The iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the British rock group Queen set the bar for rock and roll pieces in an operatic style. When it was first released, it was unlike anything anyone had ever heard before. In fact, most people who were alive and listening to the radio at that time remember where they were the first time they heard it. It was a delightful explosion of sound, and all of the beauty and majesty came together to perfectly combine several different music styles into one piece of music. No one could have done this except the writer of the piece, Queen frontman and lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. Honestly, few musicians have even tried to match it.
In the late 1960s, Freddie Mercury began writing what would become “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but he didn’t finish it until the 1970s. At that time, Queen released and recorded it. As they were writing it up and putting it all together, Queen lead guitarist Brian May describes the scene that occurred when Freddie burst into the studio with the song. Brian says that Freddie had “Bohemian Rhapsody” “all in his mind” before the band even sat down to write it. Apparently, Freddie had been writing down chords and lyrics on scraps of paper, including Post-It notes from Freddie’s dad’s office. All of these scraps of paper would turn into history and one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
Not only is “Bohemian Rhapsody” nearly impossible for musicians to replicate, but it’s a tough song to play on the piano. A fun fact is that the piano Freddie Mercury played on to record the song’s promo video was the very same concert grand piano that was used by Paul McCartney to record the Beatle’s hit “Hey Jude.” Recently, one young man was challenged to play “Bo-Rap” while he was playing piano at a mall. As he was sitting there playing and minding his own business at London’s busy St. Pancras International Station, an older man interrupted his playing and challenged him to play “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
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The older man didn’t know Cole Lam, but if he did, he’d have known that this youngster was quite at home at the piano and was ready to deliver. Cole is an accomplished songwriter, singer, and composer, and quite an amazing pianist as well. Here’s the best part of all: Cole is only 12 years old. To be fair, the older gentleman who challenged Cole to play “Bo-Rap” was utterly delighted with the performance, as was the rest of the crowd. Watch this amazing young man play his heart out below.
