'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' by Queen: The making of the loved-up chart smash

2 February 2026, 11:50

Despite their reputation for proggy excess, Queen kept bashing out stunning hit singles.

The 1970s were a tumultuous time in music, taking in the death throes of The Beatles, the birth of disco, punk and hip-hop and the dawn of the electronic age, but in many ways the decade belonged to Queen.

From sharp pop singles like 'Killer Queen' to the epic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and stadium anthem 'We Are The Champions' they were a regular presence on the singles charts, while from Queen to Jazz they released a string of acclaimed albums.

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Despite their albums and live shows becoming increasingly ambitious and eclectic, Queen were never afraid of the classic three minute single.

And into the 1980s Queen continued to build on their success in both areas. Their eighth album The Game was the first to feature synthesiser and the band showed they were ready to take another decade by storm.

The lead single off the album snuck in just before the end of the '70s and was a glorious retro throwback that got them very much off on the right foot.

Who wrote 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'?

Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Official Video)

As they had for their first decade odd, on The Game Queen were happy to share the songwriting credits around – and not just on the album filler either.

The singles from the record included 'Save Me' (Brian May), 'Play The Game' (Freddie Mercury), 'Another One Bites The Dust' and 'Need Your Loving Tonight' (John Deacon).

First out the tracks was 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', which was one of the many (many) Freddie Mercury-written songs for Queen.

And while Freddie wasn't afraid of putting in the hours when it came to songwriting ('Bohemian Rhapsody' was a true labour of love), but 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' was a case of wham, bam, thank you ma'am.

"'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' took me five or ten minutes," Freddie told Melody Maker a year or so on about writing the song, apparently while in the bath at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich.

"I did that on the guitar, which I can't play for nuts, and in one way it was quite a good thing because I was restricted, knowing only a few chords.

"It's a good discipline because I simply had to write within a small framework. I couldn't work through too many chords and because of that restriction I wrote a good song, I think."

And as you can probably tell by the sound of the thing, the track was very influenced by and written in tribute to Freddie's rock 'n' roll heroes Elvis Presley and the British Elvis Cliff Richard.

Queen drag their feet getting it recorded, either, using just a few hours with new producer Reinhold Mack and with the finished song clocking in at two minutes and 42 seconds.

As well as singing lead (of course), Freddie even recorded some acoustic guitar on the song, a rare bit of musicianship on plastic from the frontman (he even strapped on an electric at Live Aid a few years down the line).

Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Live Aid 1985)

"Freddie picked up an acoustic guitar and said, 'Quick, let's do this before Brian comes'," Mack said of the quick studio sessions.

"About six hours later the track was done. The guitar solo was an overdub later on. Brian still hates me for making him use a Telecaster for the part."

The way Brian tells the story, he was happy to give the Fender a go rather than using his homemade Red Special.

"We were sitting around talking about what we were going to do with the song and I said that I thought it needed that period sound – the James Burton Tele sound," May said.

"I said to Mack that my guitar was pretty good at making a sound like a Tele, but he just looked at me and said, If you want it to sound like a Telecaster, why don’t you just use a Telecaster?

"Roger just happened to have this lovely old thing lying around, so I picked it up, plugged it in, and it worked."

So Roger Taylor was on drums, John Deacon played bass, Brian May overdubbed that Tele, and all four pitched in with the handclaps.

What are the lyrics to 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' all about?

Freddie's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is a layered, dense, complex, allusion-filled riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' is... not.

But its simplicity is very much its virtue, with the song's lyrics matching the sound – a straightforward rock 'n' roll romp about the power, grooviness and well, loveliness of love.

The thing about love is that it's hot to touch ("I can't handle it") and hard to grasp ("Shakes all over like a jellyfish").

Being a rock 'n' roll song it naturally also includes tales of motorbike riding and self-referential nod to the genre itself (his baby "knows how to rock and roll").

A down-the-line throwback that is just the right side of homage and with enough energy to feel as alive as the music that inspired it.

When was 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' released and where did it get in the charts?

In the UK, 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' was released as a single on October 12, 1979, with a live version of 'We Will Rock You' on the flip.

The US had to wait a little longer, with the song coming out on December 7, this time with a live take on 'Spread Your Wings' on the B-side.

'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' was one of the band's biggest hits, reaching number two in the UK where it stayed for a couple of weeks (only Dr Hook's all-conquering 'When You're In Love With a Beautiful Woman' kept it off the top).

Over in the US it did one better. It was the band's first Billboard Hot 100 charttopper, and it stayed at the summit for a massive four weeks.

'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' closed out the first side of The Game album, which was released on June 30, 1980. The album topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic.

Who has covered 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'?

Queen & Robert Plant - Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert)

Queen themselves have "covered" 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' a few times since Freddie Mercury's tragic death.

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant stepped for the performance a the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, and they've also played the song with Paul Rodgers and then Adam Lambert.

Michael Bublé - Crazy Little Thing Called Love at Madison Square Garden [Official Live Video]

When it comes to actual covers, there's been quite the range.

The Chipmunks, Frank Sidebottom, Dwight Yoakam, Michael Bublé, McFly, Showaddywaddy, Diana Ross (with Brian May), Kerry Ellis (also with Brain May!), Maroon 5, Lynda Carter and Lea Mead have all given it a go over the years, with admittedly varying results.