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Brian May’s Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo voted Greatest of All Time
‘I am not worthy!’

BRIAN MAY's Queen Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo has been voted the greatest of all time, to which the star says he's not worthy.
By George Simpson
PUBLISHED: 11:51, Sat, Jan 16, 2021 | UPDATED: 12:02, Sat, Jan 16, 2021

Freddie Mercury’s Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the best-selling songs of all time; a risky six-minute suite that totally paid off. In fact, the Queen hit is the most-streamed song of the 20th century. And now Brian May’s Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo has been voted the greatest of all time by Total Guitar readers.

May beat the likes of Van Halen’s Eruption, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page in Stairway to Heaven and Eagles’ Joe Walsh in Hotel California.

The Queen guitarist took to his Instagram to celebrate the news, admitting he was quite surprised.

The 73-year-old wrote: “The Greatest Guitar Solo of All Time ?!! Wow ... (gulp) ...

“BIG thanks, all yous very kind Total Guitar readers !!! I am not worthy, but it’s much appreciated. Bri.”


Brian May’s Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo voted Greatest of All Time – ‘I am not worthy!’ (Image: GETTY)

Of course, Freddie Mercury wrote Bohemian Rhapsody’s lyrics, but the well-known guitar solo was May’s work.

Speaking with Total Guitar, the Queen legend said of the recording session: “Yeah I basically sang it.

“I regard the guitar in that situation as a voice. I could hear this melody and I had no idea where it came from.

“That melody isn’t anywhere else in the song, but it’s on a familiar chord sequence, so it dovetails in quite nicely.”

May continued: “And of course the job of the guitar solo is to bring that extra voice in, but then it’s a link into what everybody else now calls ‘the operatic section’. You know you’re into something very different.”

The 73-year-old was also asked if the Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo required multiple takes.

He said: “It came out very easily, I didn’t do many takes. It was one of those occasions where you do a few takes and then you go back and listen to the final one and the first one is almost exactly what you want.

“You just need to trim it a little bit and polish it up.”

Last summer, Total Guitar readers also voted Queen’s Brian May as the greatest guitarist of all time.

The 73-year-old topped the likes of Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page and even Jimi Hendrix.

At the time, he said: “I’m absolutely speechless. I’m blown away.I have to say it’s completely unexpected.


“Obviously I’m deeply touched that people feel that way about me.I’m not under any illusions that, technically, I’m even on the tree of great guitarists.”

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