Queen's “Bohemian Rhapsody” has been named the greatest No. 2 hit of all time by Billboard, topping a new ranking of the best songs in Hot 100 history that peaked at No. 2 without ever reaching the summit.
It took 17 years, the death of Freddie Mercury and an unforgettable scene in Wayne's World to send the song higher on the U.S. charts than it had ever been before.
Lady Gaga's “Bad Romance” landed at No. 2, followed by Missy Elliott's “Work It,” Prince and the Revolution's “Purple Rain” and Kelly Clarkson's “Since U Been Gone” to round out the Top 5.
That puts Queen atop a list containing songs widely considered among the defining recordings of their respective eras.
Released as the lead single from Queen's 1975 album A Night at the Opera, the nearly six-minute song became a sensation in the U.K., where it spent nine weeks at No. 1. Its initial American reception was considerably more modest. “Bohemian Rhapsody” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976.
'Wayne's World' Revived 'Bohemian Rhapsody' 17 Years Later
In 1992's Wayne's World, Wayne (Mike Myers), Garth (Dana Carvey) and their friends famously pile into an AMC Pacer and erupt into synchronized headbanging when the hard-rock section of “Bohemian Rhapsody” kicks in.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” ultimately climbed to No. 2 on the Hot 100 in May 1992, six months after Mercury's death. In what seems like an unbelievable bit of trivia, “Jump” by Kris Kross prevented it from reaching No. 1.
That remarkable second life is what ultimately made the song eligible for Billboard's new distinction.
Queen Was Warned 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Was Too Long
Mercury described the sprawling composition as a “mock opera” created by combining three songs he'd written. Queen recorded it with producer Roy Thomas Baker across five studios in August and September 1975. The elaborate production required extensive overdubbing, with tracks bounced through multiple generations of 24-track tape.
Not everyone thought radio listeners would embrace it.
He refused.
Instead, DJ Kenny Everett helped create enormous demand in Britain by repeatedly playing the song before it was even commercially available. According to Queen's Brian May in an interview with Blender, Everett helped himself to a copy of the song without anyone even knowing.
The gamble paid off.
And now the song that couldn't quite reach the top of the Hot 100, even after one of the most famous movie revivals in rock history, has found another way to be No. 1.
Related: 1975 Rock Epic Is Suddenly Climbing the Charts 51 Years Later
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