Freddie Mercury
By: Emily Vargo
If you are a lover of music, you may know this infamous name. Once you learn about him, you will never forget about him.
September 5, 1946, Farrokh Bulsara was born in the British territory of India. Now, you have probably never heard that name, but Farrokh Bulsara started going by Freddie Mercury later in life. Mercury was born in Stone Town in the British protectorate of Zanzibar in India.
Fun fact: He was born with four extra front teeth, which helped with various vocal ranges. While having a range of vocals, he also took piano lessons since he was 7. Even though he was born in India, he was a British citizen and his family eventually immigrated to England.
When Mercury was in England, he graduated with a degree in graphic arts and design. After he achieved his degree, Mercury joined a few bands. The bands came and went, but finally, one stuck, and this one would be one most people would know, called Queen.
Freddie Mercury used his degree and designed the band’s logo. The logo is known as the “Queen’s crest” and is made up of a combination of the band members’ zodiac signs, which are Two Lions (Leo), a crab (cancer), and two fairies (Virgo).
Another fun fact about Freddie Mercury is that his speaking voice naturally fell into the baritone range, but when singing, it was in the tenor range. Those who specialize in music say he was selling his voice and owned it.
Besides his voice and his background in design, Mercury also wrote songs from some of Queen’s top Albums like “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Killer Queen”, “Somebody to Love” and so many more. He would involve many ranges of genres and styles in his writing.
Freddie Mercury did have a solo career where he produced two albums. Even though his career was not as successful as when he was with Queen, he debuted in the top 10 of the UK Music Charts. His Two albums were “Mr. Bad Guy” and “Barcelona”.
Unfortunately, Freddie Mercury passed away on November 24, 1991, due to bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. Queen and Freddie Mercury’s work is still admired today worldwide and enjoyed by many.
