Queen

Queen has made a lasting impact on the world. This impact was due in some part to their music, but it was also due to vocalist Freddie Mercury's death. His death showed the power of AIDS as his death was due to the deadly disease. But Queen lives on.

In 1971, Mercury joined guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon to form Queen. Their first album, Queen, didn't yield that much success, but Queen II did, producing the hit "Killer Queen". The group climbed from there, producing hits such as "Another One Bites the Dust" (#1), "Bicycle Race", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", and "We Are the Champions". Queen also worked with David Bowie on "Under Pressure", which topped the U.K. charts but only reached #29 on the U.S. charts. The band also set a record that still stands: most paying fans to attend a concert by a single band. In 1981, 131,000 and 120,000 fans attended back-to-back concerts by Queen in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Unfortunately, Mercury died before Queen achieved more success, dying of AIDS-related causes in 1991. Queen was later inducted into the Rock Hall in 2001. Their hits "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" are sports anthems around the world. Queen's legacy will forever live.