A coronavirus-themed remake of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, written by Dana Jay Bein and performed by Adrian Grimes, became a YouTube hit last week, with numerous musicians also posting their own covers of cult '80s classics.
Adrian Grimes explained how music unites people – even when they are sitting in lockdown in their homes.
Sputnik: Why did you pick Bohemian Rhapsody? How difficult, technically, is it to remake a Queen song? Especially on the vocals.
Adrian Grimes: The choice of song was Dana's [Dana Jay Bein], he's a comedian from Cambridge, Massachusetts. I'm guessing it was just one of those inspired moments that artists get. That being said, some of the original lyrics are already so appropriate – "Mama, just killed a man..." Dana posted the words on Twitter and I thought they were wonderful I contacted him and asked his permission to record it.
Remaking anybody's song can be technically challenging. However, the music for this version actually comes from a really excellent free-access karaoke website and I think it had something to do with the US TV show called "Glee".
The vocals, which is what I performed (all parts) were also technically challenging, but I've been singing for years so it was "relatively" easy for me; it took me about eight hours in total. I've also been compared to Freddy Mercury in the past (I used to be a musician before changing careers in the 1990s and becoming a scientist), so I think I was able to manage a pretty good emulation.
Sputnik: Please tell us more about the recording process. Did you record at home under quarantine?
Adrian Grimes: It was recorded downstairs in my small basement studio. It wasn't exactly a quarantine, but we are on a Social Distancing Lockdown here in Madison, Wisconsin, so my wife and two daughters had to tolerate me singing strange operatic parts into the early hours of the morning!
Sputnik: Do you think other musicians will follow in your footsteps and start making pandemic-themed covers? How powerful is music in terms of shaping minds?
Adrian Grimes: It has already happened. There are literally hundreds of coronavirus songs out there now and some are exceptionally good. I'm lucky in that this one hit the right nerve at the right time. I think music is a very powerful way to get the message out and shape minds. I have heard from hundreds (if not thousands) of people – some who already have been infected by COVID-19 – and they have thanked me and Dana for doing this to raise awareness about how important it is for us to take this virus very seriously and to"flatten the curve". Any art form can be very powerful.
Sputnik: Do you think Freddie Mercury would have liked your version of Bohemian Rhapsody?
Adrian Grimes: I can only guess. I read somewhere that Freddy said, "You can use my music however you want, but please don't make it boring". Based on the comments I've received, hundreds have said that he'd be laughing or smiling down from heaven. My favourite comment under the YouTube video (it brought tears to my eyes) was "A virus took Freddy's life. A virus gave it back".
I'm amazed at how, in difficult times, people can be so kind.
