We understand that queen He had some humor when he wrote the title An evening at the opera to his most famous album. We actually realized the next step A day at the races. But we understood it late, half wrong, when we could still associate An evening at the opera No to annoying formalities Bohemian Rhapsodybut to the film The Marx Brothers.
If it weren’t for this detail, Freddie Mercury and his band always seemed like Salesian monks with a strong desire to cross-dress who expected it New romance.
In 1975, Groucho Marx was a very old man. Without a mustache but with a cigar between his lips, he lived in a villa in Bel Air, Hollywood, with twelve bathrooms, which he used alternately and obediently. Groucho listened to jazz and classical music. He was too late to rock.
Yes, I had seen the Beatles at Shea Stadium in August 1966, but because they were the Beatles. Then he appeared with a clown named Alice Cooper on the cover of the magazine Rolling Stone. All his contact with young music.
When A night at the opera It climbed the charts and became one of the best-selling albums of 1976. The Four Queens had already been on stage for three years. They were great, at their best. Then laziness and the work dilemma mixed, and the next step was to do exactly what they could afford consecrated supergroup: experiment or more of the same. This level of freedom.
A day at the races, A day at the racesanother film title by the Marx Brothers, was the deciding factor for a musical decision. For Netflix, Queen’s fifth album was a sequel to the previous album, harmonically similar, with a mix of calculated heavy rock and operatic themes. The wink is that it starts with that gong that ended Bohemian Rhapsody.
A day at the racess was the sidecar of An evening at the opera. It came up for sale December 10, 1976. Again the Marxist influence.
Roger Taylorthe blonde drummer said yes, this album was that: the same musical universe in an immediately later time. A day at the races It started to make sense once they figured out the musical style of the successor to An evening at the opera. “We thought it fit in really well with some of the things we were still doing. For example, the kind of little opera fragments from Bohemian Rhapsody and such sequences. When we think of a title for the next album, A day at the racesChronologically speaking, it was the film that came after A night at the operaSo the choice was more than clear.”
The Marxes were released An evening at the opera In 1935 and A day at the races in 1937. The album cover concept with a delicate Victorian touch was designed by Freddie Mercury himself. Visually very similar to its predecessor. Like two sides of the same coin. Run, less extravagant than operahas (con)none Bohemian Rhapsody For example.
What Groucho really liked was this classical music. Tell him queen It was like calling it a “chair.” What caused a stir was discovering this Chair She sold millions of records, filled stadiums and, as a singer, had one of the most bizarre voices in fashion music. While the fans were buzzing Bohemian Rhapsody as if it were The waves and the windAlmost no one understood the cinematic complicity hidden in the band’s latest titles.
In other words, Queen caused a deep divide between generations.
The books do not explain how Groucho Marx knew about Queen. The specific thing is that he sent them a thank you telegram in his style: “Excellent and clever choice of titles”. After a short correspondence, a short but unforgettable meeting took place. In March 1977The band traveled to Los Angeles to perform at the Forum. Groucho, out 86 yearsHe was the only living Marx brother.
He invited her to his villa for tea. Tea for four. Was Freddie Mercury, Brian May And Roger Taylor. The bassist John Deacona pathologically shy person, decided to miss the appointment. When they arrived, Groucho no longer appeared in public, under medical supervision and with limited mobility. Freddie comes closer and gives it to him golden disc which they had received for selling 500,000 copies An evening at the opera.
“He would like to perform for you,” said Marx’s assistant. He remembered that Brian May in one Instagram Live. “Groucho leaned against the piano, she played and he sang one of his fantastic little songs.” He immediately cracked a few jokes and sat down. “Well, are you singers…? Sing!”. According to the Curler guitarist, they were petrified: “Oh no! What do we do now?” May apologized for not bringing her instrument. Groucho found out what the guy with hair curlers was playing and with a quick gesture had a guitar brought out. At the end they sang ’39 with harmonies and choruses.
Queen celebrated the farewell of A day at the races with a nice riding encounter. Groucho Marx died just five months later. The gold record was donated to an institution dedicated to scientific research.
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