According to Mercury's friend Chris Smith (a keyboard player in Smile), Mercury first started developing "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the late 1960s; Mercury used to play parts of songs he was writing at the time on the piano, and one of

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"Bohemian Rhapsody" has been affiliated to the genres of progressive rock (sometimes called symphonic rock), hard rock, and progressive pop. The song is highly unusual for a

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The New York Timescommented that "the song's most distinct feature is the fatalistic lyrics". Mercury refused to explain his composition other than to say it was about relationships; the band is still protective of the song's secret. Brian May supports suggestions that

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When the band wanted to release the single in 1975, various executives suggested to them, that at 5 minutes and 55 seconds it was too long, and would never be a hit. The song

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Although the song has become one of the most revered in popular music history, the initial critical reaction was mixed. The UK music papers reacted with

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Musical impact
In 1976, when asked for his opinion on "Bohemian Rhapsody", the Beach Boys' leader Brian Wilsonpraised the song as "the most competitive thing that's come along in ages" and "a fulfillment and an answer to a teenage prayer—of

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Though some artists had made video clips to accompany songs (including Queen themselves; for example, their earlier singles "Keep Yourself Alive", "Liar", "Seven Seas of Rhye" and "Killer Queen" already had "pop promos", as they were known at the time), it was only after

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