One of Queen’s Biggest Hits Was Written in “Five to 10 Minutes” and Inspired by a Bath

In 1979, Queen released “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. Written by Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is part of their eighth studio album, The Game.

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” remains one of Queen’s most popular—and most covered—songs. The feel-good chorus says, “This thing called love / I just can’t handle it / This thing called love / I must get ’round to it / I ain’t ready / Crazy little thing called love.”

Mercury is the writer behind a lot of Queen songs. But unlike some of Queen’s other hits penned by Mercury, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” was written in record time. The idea, perhaps surprisingly, came to Mercury while he was taking a bath.

“’Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ took me five or 10 minutes,” Mercury later recalls. “I did that on the guitar, which I can’t play for nuts, and in one way it was quite a good thing because I was restricted, knowing only a few chords. It’s a good discipline because I simply had to write within a small framework.”

The Story Behind “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” by Queen

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” was written well before the rest of The Game, becoming the most pivotal song on the record.

“We recorded that song, really, six months before the rest of the album,” band member Roger Taylor reveals.

“It took half an hour to record,” he continues. “I remember [Mercury] came in the studio. He says, ‘My dear, I just wrote this in the bath,’ and he did. He’d just been lying in the bath, and there it was. It was very simple, very easy, and it had a great fresh sound to it.”

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” became a four-week No. 1 hit for Queen. Interestingly, after “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, Queen only had one more No. 1 single in the United States. In 1980, Queen released “Another One Bites The Dust”. Although they had many more hit singles, that song is their final single to reach the top of the charts in the States.

Other artists who put their own spin on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” include Michael Bublé, Diana Ross, Juice Newton, and Rihanna, among others. In 1999, Dwight Yoakam had a Top 20 hit with his version of this song. Yoakam’s take on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” also became his last big radio hit.

Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns

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