Writer: Freddie Mercury
Producers: Queen and Rheinhardt Mack
Recorded: Summer 1979 at Musicland studios in Munich, Germany
Released: June 1980
| Players: | Freddie Mercury — vocals Brian May — guitar, vocals Roger Deacon — bass Roger Meddows-Taylor — drums, vocals |
| Album: | The Game (Elektra) |
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” marked a departure from Queen's usual pop bombast, instead embracing a spare rockabilly style. Drummer Roger Meddows-Taylor said, “It's not rockabilly, exactly, but it did have that early Elvis (Presley) feel, and it was one of the first records to exploit that.”
Taylor also responded to one legend that's grown around the song: “I read somewhere… that John Lennon heard it and it gave him the impetus to start recording again. If that's true — and listen to the last album (Double Fantasy) it certainly sounds as if he explored similar influences — that's wonderful.”
Freddie Mercury wrote the song while in the bathtub.
Elektra Records initially didn't plan to release “Crazy Little Thing…” as a single, but U.S. radio stations began playing import copies of the song to such an extent that the label had to release it here. It wound up coming out six months before the album, an atypically long lead time.
“Crazy Little Thing…” hit Number One not only in the U.S. but also in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Holland, and Mexico.
It only reached Number Two in the U.K., however.
Guitarist Brain May was amused by the song's success: “We're not a singles group. We don't stake our reputation on singles and we never have done, but I think it's brought in a lot of younger people to our concerts.”
Prior to the release of the The Game, Mercury danced with the Royal Ballet Of England as part of a benefit performance on October 7th, 1979. He performed dance interpretations of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the then-new “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
Besides hitting Number One on the Billboard 200 chart, The Game was also a million-seller.