It's hard to imagine certain classic rock tunes without their equally classic guitar solos. Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird"? Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"? Journey's "Any Way You Want It"? Those solos are intrinsic to their respective songs. Even Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" boasts a catchy solo that only adds to its musical layers.
Speaking of Queen, there's another track with an iconic guitar solo that feels inextricable from its DNA: "Don't Stop Me Now." A single released on Jan. 26, 1979, to promote the band's seventh studio album, Jazz (1978), "Don't Stop Me Now" is one of their greatest hits. However, did you know that Brian May's guitar solo almost didn't happen? The late Freddie Mercury conceived "Don't Stop Me Now" as a piano-driven tune.
According to May, he and Mercury were at their best when there was some creative friction. It was part of their process. Per Total Guitar, May and Mercury were at odds over whether the song should include guitar.
"Freddie envisioned it very much as a piano song, à la Elton John, really. Powerhouse piano, powerhouse vocal, and that's it. So, I played lots of rhythm guitar on it, and Freddie still said, 'No, no, no, no—it's a piano song!' That was a bit disappointing, but he did say, 'Well, it does need a solo. I need you to take over the vocal,'" May said.
While "Don't Stop Me Now" wasn't a hit at first—it peaked at only No. 86 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1979—its popularity grew over the decades. In 2018, the track skyrocketed to No. 1 on the UK Rock & Metal chart.
It's a good thing that the dynamic duo reached a compromise on May's memorable guitar solo. It truly elevates one of Queen's most enduring tracks.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/Z5jQxVf
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