Music
While Queen and Led Zeppelin rose to fame around the same time, Queen guitarist Brian May still says Zeppelin had a heavy influence on them
Published on February 13, 2023
2 min readQueen was a unique band due to their fantastic instrumentation and astounding vocals that emerged from frontman Freddie Mercury. Like most bands, Queen still had several rock influences, including Led Zeppelin, who also skyrocketed in popularity during the 1970s. Queen guitarist Brian May is unashamed to admit they were influenced by the band and revealed that one of their songs did sound similar to another Led Zeppelin track.
Brian May admits Queen was influenced by Led Zeppelin
In an interview with Total Guitar, Brian May recalled the first time he and Queen listened to Led Zeppelin. The guitarist said they were filled with emotions of jealousy and panic because Zeppelin had already achieved the sound they were aiming for. They felt like they were falling behind.
“Those guys were not far ahead of us in age, but the first time we heard Zeppelin, we thought, ‘Oh, my God, this is where we’re trying to get to, and they’re already there!’” May shared. “So, in a sense, there were times when we felt like we’d missed the boat. Like we wouldn’t be able to get our stuff out there.”
May did say Queen wanted their music to be more “harmonic and melodic,” but they were still influenced by the way Led Zeppelin carried themselves and handled their business.
“I would never be ashamed to say that Zeppelin were a huge influence on us, not just musically, but also in the way they handled themselves in the business, without compromising,” May added. “The way they handled their image, the integrity, the way they built their stage show – so many things. I suppose between Zeppelin and The Beatles and The Who, you would see where we came from. That was the kind of platform that we bounced off.”
May said ‘Now I’m Here’ took inspiration from ‘Black Dog’
During the interview, May was asked about the similarities between Queen’s “Now I’m Here” and Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog.” He said the song was inspired by the “spirit of Led Zeppelin,” and that his guitar-playing on the track came from riffs he heard by Jimmy Page.
“I owe a lot to Jimmy Page, of course – the master of the riff, and the master of getting lost deliberately in time signatures,” May recalled. “I think that song was inspired, definitely, by the spirit of Zeppelin. All those wonderful things that are happening when Bonzo [Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham] is throwing in things which sound like they’re in a different time signature – that stuff has always fascinated me.”
‘Now I’m Here’ didn’t reach the same success as ‘Black Dog’
“Black Dog” released in 1971 as the opening track on Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth album. It’s regarded as one of Zeppelin’s greatest songs and reached No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. “Now I’m Here” was released three years later and notably had similar hardcore riffs.
While the track didn’t have a fantastic performance on the charts, it became a favorite for the band to perform live. It was brought back over 40 years later when the band went on the Queen + Adam Lambert Tour in 2014.
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