(Credit: Far Out / Denis Pellerin)
Wed 10 December 2025 16:00, UK
Anyone would count themselves lucky to have seen all of the great vocalists that Brian May has worked with.
Although he has one of the most underrated voices in his own band, was anyone looking at his humble performance on a song like ‘39’ and thinking that he was ever going to be giving Freddie Mercury a run for his money? May was clearly working with what he had, but his knowledge of the fretboard meant that he could appreciate showstopping singers from afar whenever he walked into the studio.
That’s not to say that he didn’t work with Queen to reach that level. Most people simply didn’t have the same drive to make those layers of harmonies on their classic tunes, and when listening to them all sing in unison on ‘I Want It All’ or the massive gospel choir that they created with their voices on ‘Somebody to Love’, they each had a general idea of what they wanted their tunes to sound like from a vocal perspective.
But getting all those sounds also came from years of listening to the right people as well. May was an avid fan of all rock and roll guitar players, but there was also a fair share of eclectic influences thrown in for good measure. The Beatles already dared people to start thinking outside the box, but there were also acts like the Temperance Seven that had a massive influence on the way that he structured his guitar harmonies when working on tracks like ‘Good Company’.
Not all of them were exactly the “cool” picks for the casual rock and roll fan, but being cool was an afterthought. The main objective was whether it sounded good or not, and when listening to either Jimi Hendrix tear through a guitar solo or hearing a beautiful concerto singing, there was always something that May could learn from and incorporate into his own playing whenever he got the chance.
So it’s only natural that he would find a way to incorporate the sound of Doris Day into his music as well. While she’s probably the last person that most people would think of when it came to great rock and roll music, May’s time working with her reminded him of why everyone and their mother fell in love with that voice before the time when he and Mercury were devouring stadiums of people.
Because as far as May could tell, not even Mercury could manage to sing on the same level that she could, saying, “I did a tribute to Doris Day when she got an award. She wrote me a lovely letter back. She’s an absolute hero—God, there will never be anyone with better pitch. Peggy Lee is pretty cool, but Doris Day, she gets my vote.” And while Mercury had his own style, there are subtle nods to her singing in the way that he approached his more whimsical numbers.
If Paul McCartney got flak for having a few soft-hearted tunes in his catalogue, then Mercury’s version of that was like walking into a theatre production that was already in progress, complete with showtunes like ‘Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon’. Sure, he would be hamming it up to the nines whenever he sang, but his clarity and diction was certainly more nostalgic than what the biggest blues belters were doing at the time.
Listening to Day’s music isn’t necessarily going to sway everyone’s opinion and convince everyone that she’s secretly badass, but anyone taking their craft seriously could benefit from her songs. They’re not the most energetic songs of all time, but her voice is the kind that only comes once in a lifetime, regardless of genre.
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