POLL: Best songwriter in Queen

I'm kind of on a Queen kick at the moment, and it's pretty remarkable how every member of this band wrote hit songs. I can't think of many other bands where this is the case, except the Beatles and maybe, er, Sloan.

The songs for which Ringo got songwriting credit weren't singles though, so Queen might be the only one.

ha, this is impossible

Another Bites the Dust and I Want to Break Free make a strong case for Deacon. What else did he write?

You can thank him for Vanilla Ice's career.

"Liar," "Father to Son"

i dunno, i guess May has him beat on the sheer volume of awesome songs then

Funny how you can't generalize about any of'em. i.e. "May writes the arena thumpers, Freddie the gay piano ballads" etc

I'd have to do a more thorough look because many of my Queen favorites aren't listed in the summary section of the Poll.

"Father to Son" is great though. I think Queen II is still my favorite, hands down.

I feel so inarticulate.

voted Mercury, but May not far behind. I have a soft spot for a lot of Roger Taylor songs, though hard to say if "don't shun it, fun it!" is good songwriting, or just...well, it has to be good songwriting. "Tenament Funster" is of course genius.

John Deacon wrote some good tunes, but was easily the corniest of all of them. I always loved his lyrics from "In only seven Days", wherein it "would take a hundred or more for memories to fade." Wow, almost four whole months for this magical love affair to be erased from his memory! Also, the song about "Sammy" sweeping up the emerald bar is classic; Deacon was the real underdog hero of the band.

it's pretty remarkable how every member of this band wrote hit songs. I can't think of many other bands where this is the case, except the Beatles and maybe, er, Sloan.

crosby, stills, nash & young.

The songs for which Ringo got songwriting credit weren't singles though, so Queen might be the only one.

Octopus's Garden doesn't count? It might as well have been a hit, even though it may not have been a single, per se. Everyone knows it.

I have to go with Freddie on this one; his songs seem to be the canonical Queen songs, so strange and 'mercurial' in nature, impossible to categorize or even describe succinctly.

Funny how you can't generalize about any of'em. i.e. "May writes the arena thumpers, Freddie the gay piano ballads" etc

Alfred otm. also interesting that if I did a POX it would be pretty evenly divided among the four... as would the handful of Queen hits that sort of annoy me.

(but after a quick trip through the Wikipedia discog i'm going to have to go with Freddy)

Freddie for his epics. (Besides the ones mentioned, I also love "March Of The Black Queen" and "The Prophet's Song").

All three have a pretty strong output though, I am no fan of Deacon's early 80s disco numbers but he surely has contributed lots of great songs too. Roger Taylor interestingly wrote most of his best material from 1984 onwards, more of a latebloomer than the others.

Tried to make a similar poll about 10cc, another group which brotherly shared musical contributions between the members, but it got a bit difficult, surely they have their specialities (Lol being the weird novelty guy, Kevin Godley the prog guy and Stewart/Gouldman being the ones with a knack at writing catchy pop choruses), but so much of their output is written by at least two of them together that it got difficult to separate them properly.

The Eagles are similar, all of them wrote different hits, but mostly in various pairs iirc.

Might do Genesis but Peter Gabriel will win, even though Tony Banks is just as brilliant.

Funny how you can't generalize about any of'em. i.e. "May writes the arena thumpers, Freddie the gay piano ballads" etc

I was surprised to learn that Freddie Mercury apparently was the writer of "Stone Cold Crazy" even though they all got credit for it. That's about the closest to metal they got, I think. What an awesome riff.

it's pretty remarkable how every member of this band wrote hit songs. I can't think of many other bands where this is the case, except the Beatles and maybe, er, Sloan.

10cc.

Stewart and Gouldman composed the majority of their biggest chart hits ("I'm Not In Love", "Wall Street Shuffle", most of "I'm Mandy Fly Me", plus of course post-Godley & Creme hits such as "Dreadlock Holiday" and "Things We Do For Love").
However, Godley & Creme provided "Rubber Bullets" and most of "Donna", plus they would of course compose "Under My Thumb", "Wedding Bells" and "Cry" for themselves later on. And they also composed all of those "suites" that became fan favourites ("Somewhere In Hollywood", "Une Nuit a Paris" and "Don't Hang Up")

Advantage: Mercury, who also has "Bicycle Race" and "Don't Stop Me Now" in his column.

"Bicycle Race" is pretty bad except for the chorus.

Not sure what is actually the chorus and verse there, but I love that "Bicycle Races are coming your way.." part.

Brian May also did some amazing songs though, not least his non-rockers. He composed "White Queen", mind you.

don't know, just know the answer is not roger taylor

You forgot to mention Freddie wrote 'Don't Stop Me Now' (had to google it) which everyone knows is the best Queen song. We Are the Champions is also great. Freddie it is.

Extremely awesome, catchy Queen song? Yes.
Best Queen song? gtfo.

"The Prophet's Song" has a bone to pick with you about that.

I can't decide between May and Mercury. Mercury wrote tunes like "Death on Two Legs", "Somebody to Love", "Killer Queen", and "Lap of the Gods" (both versions), but May wrote "The Prophet's Song" and "Teo Toriatte", two of my favorite Queen songs.

I give the nod to Mercury on the sheer number of classics he wrote, but May deserves an honorable mention!

"Dragon Attack" ftw

Wait, who wrote Ogre Battle?

Freddie.

Well that tips it.

I didn't realize Queen had so much sci-fi/fantasy shit in their back catalog.

Ogre Battle was monstrous

this is a brilliant thread idea, it really is amazing how all of these guys wrote classic songs. i guess when you've got a voice as great and versatile as Mercury's at your disposal you can really go all out as a songwriter. did any of the other guys ever sing lead besides Roger on the kind of hilarious "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll"?

Another Bites the Dust and I Want to Break Free make a strong case for Deacon. What else did he write?

― i love you but i've chosen markers (Whiney G. Weingarten), Monday, October 11, 2010 2:16 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You can thank him for Vanilla Ice's career.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, October 11, 2010 2:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"Liar," "Father to Son"

― raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, October 11, 2010 2:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i dunno if Alfred is saying here that Deacon wrote those, but i would like to point out that "Liar" was Mercury and "Father To Son" was May, which I'm glad I caught because I almost voted for Deacon because of "Liar"

Having not looked into it before, I blithey assumed that most of their songs were collaborations between Mercury and May.

Wikipedia article says the demo for "Sheer Heart Attack" had a Roger Taylor lead vocal.
Taylor only sings on the chorus on the album version.
I really love the song "Sheer Heart Attack."

I'm surprisingly leaning Deacon here, but yeah...I never thought much about who wrote what and with whom.

I'm kind of on a Queen kick at the moment, and it's pretty remarkable how every member of this band wrote hit songs. I can't think of many other bands where this is the case, except the Beatles and maybe, er, Sloan.

I can't back it up, but R.E.M.?

And I can't back it up because I can't find any sources that determine who exactly wrote what with them.

did any of the other guys ever sing lead besides Roger on the kind of hilarious "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll"?

Roger sings on "I'm in Love with my Car", Brian sings on "'39'" among others. John apparently doesn't sing anywhere on a Queen recording (even in the choruses).

Also, Deacon apparently doesn't take credit for the riff in "Under Pressure."

I only recently discovered "'39"-- jesus christ, what a great song.

All the members of Pink Floyd have individual writing credits.
Can't say that Nick Mason ever wrote a "hit song," though.

What about Kiss?

I can't back it up, but R.E.M.?

Stipe can't write music though.

I'm sure he wrote a few vocal melodies that the other guys just kinda filled out, though.

Well, yeah, all vocalists create vocal melodies: I mean composing music with an instrument. Stipe's a lyricist.

I should say: "most rock vocalists."

isn't that kind of instrument-ist?

isntrument-ist

Wikipedia article says the demo for "Sheer Heart Attack" had a Roger Taylor lead vocal.
Taylor only sings on the chorus on the album version.
I really love the song "Sheer Heart Attack."

no way, that's taylor on the lead vox for this song. his voice is unmistakable. classic tune too

hmm, dunno...

Sheer Heart Attack” was half-finished at the time of the eponymous album, and would be released three years later on News Of The World.

Written by Roger Taylor, who sang lead on the demo version presented to the band.
For the definitive version that would appear on the album, the band decided Freddie Mercury should sing lead vocals (probably based on the fact that May had already sung two songs and Taylor one). Taylor ultimately shares lead vocals with Mercury in the final cut.

During this time, the punk rock movement went into full effect, and this song was viewed as something of a jab at the musicians who felt bands like Queen were too self-indulgent. Of note is the lyric “I feel so inarticulate”, and the fact that Taylor stated in interviews that he thought many of the 1970s punk bands had very little talent.

German Heavy metal band Helloween covered the song. The cover can be heard as a B-side for their single “Just a Little Sign”. Read more… Edit

http://www.last.fm/music/Queen/_/Sheer+Heart+Attack

well gee, no internet evidence to back me up. maybe it has been mistakable! what a tune tho! in this case i feel like mercury was doing a taylor impression!

did any of the other guys ever sing lead besides Roger on the kind of hilarious "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll"?

Taylor did sing lead on a few songs (Tenement Funster, Fun It, More of that Jazz). May sang lead on a couple of my fave queen songs too: Sail Away Sweet Sister, Leaving Home Ain't Easy, among others

Having not looked into it before, I blithey assumed that most of their songs were collaborations between Mercury and May.

me too, this has been very eye opening

the interest in this topic is not as much as I would have expected or liked. :(

The arrangements were surely done together. Queen were a collective and didn't really have a "leader", or even two. Mercury and May, for instance, did the vocal arrangements together (and then Roger Taylor also contributed to the actual singing)

Roger taylor deserves some kind of award for superior songwriting by a serving drummer.

Mercury swings it, most particularly for Side 2 of Queen II: Ogre Battle, Fairy Feller's Master Stroke, Nevermore, March Of The Black Queen, Funny How Love Is, Seven Seas Of Rhye.

You forgot to mention Freddie wrote 'Don't Stop Me Now' (had to google it) which everyone knows is the best Queen song. We Are the Champions is also great. Freddie it is.

― A brownish area with points (chap), Tuesday, October 12, 2010 8:54 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

ha i was going to ask about this one. there u go

Roger taylor deserves some kind of award for superior songwriting by a serving drummer.

would've agreed, had i not once owned the first album by The CRoss.

The arrangements were surely done together. Queen were a collective and didn't really have a "leader", or even two. Mercury and May, for instance, did the vocal arrangements together (and then Roger Taylor also contributed to the actual singing)

― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro), Wednesday, October 13, 2010 7:36 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Thanks Geir for describing something that occurs in pretty much every band. IE, the same reason a drummer doesn't get songwriting credit when they write their drum parts/fills but none of the melodic framework of the song itself.

I've always been a big fan of how since he can't play guitar, Lars Ulrich gently hums his melodies into the ear of James Hetfield.

Thanks Geir for describing something that occurs in pretty much every band. IE, the same reason a drummer doesn't get songwriting credit when they write their drum parts/fills but none of the melodic framework of the song itself.

That may be the most typcal way of doing it, but surely there are bands with obvious leaders too. The rest of Pink Floyd didn't have much influence on "The Final Cut" or even "The Wall", for instance.

I saw this recent interview with Dinosaur Jr and Murph was talking about how J writes out every drum pattern and fill. That must be really fucking humiliating.

J was a pretty ace drummer though, and wasn't happy about swapping the kit for the guitar. He told me he started out playing the guitar like it was drums - hammering the pedals with his feet, etc. Still, Murph is *immense.

Fucking humiliating.

actually Pleasant I've heard Lars writes his melodies in Mario Paint, then yells for James to come in the room when he's finished

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Christ. People kind of forget Mercury's writing took a nosedive compared to the others in the 80s.

people also forget that BRIAN MAY IS NOT THE THIRD BEST SONGWRITER IN QUEEN

Brian May was being let down here. And I even prefer Roger Taylor to John Deacon, but then, I hate "Another One Bites The Dust"...

"Get Down, Make Love", written by Mercury, is among the most sexual-oriented songs in the Queen catalogue.

I think the order of the results is right, but it's surprising that Brian May was beaten out by John Deacon, who no one even recognizes.

Funny how you can't generalize about any of'em. i.e. "May writes the arena thumpers, Freddie the gay piano ballads" etc

― raging hetero lifechill (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, October 11, 2010 6:28 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I know I'm agreeing with a near-three year old post here, but I definitely agree with this. Having said that, though, no matter what style each of the songwriters attempted (and no matter how much the end result sounded like Queen), when you really look at the songs that each member of Queen wrote and analyse the way each songwriter wrote their melody lines and put their chord progressions together, each songwriter in Queen does have their own little quirks/trademarks which they naturally put into the songs that they wrote.

Been thinking about the opening verse of Fat Bottomed Girls recently, I'm surprised it hasn't been banned since (at least) Operation Yewtree

Left alone with big FAT FANNY! She was such a NAUGHTY NANNY!

Vanilla Ice had a career?

such a fucking incredible band

i think what i dislike most about queen is that their rock isn't really rock, it's just opera rock. they suck so much. it's not even prog what they did, it is cabaret rock. a total waste of time. please don't compare genesis to queen, esp. not gabriel era genesis, they were awesome, so inventive.
-------------

Agree with this x1000. I fucking hate Queen and always have. If you think Queen are a rock band, you're doing it wrong. They're as rock as Andrew Lloyd Webber. In fact, I'm surprised they picked Paul Rodgers to front them when they started doing reunion shows - they should have hired Sarah Brightman.

I will stand up for Disturbed - their second album was really good.

― 誤訳侮辱,

Andrew Lloyd Webber is also rather obviously rock, if you can't see that you have zero clue about what rock is

also lol at the idea that Genesis on their best day is half the band Queen was

hey i didn't do the 1st post

I got a night at the opera lp for my 3rd birthday

aero otm. 'you're my best friend' alone blows away anything i've ever heard by genesis.

that is the one Queen song I hate!

I like Queen, but I did like the Andrew Lloyd Weber comment because it kind of gets at why my appreciation of Queen only goes so far.

You're no son of mine> queen's back catalogue

bullshit. listen to '39 and get back to me.

Was just listening to Queen's Greatest Hits and Classic Queen albums, and it's kind of amazing how none of their singles really sound like each other. Is there another major band whose repertoire veered around so wildly stylistically?

Bowie.

Prince.

I'm still surprised by the poor showing of Brian May in this poll. All of the members of Queen were responsible for some duds alongside the good-to-great stuff, and I think Brian's dud contributions are much less worse than Mercury's, Deacon's or Taylor's.

agreed, May got shafted in this poll.

He's probably my favourite songwriter in this band when it comes to the crunch.

Pretty sure I listened to a Queen album where Brian May contributed TWO old-timey vo-dee-oh-doh 20s/30s pastiches, TWO!!!!

I thought, not even McCartney would have the nerve to pull that one.

I'd take any Queen "old-time" pastiche over most of the shitty, woeful crap that makes up Hot Space. 'Back Chat' and 'Under Pressure' excepted, of course.

I love Queen's pastiches tbh

All parts of a nutty whole

Blimmin' eck...had no idea that Roger Taylor's first solo single was a 'cover' of The Parliaments'I Wanna Testify'...Never knew there was a Queen/Parliament connection

John Deacon for "Back Chat" should've swept.