Brian May Says This Queen Song Was Heavily Inspired by Led Zeppelin
Brian May doesn’t have a problem admitting Queen was influenced by some of their peers. One of those peers, in particular, is Led Zeppelin, and there’s a specific song May…
Brian May doesn't have a problem admitting Queen was influenced by some of their peers. One of those peers, in particular, is Led Zeppelin, and there's a specific song May says was heavily inspired by Zeppelin.
May talked about this in an interview with Total Guitar saying "Now I'm Here" from the band's 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack was definitely inspired by "Black Dog".
The guitar icon said, "I owe a lot to Jimmy Page, of course – the master of the riff, and the master of getting lost deliberately in time signatures. I think that song was inspired, definitely, by the spirit of Zeppelin."
May adds, "All those wonderful things that are happening when Bonzo [John Bonham] is throwing in things which sound like they’re in a different time signature – that stuff has always fascinated me ... Those guys were not far ahead of us in age. But the first time we heard Zeppelin, we thought, 'Oh, my God, this is where we’re trying to get to, and they’re already there!'"
May adds that Queen also admired Zeppelin from a business standpoint as well. He said, "The way they handled their image, the integrity, the way they built their stage show – so many things. I suppose between Zeppelin and The Beatles and The Who, you would see where we came from. That was the kind of platform that we bounced off.
Queen is currently on hiatus from touring. However, they made sure to wish their social media followers a Happy Valentine's Day today and curated a playlist of their best love songs.
10 Most Listened-To Classic Rock Artists in the World
Classic rock might just be one of the most dominant forces in the world as evident by a study from Liberty Games.
The U.K.-based arcade/bar games company gathered data from YouTube Video Music Charts to determine several "most listed-to" figures. This data was collected between October 24-28, 2022 and spans the previous 12-month period. In addition to classic rock, other genres getting this data breakdown treatment included old-school hip-hop, old-school country and classical.
With the data, Liberty Games created a fun breakdown of the top ten most listened-to classic rock artists worldwide. Specifically, Liberty Games also identified the most listened-to classic rock acts in over 125 countries.
Keep scrolling to see the top ten most listened-to classic rock artists worldwide. (We'll also list which countries where they were streamed the most.) But first, some honorable mentions!
Honorable Mention: Chicago
Ian Showell/Keystone/Getty ImagesChicago didn't make the top ten, but they were the most listened-to classic rock artist in some surprising countries. Among those countries were Cuba, Jamaica, Barbados, Uganda and Oman.
Honorable Mention: Bruce Springsteen
Ilya S. Savenok/Getty ImagesThe Boss might be one of the most American artists ever, but he's not the most listened-to classic rock artist in the States. (More on that later.) However, he was the most listened-to classic rock artist in Norway and Namibia.
Honorable Mention: The Eagles
Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesYou know who loves to "Take It Easy"? The people of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Laos and Bahrain where the Eagles were the most listened-to classic rock artist.
Honorable Mention: Thin Lizzy
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesThere's apparently plenty of "Whiskey in the Jar" in Zimbabwe as Thin Lizzy was the most listened-to classic rock artist in the African nation.
Honorable Mention: Def Leppard
Mercury Records/Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty ImagesOur final honorable mention goes to Def Leppard who were the most listened-to classic rock act in Botswana.
10. Pink Floyd
MJ Kim/Getty ImagesPink Floyd had 494 million streams worldwide on YouTube. Believe it or not, they were the most listened-to classic rock act in just one country: Libya.
9. Creedence Clearwater Revival
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesCCR racked up 561 million streams on YouTube worldwide. However, Creedence wasn't the most listened-to classic rock act in any of the countries where YouTube streaming data was available.
8. The Rolling Stones
Scott Gries/Getty ImagesThe Stones garnered 571 million streams via YouTube worldwide. However, they, too, didn't get enough streams to be declared the most listened-to classic rock artist in the countries were streaming data was available.
7. The Beatles
John Pratt/Keystone/Getty ImagesThe Beatles netted 1.01 billion streams from the examined YouTube streaming data. Despite being one of the most influential artists of all time, they were the most listened-to classic rock artist in just one country: Japan.
6. Nirvana
Larry Busacca/Getty ImagesNirvana is in an interesting three-way tie in relation to streams. They received 1.05 billion streams per the YouTube data. There's no reasoning given for how the tie was broken. However, it should be noted that Nirvana didn't rank as any country's most listened-to classic rock artist.
5. Metallica
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesMetallica also received 1.05 billion streams, but they were the most listened-to classic rock artist in 6 countries. Among those countries were Bulgaria, Finland, Syria and Iran.
4. Bon Jovi
Theo Wargo/Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of FameBon Jovi came out on top of the big three-way tie of the 1.05 billion streams battle. They were the most listened-to classic rock artist in 16 countries. Those countries included Qatar, Vietnam, Kenya, Madagascar, Indonesia and Belize.
3. AC/DC
Newsmakers/Getty ImagesAC/DC is tied with the number two artist on this list with 1.33 billion streams. They were the most listened-to classic rock band in 14 countries. Among them are the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Germany and, of course, the band's native country of Australia.
2. Guns N' Roses
Amy Sussman/Getty Images for StagecoachGN'R racked up 1.33 billion streams from the examined YouTube data. They were the most listened-to classic rock act in 8 countries which include Brazil, Thailand, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
1. Queen
Keystone/Getty ImagesQueen is truly classic rock royalty. Per the YouTube streaming data, they racked up 1.86 billion streams and were the most listened-to classic rock artist in a staggering 63 countries! Among them are the band's native United Kingdom, Russia, Mexico, Egypt, Peru, Ireland and many more.
