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Crazy Little Thing Called Love is a song performed by the British Rock band Queen , written by singer Freddie Mercury in 1979 . While it peaked at number two in the UK , it hit number one on the U.S. charts on February 23 1980 , remaining there for three weeks. It topped the charts in Australia for six weeks. The song is written in a Rockabilly style, with Freddie singing in an Elvis Presley -esque way. Because of this many people mistakenly credit Presley for writing the song. (Even some Elvis Presley fans think this is an Elvis original - Presley died over two years before the song was released.) It can be found on the 1980 album '' The Game '', which also features the funky Another One Bites The Dust . As reported by Mercury in Melody Maker , May 2 , 1981 , he composed Crazy Little Thing on the guitar in just five to ten minutes. Other accounts say that he wrote it while languishing in a bubble bath. He took it to the studio shortly after writing it and presented it to band-mates Roger Taylor and John Deacon . The three of them, with their new producer Mack, recorded it at Musicland Studios in Munich . The entire song was reportedly recorded in less than half an hour, which may have helped create its fresh and catchy sound. The instruments used were a Ludwig Drum-Kit (Taylor), Fender Precision Bass (Deacon) and Martin D-18 Acoustic Guitar (Mercury). Lead guitarist Brian May almost missed the chance to be a part of the song; by the time he arrived at the studios they had almost finished editing it for the single release. Fortunately there was enough time for him to play the guitar solo (on a Fender Telecaster ) and sing backing vocals. In November 1979 Queen begun what they called the 'Crazy Tour', playing 19 gigs in the UK and one in Ireland . One of its central numbers consisted of Mercury walking in with an Ovation 12-string Acoustic Guitar to perform this piece; often the audience thought it was a joke as Freddie Mercury was not typically known to be a guitar player. However he could indeed play, and even if he was very modest about his guitar technique (he often introduced Crazy Little Thing by saying "I can only play three chords"), he played well. Crazy Little Thing Called Love's single was very successful for the band, hitting #2 in the UK and becoming the first US #1 hit for the band. There's an unconfirmed legend (commented on by Roger Taylor in the radio show 'In The Studio', and by Brian May recently on his website) that declares John Lennon was inspired by Crazy Little Thing to go back to the music business. Whether it's true or false is still unknown, but it is a fact that Lennon had listened to the band and he did try new influences on his Double Fantasy album. On stage, Crazy Little Thing was an important part of the show. Brian May often used three different guitars during the song: the first verse was played by Freddie Mercury alone with his guitar, then May joined with another Ovation Acoustic; before the third verse he had already switched to a Telecaster on which he performed the solo. During the singalong part (famous for its "ready Freddie" line) Brian May again changed instruments to his home-made Red Special . From 1984 onwards Mercury replaced the acoustic with another Telecaster. After the last Queen tour in 1986, the former Queen band members have performed it many times: at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992 they played it with Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant on vocals. Brian May played a Godin Thinline A-12 for the first part and then the Red Special. May also performed it with Bryan Adams in 2002. Most recently May and Taylor have performed with Paul Rodgers (labelled as "Queen + Paul Rodgers"), with Rodgers singing and playing Freddie Mercury's parts with a Yamaha; May also played a Yamaha for the first part. The tune was also performed at Queen's induction to the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2003, featuring Wynonna Judd on vocals. The song was covered in 2003 by Michael Bublé in his debut album and in 2004 as a B-Side from McFly , in 1980 by The Chipmunks on their comeback album, '' Chipmunk Punk '', and can occasionally be heard covered at the live gigs of Suffolk rockers The Darkness . Country singer Dwight Yoakam also covered the song in 1999. While the song is rockabilly in feel, the harmonic structure demonstrates awareness of the intervening twenty-odd years - the subdominant of the subdominant (ie the bVII) is freely used, and the bVI-bVII-I progression (see Lady Madonna ) provides the main hook of the song. |
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