Died On This Date (November 24, 1991) Freddie Mercury / Queen
themusicsover Freddie Mercury (Born Farrokh Bulsara)
September 5, 1946 – November 24, 1991
Born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Freddie Mercury would become one of rock’s most beloved and dynamic performers as the lead singer of Queen. When Mercury was 17, he and his family fled Zanzibar to London due to the Zanzibar Revolution. Mercury had been performing in bands since his school days, and he wasn’t about to stop when he got to London. When he graduated from college in the late ’60s, he played in a handful of bands until he joined up with Brian May and Roger Taylor and later John Deacon, in what would soon be called Queen. The band became one of the biggest musical acts during the ’70s and ’80s thanks in part to Mercury’s operatic voice and jaw dropping showmanship. One show in particular, Queen’s comeback of sorts during the Live Aid concerts of 1985, has been called the greatest live performance in the history of rock music. Mercury wrote many of the band’s biggest hits, including “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” “We Are The Champions,” “Killer Queen,” and arguably their greatest, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In the spring of 1987, Mercury was reportedly diagnosed with AIDS, though it wouldn’t be officially announced publicly until November 23, 1991. Freddie Mercury died the next day of bronchial pneumonia as a result of AIDS.
What You Should Own
Kenny MacLean is best remembered as the bassist for Canadian new wave band, Platinum Blonde. Initially formed as a Police tribute band, Platinum Blonde went on to become one Canada’s most popular bands of the the era, selling in the multi-platinum status and earning two Juno nominations. During the ’90s, MacLean released a couple of solo albums and earned a Most Promising Male Vocalist Juno nomination. He went into music education during the 2000s, forming his own teaching academy in 2006. Kenny MacLean, 52, died of natural causes related to his heart on November 24, 2008.
Michael Lee was a respected English drummer who, after a short career as the with ’90s rock band, Little Angels, began recording and touring with many of the era’s greatest musicians. His first gig of magnitude came in 1991 when he toured as part of the Cult’s band. In 1993, he began working with Robert Plant on record and on tour. That lead to a Led Zeppelin reunion of sorts when Plant began collaborating with Jimmy Page as Page and Plant. While working with Plant, Lee co-wrote “Please Read the Letter” which won a Grammy for Plant and Alison Krauss in 2009. Throughout his career, Lee also collaborated with a reconfigured Thin Lizzy, Quireboys, Lenny Kravitz, Ian Gillan, and Echo & The Bunnymen. Michael Lee died of an epileptic seizure in his home at the age of 39.