Queen

Origin:

The beginnings of Queen can be traced to 1968, when Brian May and Roger Taylor formed the trio Smile, at Imperial College, London, where they were both students. After the group's bassist and lead singer Tim Staffell departed in the spring of 1970, May and Taylor took on vocalist Freddie Mercury in April 1970 to form Queen. In 1971 John Deacon completed the lineup as bass guitarist.

Members:

Though Freddie Mercury's personality always dominated in the press, all four members of the group actually wrote huge hits:

- Freddie Mercury, vocals ('Bohemian Rhapsody')
- Brian May, guitars ('We Will Rock You')
- Roger Taylor, drums & percussion ('Radio Ga Ga')
- John Deacon, bass guitar ('Another One Bites the Dust')

Most of the group's albums contained at least one song written by each member, and though Mercury penned a lot of Queen's hits, he was by no means the dominant songwriter; indeed, the group considered themselves creative equals, and quiet bassist John Deacon wrote one of their biggest hits, 'Another One Bites the Dust.' In their later years, two or three or even all four band members commonly contributed to individual songs; after arguments over the attribution of these cooperative efforts, the band agreed to simply credit 'Queen' rather than single members.