1979 Chart-Topper, Written in 5 Minutes, Paid Tribute to Elvis Presley

Queen's first U.S. number one single came surprisingly late for the now-legendary British rock band, but perhaps fittingly, its inspiration was rooted in frontman Freddie Mercury's admiration for Elvis Presley, the musical icon and ultimate symbol of Americana.

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love," the October 1979 single off the band's eighth studio album, The Game, came just two years after the King of Rock and Roll's sudden and tragic death at the age of 42 in August 1977. The obvious parallels to Presley, from Mercury's vocal impersonation to its 50s Rockabilly-style chord progressions, came instantly to the late singer, who put the song together in minutes, and ended up with a hit that dominated the Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks.

"The first thing we did was Crazy Little Thing," Queen drummer Roger Taylor said to uDiscover Musicin 2021. "Fred did write the song in the bath in about ten minutes." The band's guitarist, Brian May added "It's Freddie's tribute to Elvis, in a way, he was very fond of Elvis, and of Cliff I have to say, also. Yeah, Freddie wrote it very quickly and rushed in and put it down with the boys."

Mercury corroborated this version of events in his lifetime, telling Melody Makerin 2021 "'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' took me five or ten minutes. I did that on the guitar, which I can't play for nuts." While not a guitarist by trade, the singer credited the tribute inspiration of the song, as well as his simplistic guitar knowledge, as two major ingredients for the song's success.

"In one way it was quite a good thing because I was restricted, knowing only a few chords," Freddie continued. "It's a good discipline because I simply had to write within a small framework. I couldn't work through too many chords and because of that restriction I wrote a good song, I think."

A departure in style for Queen, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was an opportunity for Mercury in particular to show off his vocal prowess in an unconventional way, perfectly replicating Presley's vocals without losing his own signature power or style. While remarkably simple in its composition, the song manages to be more than the sum of its parts, offering the band an opportunity to showcase their talents with their signature British campiness and wit.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 2:19 PM.