Freddie Mercury (born September 5, 1946 – November 24, 1991) was a British singer-songwriter and producer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Queen.
As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range. As a songwriter, he composed many hits for Queen, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Killer Queen,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” and “We Are the Champions.” In addition to his work with Queen, he led a solo career, and also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. He died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS on November 24, 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease.
He has been voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music. In 2005, a poll organized by Blender and MTV2 saw Mercury voted the greatest male singer of all time. In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time. In 2009, a Classic Rock poll saw him voted the greatest rock singer of all time. AllMusic has characterized Mercury as “one of rock’s greatest all-time entertainers,” who possessed “one of the greatest voices in all of music.”