You're My Best Friend (Queen song)

"You're My Best Friend"
Single by Queen
from the album A Night at the Opera
B-side '39
Released 18 May 1976
Format 7"
Recorded 1975
Genre Pop rock[1]
Length 2:52
Label EMI (UK), Elektra (US)
Writer(s) John Deacon
Producer(s) Roy Thomas Baker and Queen
Queen singles chronology
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
(1975)		 "You're My Best Friend"
(1976)		 "Somebody to Love"
(1976)
A Night at the Opera track listing

"You're My Best Friend" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by bassist John Deacon. It was originally included on the A Night at the Opera album in 1975, and later released as a single. In the US, "You're My Best Friend" went to number sixteen.[2] The song also appeared on the Live Killers (1979) live album and on the compilation albums Greatest Hits (1981), Absolute Greatest (2009) and Queen Forever (2014).

History

Deacon wrote the song for his wife, Veronica Tetzlaff. In this song, he plays a Wurlitzer electric piano in addition to his bass guitar work.[3] The characteristic "bark" of the Wurlitzer's bass notes plays a prominent role in the song. During live performances, the band used a grand piano rather than an electric, and it would be played by Freddie Mercury, while Deacon played the bass guitar just like in the original recording.

Music video

The music video, directed by Bruce Gowers, shows the band in a huge ballroom surrounded by over one thousand candles, including a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling.[4] The video was filmed in April 1976.[4] Additionally, Deacon is seen playing a grand piano rather than the Wurlitzer he used on the recording.[5]

Composition

The song was composed by John Deacon, with a meter of 4/4 (12/8), and a key of C major.[6]

The album A Night at the Opera features songs of numerous styles including this three-minute ballad pop song.[1] Very unusually for the genre there is no section appearing more than twice; this is characteristic of many Queen songs, as affirmed by Brian May.[7] On the other hand, in terms of phrases and measures, there are numerous repetitions or variants. The form is cyclic and very similar to that of "Spread Your Wings" (1977). Another similarity between the two songs is the lack of (real) modulation. The arrangement features 3 and 4-part vocal and guitar harmonies, bass (melodic approach), drums, and electric piano. This is Deacon's second recorded song and the first one released on single, some six months after the album-release. Mercury's lead vocal features lot of "special effects" (voice, rubato-ized rhythms, ornaments, slides).[6] Mercury hits two sustained C5s in the lead vocal track.

Queen comments on the record

The band answered Tom Browne on 24 December 1977 in a live BBC Radio One interview, regarding Deacon's control of the piano for the recording:

“ Well, Freddie didn't like the electric piano, so I took it home and I started to learn on the electric piano and basically that's the song that came out you know when I was learning to play piano. It was written on that instrument and it sounds best on that. You know, often on the instrument that you wrote the song on. ”

—John Deacon[8]

“ I refused to play the damn thing [the Wurlitzer]. It's tiny and horrible and I don't like them. Why play those things when you've got a lovely superb grand piano? No, I think, basically what he [John] is trying to say is it was the desired effect. ”

—Freddie Mercury[3]

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts

Country Position Weeks on Chart
Australia 35 4
Canada [9] 2 13
Japan 90 4
The Netherlands 9 8
United Kingdom 7 8
United States (Billboard) 16 16
United States (Cash Box) [10] 9 18

Year-end charts

Country (1976) Position
Canada 44
UK [11] 97
US [12] 83

Personnel

Cover versions

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "At Night at the Opera review". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 513.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "You're My Best Friend by Queen". songfacts.com. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Promo Videos: You're My Best Friend. Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  5. ↑ You're My Best Friend. Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Queen Songs: You're My Best Friend. Queen Songs. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOTf8GbD-oE | Interview with Brian May for 'Classic Albums', relevant point in video at 2m42s. Retrieved 4 December 2014
  8. ↑ "You're My Best Friend". queenpedia.com. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
  9. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?file_num=nlc008388.4299a&brws_s=&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=vbdjne6sbunltr53j1mv7s61d6
  10. ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/70s_files/19760731.html
  11. ↑ http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1976.shtml
  12. ↑ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1976.htm

External links