Queen released “Bohemian Rhapsody” in 1975.
The song arrived on October 31, 1975, as the lead single from Queen’s fourth studio album, A Night at the Opera. Written by Freddie Mercury, it became one of rock music’s most distinctive recordings, combining a piano ballad, an operatic middle section, hard rock, and a reflective closing passage.
At approximately five minutes and 55 seconds, the track was unusually long for a pop single of its era. Some record executives worried that radio stations would reject it, but DJ Kenny Everett repeatedly played a copy on his program, increasing public demand before its official release.
The song topped the UK singles chart and became the 1975 Christmas number one. It was also re-released in 1991 after Mercury’s death, when it again reached number one in the United Kingdom. A common mix-up is confusing the song’s release year with the year of the album’s later chart success or its 1991 re-release; the original release was firmly in 1975.