Song by Song: "Bohemian Rhapsody" Quiz

Answer: 180

In its 2021 article on the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time," Rolling Stone magazine said that the song "contains a reported 180 vocal parts." The magazine went on to report that "some tapes became virtually transparent from so many overdubs." The magazine also notes that lead singer Freddie Mercury improvised chords for the song after taping scraps of paper littered with musical notations all over his piano.

Answer: a saxophone solo

Rolling Stone magazine notes that the song "spans rock, opera, heavy metal, and pop - all in six minutes." It begins with an introduction followed by a ballad segment. Next comes the guitar (not saxophone) solo followed by an operatic passage and a hard rock segment before concluding with an outro.

A ballad is a verse form typically set to music that was extremely popular in Europe from the Middle Ages throughout the late 19th century. It follows a set rhyme scheme and meter.

Answer: bass guitar

Bass guitar was played by John Deacon. Brian May played electric guitar, while Freddie Mercury was on piano. Roger Taylor also supplied high register operatic vocals. Timpani are musical instruments in the percussion family also known as kettle drums. A gong is another percussion instrument consisting of a flat, metal disc struck by a mallet.

Answer: I'm in Love with My Car

The song was released on the EMI label. Queen's "A Night at the Opera" album peaked at number one on the UK Albums Chart. It also hit number four on the US Billboard Hot 200. "A Night at the Opera" entered the top ten on album charts in Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, and Japan as well.

Answer: Wales

Rockfield Studios is located just outside the village of Rockfield in Monmouthshire in Southeast Wales. The studio was founded in 1963 by Kingsley and Charles Ward. "Bohemian Rhapsody" was also recorded in part at Trident Studios in London, England. The song was produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen.

Answer: 1975

The single was released on October 31, 1975 on the EMI label. It peaked at number one on the UK singles chart and the Canada Top Singles chart. It climbed to number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. The song also peaked somewhere in the top ten on single charts in West Germany, Switzerland, Spain, South Africa, Norway, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia.

As of 2021, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the UK's third best-selling single of all time.

Answer: Wayne's World

The comedy "Wayne's World" was directed by Penelope Spheeris and written by Mike Myers and Bonnie and Terry Turner. The characters rock out to "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the car. The soundtrack album for the movie climbed to number one on the Billboard 200, and the song re-entered the charts, where it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 - higher than it reached in 1976.

It re-entered the charts again in 2019 after the release of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" movie and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.

Answer: Mama...just killed a man

Freddie Mercury said in a 1985 interview in Sydney, Australia that "Bohemian Rhapsody" consisted of three earlier songs complied together in one song. In Udiscovermusic.com, Martin Chilton reports, "Queen guitarist Brian May remembers the brilliant singer and songwriter giving them the first glimpse in the early 70s of the masterpiece he had at one time called 'The Cowboy Song,' perhaps because of the line 'Mama... just killed a man.'" According to Chris Smith, a friend of Freddie Mercury's, the opening piano section of the track was also originally a part of "The Cowboy Song."

Answer: In the name of God

"Bismillah" means "in the name of Allah (God)" in the Arabic language. It is an invocation used by Muslims at the start of an undertaking. "God is most great" is "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic.

According to producer Roy Thomas Baker, the operatic section of this song took three weeks to record.

Answer: Kenny Everett

Kenny Everett was among the first DJs to join BBC Radio 1 in 1967. Controversial remarks about a government minister's wife caused him to lose his BBC job, however, and he joined Capital London commercial radio. He initially teased listeners by playing only parts of "Bohemian Rhapsody" until demand rose to play the full song, which he did repeatedly.

Answer: Brian May

Brian May played electric guitar and sang low register operatic vocals, while Freddie Mercury provided the middle register and Roger Taylor the high register. Adam Lambert began touring with Queen in 2014 and took over from Freddie Mercury as the lead singer but is named as a contributor rather than an official member. Mike Grose was an early bassist for Queen in 1970. Doug Bogie was another early bassist.

Answer: Philistine

The name Beelzebub finds its roots in 2 Kings in the Hebrew Bible, where it is written as Ba'al Zəbûb and refers to a god worshipped by the Philistines. Beelzebub is also etymologically associated with Baal, a Canaanite god. The name is thought to mean "Lord of the Flies" and has come to be associated with the devil or a demon in Christian theology.

Answer: reality

"Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landside,
No escape from reality."

In digital format, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was certified 10X platinum by RIAA in the United States and certified gold in its physical format. The record was certified 3X platinum in the UK by BPI.

Answer: Bad News

Brian May produced a spoof version of the song by Bad News in 1986. This version reached number 44 on the UK singles chart. Bad News was created for "The Comic Strip Presents" television show and was active from 1983 to 1988. The parody band consisted of members Vim Fuego, Den Dennis, Colin Grigson, and Spider Webb.

Answer: Amadeus

"I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango!
Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me
Galileo, Galileo
Galileo, Galileo
Galileo, Figaro - magnificoo."

Galileo was an astronomer and mathematician who made telescopic discoveries such as of the four largest moons of Jupiter (dubbed the Galilean moons). He is also known for being persecuted by the Roman Inquisition.

Figaro was a the hero of the popular 1775 and 1784 French comedies "Le Barbier de Séville" and "Le Mariage de Figaro" (1784; The Marriage of Figaro) by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais.

Scaramouch (sometimes spelled with a final -e) was a stock clown character with traits of cowardice and villainy that appeared frequently in 16th century commedia dell'arte. Scaramouche was also a common character in the Punch and Judy puppet shows, which has its roots in commedia dell'arte.