With his extraordinary talents and musical skills, Freddie Mercury managed to become one of the world’s most iconic stars. He could sing for as long as he remembered, and when he was younger, he would attend choirs making music an inseparable aspect of his life. Mercury didn’t consider a music career back then, but later, he realized that music was the only thing he could do with love.
The icon also attracted attention with his flamboyant stage presence, costumes, and attitude, which caused controversy during his time. Yet, no matter how much negative publicity he often got from the media, Mercury never stopped making music until his very last days on earth.
The frontman wrote many of Queen’s hit songs alongside his bandmate Brian May. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that everything he touched always became a hit somewhere in the world. Today, he is considered one of the biggest names of rock and roll and the entire music industry.
Did Freddie Mercury Ever Need Help Writing Music?
One thing is for sure; Mercury was always confident about his talents. He was content with his singing skills, would find a way to grab his audience’s attention and give them the best time of their lives during Queen’s concerts. He had no problems spreading love and sincerity through his music. However, in an interview in 1985, Mercury stated that he wished he had worked with Bernie Taupin, mostly known as Elton John’s lyricist.
He stated that music is a natural phenomenon for him, the composition of the melodies come easy and quick. However, in terms of lyrics, he had difficulties finding words to say. Stating that he is not a poet, he revealed his hate towards writing the lyrics and wished that he had a lyricist like Elton John did.
Here is what he stated back in 1985:
“Song-writing comes. The structure of the melody comes easy to me. It’s the lyrical content that I find hard cause I’m not a poet. I just like to write nice little catchy tunes that are basically what I like to do. In terms of the lyrical content, that’s difficult. So I have to work on that part of it. The other side seems to come.
It’s easier for me to write a melody and a structure. But in terms of the actual lyric, I find that hard because I’m not a poet, and I hate writing lyrics anyway. I wish somebody else could do it. I wish I had a Bernie Taupin. Mind you, but I’m not like that, I like to do it all myself anyway. I’m a gree. Ibitch.”
Who is Bernie Taupin?
Taupin is the long-term lyricist of another icon, Elton John. He worked with John since 1967 and successfully helped him gain worldwide success. John and Taupin have more than 30 albums in collaboration, and they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 together.
He is half responsible for the lyrics of John’s many hits such as ‘Rocket Man,’ ‘Tiny Dancer,’ and ‘Bennie and the Jets.’ According to Mercury, it would have been easier for him to have someone like Taupin, but he was too ‘greedy’ to share the success of his creations with someone else.
