Roger Meddows Taylor - Queen

Queen

In 1969, Taylor was working with Freddie Mercury at the Kensington Market (they were living in an apartment around the same time). Mercury, then known as Freddie Bulsara, was an avid fan of Smile. After the band split up in 1970, Bulsara convinced the remaining two members to continue, and he eventually joined the band. In 1971, they found bassist John Deacon and brought him into the group, before going on to release their debut album in 1973. Taylor was a prominent songwriter for the band, usually contributing one or two tracks per record. His compositions for Queen include:

• "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" (Queen)
• "The Loser in the End" (Queen II)
• "Tenement Funster" (Sheer Heart Attack)
• "Stone Cold Crazy" (Co-written with John Deacon, Brian May and Freddie Mercury (Sheer Heart Attack)
• "I'm in Love with My Car" (A Night at the Opera)
• "Drowse" (A Day at the Races)
• "Sheer Heart Attack" (News of the World)
• "Fight From the Inside" (News of the World)
• "Fun It" (Jazz)
• "More of That Jazz" (Jazz)
• "A Human Body" (Non-album B-side of "Play the Game") (Single)
• "Rock It (Prime Jive)" (The Game)
• "Coming Soon" (The Game)
• "In the Space Capsule (The Love Theme)" (Flash Gordon)
• "In the Death Cell (Love Theme Reprise)" (Flash Gordon)
• "Escape From the Swamp" (Flash Gordon)
• "Marriage of Dale and Ming (And Flash Approaching)" (Co-written with May) (Flash Gordon)
• "Action This Day" (Hot Space)
• "Calling All Girls" (Hot Space) and (Single)
• "Under Pressure" (Co-written with Deacon, May, Mercury and David Bowie) (Hot Space) and (Single)
• "Soul Brother" (Co-written with Deacon, May and Mercury) (Non-album B-side of "Under Pressure") (Single)
• "Radio Ga Ga" (The Works) and (Single)
• "Machines (or Back to Humans)" (Co-written with May) (The Works)
• "Thank God It's Christmas" (Co-written with May) (Non-album single)
• "One Vision" (Main songwriter, co-written with Deacon, May and Mercury) (A Kind of Magic) and (Single)
• "A Kind of Magic" (A Kind of Magic) and (Single)
• "Don't Lose Your Head" (A Kind of Magic)
• "Heaven for Everyone (Made in Heaven) and (Single)

Songs written by Taylor, but credited the band collectively (like the whole The Miracle, Innuendo and most of Made in Heaven albums) and include:

• "The Invisible Man" (The Miracle) and (Single)
• "Breakthru" (intro written by Mercury) (The Miracle) and (Single)
• "Innuendo" (lyrics written by Taylor) (Innuendo) and (Single)
• "Ride the Wild Wind" (Innuendo)
• "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Innuendo)
• "Let Me Live" (co-written with Deacon, May and Mercury) (Made in Heaven) and (Single)
• "Untitled Hidden Track" (Co-created from Mercury's "It's a Beautiful Day" song, with May and David Richards (uncredited)) Made in Heaven)

Many of these feature Taylor on vocals. His voice was very recognisable, for both its high range (he would often reach a E5 in full voice during live performances) and raspiness. His extremely high falsetto, sometimes going above a A5, was characteristic of Queen's vocal harmonies, and was often thought to be a woman's voice, or a synthesiser effect (most notably his screams on "In the Lap of the Gods", written by Mercury). His vocal range spans four octaves (E2-E6). Taylor's lead and partial vocal credits include:

• "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" – Queen (1973)
• "Keep Yourself Alive" – Queen (Vocal bridge sung with May, rest sung by Mercury)
• "Father to Son" – Queen II (1974) (This contains his highest range ever recorded, from G4 to A5).
• "Loser in the End" – Queen II
• "March of the Black Queen" – Queen II (Lead vocals on one line: "My life is in your hands/I'll foe and I'll fie", rest sung by Mercury)
• "Tenement Funster" – Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
• "In the Lap of the Gods" – Sheer Heart Attack – (Falsetto screams)
• "I'm In Love With My Car" – A Night At The Opera (1975)
• "Bohemian Rhapsody" – A Night at the Opera (High-falsetto vocals, such as the scream-part "for me...", that blasts the song off to the heavier section)
• "Drowse" – A Day at the Races (1976)
• "Sheer Heart Attack" – News of the World (1977) (Lead vocals on chorus and second verse)
• "Fight from the Inside" – News of the World
• "Fun It" – Jazz (1978) (lead vocals shared with Mercury)
• "More of That Jazz" – Jazz
• "Rock It (Prime Jive)" – The Game (1980) (Lead vocals, except for the intro, sung by Mercury)
• "Coming Soon" – The Game (Lead chorus vocals)
• "A Human Body" – B-side of "Play the Game" (1980)
• "Action This Day" – Hot Space (1982) (Octave-lead vocals on verses, normal on chorus)
• "Don't Lose Your Head" – A Kind of Magic (1986) (Lead chorus vocals)
• "The Invisible Man" – The Miracle (1989) (Lead chorus vocals)
• "Hijack My Heart" – The Miracle (B-side to "The Invisible Man")
• "Ride the Wild Wind" – Innuendo (1991) (Additional vocals)
• Let Me Live – Made In Heaven (1995) (Lead vocals on second verse and bridge)
• No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) (1997) (Lead vocals on second verse and outro)