Flashback Fridays: We Will Rock You
As a child, evenings in my home were usually spent around the surround-sound stereo set in the living room, blasting the greatest hits of the past five decades as my sister and I choreographed each piece to performance worthy perfection. This music included Electric Light Orchestra, Jefferson Starship, Smash Mouth and the rock-opera grandeur of Queen. Particularly the inspiring "We Will Rock You."
Inspiration for the song came from guitarist Brian May, who wanted to write a piece about what Queen does best - rocking out at concerts. Written in 1977, "We Will Rock You" was often used as a show opener, as well as as a set list standard.
The steady rise of a guitar bedded behind the thick stomp-stomp clap-clap is both empowering and spine-chilling. Freddie Mercury's course delivery provides the song's satisfying rock tribute.
The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009, and the album it was released on, News of the World, is on the Rolling Stone's list of top 500 albums. The album itself went double platinum in the UK and quadruple platinum in the United States.
It has even endured as a recurring cultural staple in films. In the 1999 Medieval adventure flick "A Knight's Tale," the movie opens with a jousting match where attendees pound their fists, literally to the actual song.
But even taking away all that, "We Will Rock You" will continue to play throughout the next five decades and beyond.