchanted. Additionally, it has been covered by many artists.

Background

Like "Bohemian Rhapsody", the major hit from Queen's previous album A Night at the Opera (1975), "Somebody to Love" has a complex melody and deep layering of vocal tracks, this time based on a gospel choir arrangement.[7] It was the first single from A Day at the Races, on which Mercury, May and Taylor multitracked their voices to create the impression of a 100-voice gospel choir.[8] The lyrics, especially combined with the gospel influence, create a song about faith, desperation and soul-searching; the singer questions both the lack of love experienced in his life, and the role and existence of God. [1] This is reinforced by frequent use of word painting. Staying true to Queen's guitar-driven style, it was also filled with intricate harmonies and a notable guitar solo by May, and it went to #2 in the UK Singles Chart and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.[2][3] The song is in the key of A♭ major. The song possesses a great variety of notes, ranging from F2 in the harmonies on the line "Can anybody find me?", and G#2 to a C5 in full voice up to an A♭5 in falsetto in the lead vocals, all sung by Mercury.[9] The band have spoken of sections of the song which were recorded but never made it onto the final mix of the song, some of which have been leaked online.

"Somebody To Love" is Aretha Franklin-influenced. Freddie's very much into that. We tried to keep the track in a loose, gospel-type feel. I think it's the loosest track we've ever done.

— Roger Taylor[10]

A promotional video was made combining a staged recording session at Sarm East Studios (where the A Day at the Races album was recorded) and film footage of the band's record breaking performance at Hyde Park that September.[8][11] Peter Hince, the head of Queen's road crew, recalled to Mojo magazine: "Aesthetically, you had to have all four around the microphone, but John (Deacon) didn't sing on the records. By his own admission he didn't have the voice. He did sing on-stage but the crew always knew to keep the fader very low." [12] The song was included on their first Greatest Hits, released in 1981.[1]

Live performances

This was also one of few tracks where Deacon sang backing vocals when performed live. His voice was clearly heard on bootlegs from the band's performance at Earls Court in June 1977 and at the Houston Summit in December 1977.[13] From 1977-78, it was played about every show.[13][14] For the Jazz and Live Killer tours, it was also played consistently.[15] In The Game Tour, it was only played early in the tour. It was also played for South America Bites The Dust, Live at the Bowl and Queen Rock Montreal.[5][16] Later in The Works Tour, a shortened version was played as a medley preceding "Killer Queen".[17] A Live version from the 1984/85 tour was recorded and filmed on the concert film, Final Live in Japan 1985.[18]

When performed live, Mercury would often alter the melodies of the song, but would generally hit the sustained A♭4 notes throughout the song. The A♭4 at the peak of the building line "can anybody find me" on the studio version was not part of Mercury's original melody, but the other band members felt that it worked better than his. Mercury sings his original take on this line when live.

Even after Mercury's death in 1991, renditions of "Somebody to Love" have been performed live with the remaining band members, May and Taylor, and a number of different lead singers. At the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert held at Wembley Stadium, the song was performed by George Michael. Michael's performance of "Somebody to Love" has been hailed as "one of the best performances of the tribute concert".[19][20] The song was later rereleased in 1993 as the lead track of an EP called Five Live which went to #1 in the UK. This version is also available on Greatest Hits III, released in 1999.[1]

The song was performed on the setlists of their Queen + Adam Lambert tours in 2012, 2014-2015 & 2016 featuring Adam Lambert [21] and at the iHeartRadio Festival 2013 as Queen + Fun.[22]

Personnel

Notable covers

  • Anne Hathaway sang this song in her role as Ella in the movie Ella Enchanted.[23]
  • Brittany Murphy sang this song in the movie Happy Feet as her emperor penguin character Gloria.[24]
  • In the film Late Last Night, Steven Weber's character sings the song during a drug-infused dreamy scene.
  • In 2009, in the first season of the TV series "Glee", the show choir covered the song.[25]
  • In 2010, a group of 60 students from The Hebrew University performed a Lip dub version of the song,[26] which received critical acclaim, including a review by Brian May, who wrote: "I ... got quite a lump in the throat. It's very well done, with great heart and joy, and I'm sure Freddie [Mercury] would love it."[27]
  • The song was briefly featured in the 2015 film Minions, in a scene where the minions desperately sing a chorus of the song, after the whole empire is built.

In other media

The song was made available to download on 7 December 2010 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which allows use of a real guitar/bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits/keyboards in addition to vocals.[28]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification
Italy (FIMI)[42] Gold

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

George Michael and Queen version

"Somebody to Love"
Song
B-side"Dear Friends"

George Michael performed the song with Queen's remaining members at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992.[6]

Weekly charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[43] 19
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[44] 15
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[45] 8
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[46] 13
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[47] 11
France (SNEP)[48] 16
Invalid chart entered Germany2 21
Ireland (IRMA)[49] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[50] 6
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[51] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[52] 30

References

  1. ^ a b c d Queen: Somebody to Love Allmusic. Retrieved 6 July 2011
  2. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
  3. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
  4. ^ Fox, Brian. "John Deacon on Queen's 'Somebody to Love'". Bass Player. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  5. ^ a b Queen Rock Montreal Allmusic. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  6. ^ a b "Queen "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert" video and song lyrics". Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Queen interview: Brian May on Somebody to Love". YouTube. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  8. ^ a b Queen, official, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon. "A Day At The Races". Queenonline.com. Retrieved 11 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Freddie Mercury's highest notes". YouTube. Retrieved 5 January 2011Template:Inconsistent citations {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  10. ^ "Somebody To Love". queenpedia.com. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  11. ^ Queen play Hyde Park BBC. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  12. ^ "Somebody To Love by Queen Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  13. ^ a b Queen live on tour: News Of The World: Setlist Queen Concerts. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  14. ^ Queen live on tour: Day At The Races (world): Setlist Queen Concerts. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  15. ^ Queen live on tour: Jazz Queen Concerts. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  16. ^ Queen live on tour: S. America Bites The Dust Queen Concerts. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  17. ^ Queen live on tour: The Works 1984 Queen Concerts. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  18. ^ Final Concert Live In Japan: Somebody To Love Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  19. ^ "h2g2 - Queen's Greatest Hits 3". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Queen Greatest Vol 3". Albumlinernotes.com. 17 January 1997. Retrieved 21 April 2011.
  21. ^ "Queen + Adam Lambert Set List: Calgary, Saddledome". Queen Online. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  22. ^ "Queen and fun. - Somebody To Love & Fat Bottomed Girls live in Las Vegas". YouTube. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  23. ^ Ella Enchanted Original Soundtrack Allmusic. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  24. ^ Happy Feet Soundtrack Soundtrack Net. Retrieved 1 September 2011
  25. ^ [1] YouTube.com. Retrieved 18 July 2017
  26. ^ "Lipdub -somebody to love - GLEE - the Hebrew University of Jerusalem" (Video). Hebrew University of Jerusalem campus, Jerusalem, Israel. 10 October 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  27. ^ May, Brian (February 2010). "Letters". Retrieved 5 February 2011.
  28. ^ Fahey, Mike (3 December 2010). "A Double Dose Of Queen For Rock Band 3". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  29. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  30. ^ "Queen – Somebody to Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  31. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5163." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  32. ^ "Queen – Somebody to Love". Tracklisten. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  33. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Somebody to Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  34. ^ "Queen – Somebody to Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  35. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  36. ^ "Queen Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  37. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-09. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  38. ^ "Top 100 1976 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  39. ^ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  40. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  41. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  42. ^ "Italian single certifications – Queen – Somebody to Love" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 November 2014. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Somebody to Love" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  43. ^ "George Michael and Queen – Somebody to Love (Live)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  44. ^ "George Michael and Queen – Somebody to Love (Live)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  45. ^ "George Michael and Queen – Somebody to Love (Live)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  46. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0993." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  47. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1001." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. March 2, 1991. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
  48. ^ "George Michael and Queen – Somebody to Love (Live)" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  49. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Somebody to Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  50. ^ "George Michael and Queen – Somebody to Love (Live)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  51. ^ "George Michael and Queen – Somebody to Love (Live)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  52. ^ "George Michael Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
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