Top 10 Queen songs with Roger Taylor on Lead and Back Vocals
The Queen drummer and occasional vocalist turns 73
Top 10 Queen songs with Roger Taylor on Lead and Back Vocals
“Galileo, Galileo”, one of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” most famous opera parts, much due to the “magnifico” Roger Taylor, the majestic and influential Queen drummer that also served as occasional lead vocalist and back vocalist on many of Queen’s songs.
The co-founder of Queen, Roger Meddows Taylor was born on July 26, 1949 in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. His distinctive drumming style influenced by The Who’s Keith Moon and The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Mitch Mitchell, has influenced generations of Rock drummers. His recognizable voice, for both its high range and raspiness, with an extremely high falsetto that spans four octaves (E2-E6), was characteristic of Queen’s vocal harmonies, being as a lead vocalist or together with Freddie Mercury, and was often thought to be a woman’s voice, or a synthesizer effect, as for example his screams on “In the Lap of the Gods”. But Taylor’s talent wasn’t limited to the drums and vocals, he also wrote and co-wrote several Queen songs, including the three U.K No.1’s “These Are the Days of Our Lives”, “Innuendo” and “Under Pressure” and co-wrote these five major hits by Queen: “Radio Ga Ga”, “A Kind of Magic”, “Heaven for Everyone”, “Breakthru”, and “The Invisible Man”. During the 1980’s, Taylor launched a discreet solo career, releasing his first album “Fun In Space” in 1981, and also in addition to his work with Queen, he formed a parallel band known as The Cross, in which he was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. Today we look back at the Top 10 Queen Songs Featuring Roger Taylor’s Vocals
10 – “Fight from the Inside” from “News of the World”, 1977 – Lead
9 – “In the Lap of the Gods” from “Sheer Heart Attack”, 1974 – Falsetto screams
8 – “My Fairy King” from “Queen”, 1973 – Back/Additional Vocals with Freddie Mercury, Falsetto screams
7 – “Bohemian Rhapsody” from “A Night at the Opera”, 1975 High-falsetto vocals during midsection
6 – “Rock It (Prime Jive)” from “The Game”, 1980 – Lead Except intro by Freddie Mercury
5 – “Loser in the End” from “Queen II”, 1974 – Lead
4 – “Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll” from “Queen”, 1973 – Lead
3 – “Drowse” from “A Day at the Races”, 1976 – Lead
2 – “Tenement Funster” from “Sheer Heart Attack”, 1974 – Lead
1 – “I’m in Love with My Car” from “A Night at the Opera”, 1975 – Lead
Special Mentions
“Under Pressure” from “Hot Space”, 1982 – Back Vocals
“Father to Son” from “Queen II”, 1974 – Back Vocals, Roger Taylor’s highest range ever recorded, from G4 to A5
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