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Sir Brian Harold May, to give the celebrated Queen guitarist his full title, certainly knows his stuff when it comes to electric guitar performances. May's signature sound and innovative solos helped propel Queen to the status of stadium-filling giants. Classic tracks by the band, including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Are the Champions,” and “Another One Bites the Dust,” remain radio staples, beloved of fans across the generations.
But what’s May’s favorite guitar solo he’s ever played?
THE RED SPECIAL AND ERIC CLAPTON
May was born in 1947 in Hampton Hill in Richmond upon Thames, England. He co-founded Queen in 1970, after having earned himself a degree in Physics from Imperial College, London. Amazingly, the guitar that May used for numerous recordings and live performances, the 'Red Special', was hand-built by himself, with the aid of his engineer father, when May was just sixteen. The Red Special was constructed from recycled wood taken from an 18th-century fireplace. May played this guitar on countless Queen hits, propelling him to the top echelon of rock guitar players, frequently cited by his peers as one of the best to ever pick up the instrument.
With all that talent and experience, it's fascinating to hear May's own views on the best guitar solo he's ever heard. Speaking to the magazine Total Guitar, May singled out guitarist Eric Clapton's work on the song “Key to Love,” from the album John Mayall's Blues Breakers (with Eric Clapton). This was the debut album from that band, released in 1966. Clapton played a 1960 Gibson Les Paul for that session. Reflecting on Clapton's solo, May enthused: “It’s the hottest, burning, high-passion piece I’ve ever heard in my life – still to this day. I just love it. It totally rips, and I’ll never get over that. That’s one of my great inspirations. The whole track revolves around that solo. Every time I put it on, I’m just waiting... John Mayall’s great, but you’re waiting for that moment when Eric rips out, and suddenly he’s whacking into those top notes. It’s incredible. Absolutely spine-chilling.“
BRIAN MAY'S FAVORITE BRIAN MAY GUITAR SOLO
As for May's favourite solo of his own? The guitarist picked out a track from Queen's wonderful 1974 album, Sheer Heart Attack – the fantastic song “Killer Queen.” Said May: "It was something a bit more complex, an adventure in putting guitar harmonies into the solo. It was quite a step into the unknown, that solo, and it has a melody that I put in there which doesn’t appear anywhere else in the song.”