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ComedySportz Austin performing a shortform game based on direction from the audience with the help of Red Dirt Improv; in this case spoofing a hard rock band performing a song made up on the stage

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or new ways to act. This invention cycle occurs most effectively when the practitioner has a thorough intuitive and technical understanding of the necessary skills and concerns within the improvised domain. Improvisation can be thought of as an "on the spot" or "off the cuff" spontaneous activity.

The skills of improvisation can apply to many different abilities or forms of communication and expression across all artistic, scientific, physical, cognitive, academic, and non-academic disciplines. For example, improvisation can make a significant contribution in music, dance, cooking, presenting a speech, sales, personal or romantic relationships, sports, flower arranging, martial arts, psychotherapy, and much more. Techniques of improvisation are widely trained in the entertainment arts; for example, music, theatre and dance. To "extemporize" or "ad lib" is basically the same as improvising. Colloquial terms such as "let's play it by the ear", "take it as it comes", and "make it up as we go along" are all used to describe "improvisation".

The simple act of speaking requires a good deal of improvisation because the mind is addressing its own thought and creating its unrehearsed delivery in words, sounds and gestures, forming unpredictable statements that feed back into the thought process (the performer as listener), creating an enriched process that is not unlike instantaneous composition [with a given set or repertoire of elements].^[1]

Where the improvisation is intended to solve a problem on a temporary basis, the "proper" solution being unavailable at the time, it may be known as a stop-gap. This particularly applies to engineering improvisations.

Music[link]

Improvisation is usually defined as the composition of music while simultaneously singing or playing an instrument. In other words, the art of improvisation can be understood as composing music "on the fly". Improvisation can take place as a solo performance, or interdependently in ensemble with other players. When done well, it often elicits gratifying emotional responses from the audience. One notable improvisational pianist is Franz Liszt. The origins of Liszt's improvisation in an earlier tradition of playing variations on a theme were mastered and epitomized by Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Other notable improvisational musicians include: Keith Jarrett, an improvisational jazz pianist and multi-instrumentalist who has performed many completely improvised concerts all over the world; Derek Bailey, an improvisational guitarist; and Eugene Friesen, an improvisational cellist.

Improvised freestyle rap is commonly practiced as a part of rappers' creative processes, as a "finished product" for release on recordings (when the improvisation is judged good enough), as a spiritual event, as a means of verbal combat in battle rap, and, simply, for fun. It often incorporates insults similar to those in the African-American game the dozens, and complex rhythmic and sometimes melodic forms comparable to those heard in jazz improvisation.

A few pianists^[who?] have given modern recitals of improvisation in the baroque style. An example of an improvisational pianist in the style of baroque improvisation was Glenn Gould^{[citation needed]}. There have also been a few other exceptional improvised solo piano concerts^[who?] in Stuttgart, Southern Germany in the 1990s.

In the realm of silent film music, there are also a small number of musicians whose work has been recognized as exceptional by critics, scholars and audiences alike; these include Neil Brand and John Sweeney, among others who are all performers at "Le Giornate del Cinema Muto", the annual conference on silent film in Pordenone, Italy. Their performances must match the style and pacing of those films which they accompany and the knowledge of a wide range of musical styles is required, as well as the stamina to play for films which occasionally run more than three hours in length, without a pause.

Theatre[link]

The Ligue d'improvisation montréalaise (LIM) is a league of improvisational theater based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Dance[link]

Dance improvisation as a choreographic tool: Improvisation is used as a choreographic tool in dance composition. Experimenting with the concepts of shape, space, time, and energy while moving without inhibition or cognitive thinking can create unique and innovative movement designs, spatial configuration, dynamics, and unpredictable rhythms. Improvisation without inhibition allows the choreographer to connect to their deepest creative self, which in turn clears the way for pure invention.

Contact improvisation: a form developed in 1973, that is now practiced around the world. Contact improvisation originated from the movement studies of Steve Paxton in the 1970s and developed through the continued exploration of the Judson Dance Theater. It is a dance form based on sharing weight, partnering, playing with weight and unpredictable outcomes.

Comedy[link]

Improvisational comedy is a theater art performed throughout the world and has had on-again, off-again status throughout history.

Some of the more famous improv theaters and training centers in the world include: i.O. (formerly ImprovOlympic) in Chicago and Los Angeles, The Second City in Chicago and Toronto, The Players Workshop in Chicago, National Comedy Theatre in San Diego, New York and Phoenix, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Peoples Improv Theater, Eight is NEVER Enough in New York City, the Groundlings, BATS Improv in San Francisco, Wing-It Productions in Seattle, Philly Improv Theater in Philadelphia], Dudley Riggs BraveNew Workshop in Minneapolis, ComedySportz in Milwaukee, Washington Improv Theater in Washington D.C., and Theatresports in Calgary, Canada.

There are also many well known university improv teams, including Theatre Strike Force at the University of Florida.

Notable pioneers in the field of improvisation, comedic or otherwise, include Viola Spolin, Paul Sills, David Shepherd, Del Close, Josephine Forsberg, Stan Wells, Gary Austin, Martin de Maat, and Keith Johnstone. Notable performers include: Paul Merton, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Robert Townsend, Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, Ross Noble, Wayne Brady, Jonathan Winters, Bill Chott, and Gil Christner.

Poetry[link]

Traditional epic poetry included improvisation moments where the reciter flattered the audience (especially the authorities) or to substitute a forgotten passage. There are also societies that value improvised poetry as a genre, often as a debate or "poetic joust", where improvisators compete for public approval. Some of these impromptu poems are later recorded in paper or transmitted orally.^{[citation needed]}

Some of these forms also include humour. But Michel Ducom established himself within Bordeaux poetical improvisation movement in the 1990s but has since composed and performed with a wide range of poets working in diverse poetical areas (Bernat Manciet, Serge Pey, Méryl Marchetti…). The emergence of poetical improvisation, like previous developments in French poetry, was largely tied to the free jazz experience.^{[citation needed]}

Sculpture[link]

Sculpture often relies on the enlargement of a small model or maquette to create the final work in a chosen material. Where the material is plastic such as clay, a working structure or armature often needs to be built to allow the pre-determined design to be realized. Alan Thornhill's method for working with clay abandons the maquette,^[2] seeing it as ultimately deadening to creativity.^[3] Without the restrictions of the armature, a clay matrix of elements allows that when recognisable forms start to emerge, they can be essentially disregarded by turning the work, allowing for infinite possibility and the chance for the unforeseen to emerge more powerfully at a later stage.

Moving from adding and taking away to purely reductive working, the architectural considerations of turning the work are eased considerably but continued removal of material through the rejection of forms deemed too obvious can mean one ends up with nothing. Former pupil Jon Edgar uses Thornhill's method as a creative extension to direct carving in stone and wood.

Film[link]

The director Mike Leigh uses lengthy improvisations developed over a period of weeks to build characters and story lines for his films. He starts with some sketch ideas of how he thinks things might develop but does not reveal all his intentions with the cast who discover their fate and act out their responses as their destinies are gradually revealed, including significant aspects of their lives which will not subsequently be shown onscreen. The final filming draws on dialogue and actions that have been recorded during the improvisation period.

The film company ACT 2 CAM uses improvisation to create the characters, contexts and plot for their films. Improvisation also forms a large part of the final filmed product.

Television[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Improvisation was originally rarely used on dramatic television. A major exception was the situation comedy Mork and Mindy where star Robin Williams, famed for this kind of performing, was allotted specific sections in each episode where he was allowed to perform freely.

In the 1990s, a TV show called Whose Line Is It Anyway? popularized shortform comedic improvisation; the original version aired on British television, but it was later revived and popularized in the United States, with Drew Carey as its host. With improvisation becoming a more common aspect of television, there have been television shows which have garnered great success by utilizing partial improvisation to create longer-form programs with more dramatic flavor while some shows are completely improvised in terms of lines, including: The Office, Parks and Recreation, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Significant Others, The Loop, Sons & Daughters, 10 Items or Less, Dog Bites Man, Halfway Home, Reno 911!,The League, Free Ride, Campus Ladies, Players, and After Lately.

In Canada, the Global Television soap opera Train 48, based on the Australian series Going Home, uses a form of structured improvisation, in which actors improvise dialog from written plot outlines. Australia's Thank God You're Here is a game show where celebrities are put into scenes they know nothing about and have to improvise.

Engineering[link]

Improvisation in engineering is to solve a problem with the tools and materials immediately at hand. A classic example of such improvisation was the re-engineering of carbon dioxide scrubbers with the materials on hand during the Apollo 13 space mission.

Engineering improvisations may be needed because of emergencies, embargo, obsolescence of a product and the loss of manufacturer support, or just a lack of funding appropriate for a better solution.

The popular television program MacGyver used as its gimmick a hero who could solve almost any problem with jury rigged devices from everyday materials, a Swiss Army knife and some duct tape.

• 

  SAGEM myX-55 mobile phone with very strong signs of use that, despite widespread use as a bottle opener, is still functional

• 

  "Improvised shield" JTF-GTMO authorities report was used to attack guards on May 18, 2006.

Improvised weapons[link]

Improvised weapons are often used by guerrillas, insurgents and criminals as conventional weapons may be unavailable. Such weapons vary in sophistication from simple sharpened sticks, to petrol bombs and homemade napalm, to IEDs and makeshift bomber aircraft.

See also[link]

• Music for People

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Abbot, John. 2009. Improvisation in Rehearsal. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-85459-523-2.
• Abbot, John. 2007. The Improvisation Book. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-85459-961-2.
• Johnston, Chris. 2006. The Improvisation Game: Discovering the Secrets of Spontaneous Performance. Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-85459-668-0.
• Madson, Patricia Ryan. 2005. "Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up". Bell Tower Books. ISBN 1-4000-8188-2.
• Nachmanovitch, Stephen. 1990. Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art. Penguin/Tarcher. ISBN 0-87477-578-7 (cloth); ISBN 0-87477-631-7 (pbk).

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Improvisation

Look up improvisation or stop-gap in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Improvisation at the Open Directory Project
• Critical studies in improvisation

Victor Borge
Victor Borge in 1990
Born	(1909-01-03)3 January 1909 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	23 December 2000(2000-12-23) (aged 91) Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
Occupation	Classical pianist, entertainer, comedian, humorist

Victor Borge ( /ˈbɔrɡə/ BOR-gə; 3 January 1909 – 23 December 2000),^[1] born Børge Rosenbaum, was a Danish and American comedian, conductor and pianist, affectionately known as The Clown Prince of Denmark,^[2] The Unmelancholy Dane,^[3] and The Great Dane.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life and career[link]

Borge was born Børge Rosenbaum in Copenhagen, Denmark, into a Jewish family. His parents, Bernhard and Frederikke Rosenbaum, were both musicians—his father a violist in the Royal Danish Orchestra^[5] and his mother a pianist.^[6] Like his mother, Borge began piano lessons at the age of two, and it was soon apparent that he was a prodigy. He gave his first piano recital when he was eight years old, and in 1918 was awarded a full scholarship at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, studying under Olivo Krause. Later on, he was taught by Victor Schiøler, Liszt's student Frederic Lamond, and Busoni's pupil Egon Petri.

Borge played his first major concert in 1926 at the Danish concert-hall Odd Fellow Palæet (The Odd Fellow's Lodge building). After a few years as a classical concert pianist, he started his now famous "stand up" act, with the signature blend of piano music and jokes. He married American Elsie Chilton in 1933, the same year he debuted with his revue acts.^[7] Borge started touring extensively in Europe, where he began telling anti-Nazi jokes.

When the Nazis occupied Denmark during World War II, Borge was playing a concert in Sweden, and managed to escape to Finland.^[8] He traveled to America on the USS American Legion, the last neutral ship to make it out of Petsamo, Finland,^[9] and arrived 28 August 1940, with only 20 dollars (equal to $332 today), with $3 (equal to $49.77 today) going to the customs fee. Disguised as a sailor, Borge returned to Denmark once during the occupation to visit his dying mother.^[10]

Move to America[link]

Even though Borge did not speak a word of English upon arrival, he quickly managed to adapt his jokes to the American audience, learning English by watching movies. He took the name of Victor Borge, and, in 1941, he started on Rudy Vallee's radio show,^[11] but was hired soon after by Bing Crosby for his Kraft Music Hall.^[12]

From then on, fame rose quickly for Borge, who won Best New Radio Performer of the Year in 1942. Soon after the award, he was offered film roles with stars such as Frank Sinatra (in Higher and Higher). While hosting The Victor Borge Show on NBC beginning in 1946,^[13] he developed many of his trademarks, including repeatedly announcing his intent to play a piece but getting "distracted" by something or other, making comments about the audience, or discussing the usefulness of Chopin's "Minute Waltz" as an egg timer.^[14] Or he would start out with some well-known classical piece like Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and suddenly move into a harmonically suitable pop or jazz tune like Cole Porter's "Night and Day" or "Happy Birthday to You".

Borge's style[link]

Among Borge's other famous routines is the "Phonetic Punctuation" routine, in which he recites a story, with full punctuation (comma, period, exclamation mark, etc.) as exaggerated onomatopoeic sounds.^[15] Another is his "Inflationary Language", where he incremented numbers embedded in words, whether they are visible or not ("once upon a time" becomes "twice upon a time", "wonderful" becomes "twoderful", "forehead" becomes "fivehead", "tennis" becomes "elevennis", "I ate a tenderloin with my fork and so on and so forth" becomes "'I nine an elevenderloin with my five'k' and so on and so fifth").^[16]

Borge used physical and visual elements in his live and televised performances. He would play a strange-sounding piano tune from sheet music, looking increasingly confused; turning the sheet upside down, he would then play the actual tune, flashing a joyful smile of accomplishment to the audience (he had, at first, been literally playing the actual tune upside down). When his energetic playing of another song would cause him to fall off the piano bench, he would open the seat lid, take out the two ends of an automotive seat belt, and buckle himself onto the bench, "for safety." Conducting an orchestra, he might stop and order a violinist who had played a sour note to get off the stage, then resume the performance and have the other members of the section move up to fill the empty seat while they were still playing. From off stage would come the sound of a gunshot. His musical sidekick in the 1950s, Leonid Hambro, was a well-known concert pianist. In 1968, classical pianist Şahan Arzruni joined him as his straight man, performing together on one piano a version of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, considered a musical-comedic classic.^[17]

He also enjoyed interacting with the audience. Seeing an interested person in the front row, he would ask them, "Do you like good music?" or "Do you care for piano music?" After an affirmative answer, Borge would take a piece of sheet music from his piano and say, "Here is some", and hand it over. After the audience's laughter died down, he would say, "That'll be $1.95" (or whatever the current price might be). He would then ask whether the audience member could read music; if the member said yes, he would ask a higher price. If he got no response from the audience after a joke, he would often add "...when this ovation has died down, of course". The delayed punch line to handing the person the sheet music would come when he would reach the end of a number and begin playing the penultimate notes over and over, with a puzzled look. He would then go back to the person in the audience, retrieve the sheet music, tear off a piece of it, stick it on the piano, and play the last couple of notes from it.

Making fun of modern theater, he would sometimes begin a performance by asking if there were any children in the audience. There always were, of course. He would sternly order them out, then say, "We do have some children in here that means I can't do the second half in the nude. I'll wear the tie. (pause) The long one. (pause) The very long one, yes."^[18]

In his stage shows in later years, he would include a segment with opera singer Marilyn Mulvey. She would try to sing an aria, and he would react and interrupt, with such antics as falling off the bench in "surprise" when she hit a high note. He would also remind her repeatedly not to rest her hand on the piano. After the routine, the spotlight would fall upon Mulvey and she would sing a serious number with Borge accompanying in the background.

Later career[link]

The footstone of Victor Borge

Borge appeared on Toast of the Town hosted by Ed Sullivan several times during 1948. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States the same year. He started the Comedy in Music show at John Golden Theatre in New York City on 2 October 1953. Comedy in Music became the longest running one-man show in the history of theater with 849 performances when it closed on 21 January 1956, a feat which placed it in the Guinness Book of World Records.^[19]

Continuing his success with tours and shows, Borge played with and conducted orchestras including Chicago Symphony Orchestra,^[20] the New York Philharmonic^[21] and London Philharmonic.^[22] Always modest, he felt honored when he was invited to conduct the Royal Danish Orchestra at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992.

His later television appearances included his "Phonetic Punctuation" routine on The Electric Company in a filmed sketch; he would also use it on the record to follow during the "Punctuation" song. He appeared several times on Sesame Street^[23] and was a guest star during the fourth season^[24] of The Muppet Show.^[25]

Victor Borge continued to tour until his last days, performing up to 60 times per year when he was 90 years old.

Other endeavors[link]

Borge made several appearances on the long-running TV show What's My Line?, both as a celebrity panelist, and as a contestant with the occupation "poultry farmer"; Starting in the 1950s, as a businessman, Borge raised and popularized Rock Cornish hens.^[26]

Borge helped start several trust funds, including the Thanks to Scandinavia Fund,^[27] which was started in dedication to those who helped the Jews escape the German persecution during the war.^[28]

Aside from his musical work, Borge wrote three books, My Favorite Intermissions^[29] and My Favorite Comedies in Music^[30] (both with Robert Sherman), and the autobiography Smilet er den korteste afstand ("The Smile is the Shortest Distance") with Niels-Jørgen Kaiser.^[31]

Family[link]

He married his first wife, Elsie Chilton, in 1933. After divorcing Elsie, he married Sarabel Sanna Scraper in 1953, and they stayed married until her death at the age of 83 in September 2000.^[32]

Borge fathered five children (who occasionally performed with him): Ronald Borge and Janet Crowle with Elsie Chilton, and Sanna Feirstein, Victor Bernhard (Vebe) Jr., and Frederikke (Rikke) Borge with Sarabel.^[33]

Death[link]

Borge died in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 91, after more than 75 years of entertaining. He died peacefully in his sleep a day after returning from a concert in Denmark. "It was just his time to go", Frederikke Borge said. "He's been missing my mother terribly."^[34] According to his wish, to mark his connection to both the United States and Denmark a part of Victor Borge's ashes is interred at Putnam Cemetery in Greenwich, with a replica of Danish icon The Little Mermaid sitting on a large rock at the gravesite, the other part in Western Jewish Cemetery (Mosaisk Vestre Begravelsesplads), Copenhagen, Denmark.^[35]

Legacy[link]

Borge received an honorary degree from Trinity College, Hartford in 1997.^[36]

When in 1998 the Royal Danish Orchestra celebrated its 550th anniversary, Borge was appointed an honorary member^[37] – at that time one of only 10 in the orchestra's history.^[38]

Borge received Kennedy Center Honors in 1999.^[39]

Victor Borge Hall,^[40] located in Scandinavia House in New York City, was named in Borge's honor in 2000, as was Victor Borges Plads ("Victor Borge Square") in Copenhagen in 2002.^[41] Celebrating Borge's Centennial in 2009 a statue was erected on the square.^[42]

Victor Borge: A Centennial Celebration[link]

From 23 January to 9 May 2009, the life of Borge was celebrated by The American-Scandinavian Foundation with "Victor Borge: A Centennial Celebration."

A television special about his life, 100 Years of Music and Laughter, aired on PBS on 14 March 2009.^[43]

Discography[link]

• Phonetic Punctuation Parts 1 and 2 (1945, Columbia Records 36911, 78 rpm)^[44][45]
• The Blue Serenade / A Lesson in Composition (1945, Columbia Records 36912, 78 rpm)^[44][45]
• Brahms’ Lullaby / Grieg Rhapsody (1945, Columbia Records 36913, 78 rpm)^[44]
• A Mozart Opera by Borge / All The Things You Are (1945, Columbia Records 36914, 78 rpm)^[44]
• A Victor Borge Program (1946, Columbia Album C-111, 4 discs 78 rpm – a set containing the four previous releases)^[46]
• Unstarted Symphony / Bizet's Carmen (1947, Columbia Records 38181, 78 rpm)^[47]
• Intermezzo / Stardust (1947, Columbia Records 38182, 78 rpm)^[47]
• Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 / Inflation Language (1947, Columbia Records 38183, 78 rpm)^[47]
• Clair de Lune / Vuggevise (1947, Columbia Records 38184, 78 rpm)^[47]
• An Evening with Victor Borge (1948 Columbia Album C-161, 4 discs 78 rpm – a set containing the four previous releases)^[47]
• A Victor Borge Program (1951, Columbia Records CL-6013, 10'' LP)^[48]
• Comedy in Music, Vol. 1 (1954, Columbia Records CL-6292, 10'' LP)^[49]
• Comedy in Music, Vol. 2 (1954, Columbia Records CL-6293, 10'' LP)^[49]
• Comedy in Music (1954, Columbia Records CL-554, LP)^[50]
• Caught in the Act (1955, Columbia Records CL-646, LP)^[51]
• Brahms, Bizet and Borge (1955, Columbia Records CL-2538, 10'' LP)^[48]
• ½ Time På Dansk (1958, Fona 251 HI-FI, 10'' LP)^[52]
• The Adventures of Piccolo, Saxie and Company (1959, Columbia Records CL-1223, LP)^[48]
• The Adventures of Piccolo, Saxie and Company (1959, Coronet KLP 762, LP (AUS))^[53]
• Victor Borge Plays and Conducts Concert Favorites (1959, Columbia Records CL-1305/CS-8113, LP)^[54]
• Borge's Back (1962, MGM E/SE-3995P, LP)^[55]
• Borge's Back (1962, MGM CS-6055, LP (UK))^[56]
• Borgering on Genius (1962, MGM 2354029, LP – same material as Borge's Back)^[49]
• Great Moments of Comedy (1964, Verve V/V6 15044, LP – same material as Borge's Back)^[49]
• Victor Borge presents his own enchanting version of Hans Christian Andersen (1966, Decca DL7-34406 Stereo, LP)^[48]
• Comedy in Music (1972, CBS S 53140, LP)
• Victor Borge at His Best (1972, PRT Records COMP 5, 2 LPs)^[48]
• Victor Borge Live At The London Palladium (1972, Pye NSPL 18394, LP)^[57]
• My Favorite Intervals (1975, PYE NSPD 502, LP)^[48]
• 13 Pianos Live in Concert (1975, Telefunken-Decca LC-0366)
• Victor Borge 50 Års Jubilæum (1976, Philips 6318035, LP)
• Victor Borge Show (1977, CBS 70082, LP, in Danish)^[49]
• Victor Borge Live in der Hamburger Musikhalle (1978, Philips 6305 369, LP)
• Victor Borge Live (1978, Starbox LX 96 004 Stereo, LP)
• Victor Borge – Live(!) (1992, Sony Broadway 48482, CD)
• The Piano & Humor of the Great Victor Borge (1997, Sony Music Special Products 15312, 3 CDs)
• The Two Sides of Victor Borge (1998, GMG Entertainment, CD)
• Caught in the Act (1999, Collectables Records 6031, CD)
• Comedy in Music (1999, Collectables Records 6032, CD)
• Phonetically Speaking – And Don't Forget The Piano (2001, Jasmine 120, CD)
• En aften med Victor Borge (2003, UNI 9865861, CD)
• I Love You Truly (2004, Pegasus (Pinnacle) 45403, CD)
• Victor Borge King of Comedy (2006, Phantom 26540, CD)
• Verdens morsomste mand: alle tiders Victor Borge (2006, UNI 9877560, CD)
• Unstarted Symphony (2008, NAX-8120859, CD)
• Comedy in Music (2009, SHO-227, CD)

Filmography[link]

• Frk. Møllers Jubilæum (1937)
• Der var engang en Vicevært (1937)
• Alarm (1938)
• De tre måske fire (1939)
• Higher and Higher (1943)
• The Story of Dr. Wassell (1944) (unbilled)
• Victor Borge at Carnegie Hall (TV special, ABC) (1964)
• The Daydreamer (1966)
• The King of Comedy (1983)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Gansing, Gunhild (1956) (in Danish). Om Victor Borge, verdens morsomste mand. Martin. http://books.google.com/books?id=QPVFHAAACAAJ. Retrieved 3 October 2010. 
• Borge, Victor; Sherman, Robert (August 1971). My favorite intermissions. Doubleday. http://books.google.com/books?id=93gfAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 3 October 2010. 
• Borge, Victor; Sherman, Robert (1980). Victor Borge's My favorite comedies in music. Dorset Press. ISBN 978-0-88029-807-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=R7rBAAAACAAJ. Retrieved 3 October 2010. 
• Borge, Victor; Kaiser, Niels-Jørgen (2001) (in Danish). Smilet er den korteste afstand -: erindringer. Gyldendal. ISBN 978-87-00-75182-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=RYlWAAAACAAJ. Retrieved 3 October 2010. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Victor Borge (1909–2000)

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Victor Borge

• Victor Borge at the Internet Movie Database
• Victor Borge at Find a Grave
• A Tribute to Victor Borge.
• A website dedicated to Victor Borge.
• Victor Borge and the Bosendorfer Imperial Pianos with images, video and sound files provided by his management
• Internet Archive: Victor Borge Collection

Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin in March 2011
Background information
Birth name	Robert McFerrin, Jr
Born	(1950-03-11) March 11, 1950 (age 62) Manhattan, New York
Genres	Jazz, Reggae, World Music, Classical Music
Occupations	Musician Songwriter Conductor Arranger Producer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, bass guitar, clarinet
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Manhattan Records Blue Note Records Elektra Records Sony Classical
Associated acts	Chick Corea Herbie Hancock
Website	www.bobbymcferrin.com

Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is a virtuoso American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner. He is well known for his unique vocal techniques and singing styles.

Life[link]

Bobby McFerrin was born in Manhattan, New York City, the son of operatic baritone Robert McFerrin and singer Sara Copper.^[1] Robert Sr. was the first African American to be a regular with New York's Metropolitan Opera. Sara is a former soloist with regional opera companies and in Broadway shows, and is a professor emeritus of music at Fullerton College in Fullerton, California.

Bobby McFerrin married Debbie Green in 1975. They have three children.^[2]

McFerrin's song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a No. 1 U.S. pop hit in 1988 and won Song of the Year and Record of the Year honors. McFerrin has also worked in collaboration with instrumental performers, including pianists Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Joe Zawinul, drummer Tony Williams, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Vocal technique[link]

As a vocalist, McFerrin often switches rapidly between modal and falsetto registers to create polyphonic effects, performing both the main melody and the accompanying parts of songs. He makes use of percussive effects created both with his mouth and by tapping on his chest. McFerrin is also capable of multiphonic singing, as observed in his song "Drive" from the 2005 DVD Live in Montreal.^[3]

A notable document of McFerrin's approach to singing is his 1984 album The Voice, the first solo vocal jazz album recorded with no accompaniment or overdubbing.^[4]

Career[link]

In 1986, McFerrin was the voice of Santa Bear in Santa Bear's First Christmas, and in 1987 he was the voice of Santa Bear/Bully Bear in the sequel Santa Bear's High Flying Adventure. That same year, he performed the theme song for the opening credits of Season 4 of The Cosby Show, as well as the music for a Cadbury chocolate commercial.^{[citation needed]}

In 1988, McFerrin recorded the hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy", which brought him widespread recognition across the world. However, the song's success "ended McFerrin's musical life as he had known it," and he began to pursue other musical possibilities – on stage and in recording studios.^[5] The song was used in George H. W. Bush's 1988 U.S. presidential election as Bush's 1988 official presidential campaign song, without Bobby McFerrin's permission or endorsement. In reaction, Bobby McFerrin publicly protested that particular use of his song, including stating that he was going to vote against Bush, and completely dropped the song from his own performance repertoire, to make the point even clearer.^{[citation needed]}

In 1989, he composed and performed the music for the Pixar short film Knick Knack. The rough cut to which McFerrin recorded his vocals had the words "blah blah blah" in place of the end credits (meant to indicate that he should improvise). McFerrin spontaneously decided to sing "blah blah blah" as lyrics, and the final version of the short film includes these lyrics during the end credits. Also in 1989, he formed a ten-person "Voicestra" which he featured on both his 1990 album Medicine Music and in the score to the 1989 Oscar-winning documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt. The song "Common Threads" has frequently reappeared in some public service advertisements about AIDS. McFerrin also performed with the Vocal Summit.^{[citation needed]}

As early as 1992, widespread rumors circulated that falsely claimed McFerrin committed suicide. The rumors intentionally made fun of the distinctly positive nature of his popular song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by claiming McFerrin ironically took his own life.^[6]

In 1993, McFerrin sang Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther" theme for the movie Son of the Pink Panther.

In addition to his vocal performing career, in 1994, Mr. McFerrin was appointed as creative chair of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. He makes regular tours as a guest conductor for symphony orchestras throughout the United States and Canada, including the San Francisco Symphony (on his 40th birthday), the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and many others. In McFerrin's concert appearances, he combines serious conducting of classical pieces with his own unique vocal improvisations, often with participation from the audience and the orchestra. For example, the concerts often end with McFerrin conducting the orchestra in an a cappella rendition of the "William Tell Overture," in which the orchestra members sing their musical parts in McFerrin's vocal style instead of playing their parts on their instruments.

For a few years in the late 1990s, he toured a concert version of Porgy and Bess, partly in honor of his father, who sang the role for Sidney Poitier in the 1959 film version, and partly "to preserve the score's jazziness" in the face of "largely white orchestras" who tend not "to play around the bar lines, to stretch and bend". McFerrin says that because of his father's work in the movie, "This music has been in my body for 40 years, probably longer than any other music."^[7]

McFerrin also participates in various music education programs and makes volunteer appearances as a guest music teacher and lecturer at public schools throughout the U.S. McFerrin has collaborated with his son, Taylor, on various musical ventures. Taylor has recently been singing, rapping, and playing minimal keyboard accompaniment with Vernon Reid (leader-guitarist of Living Colour) in the eclectic metal-fusion-funk group Yohimbe Brothers.^{[citation needed]}

In 2009, McFerrin and musician-scientist Daniel Levitin served as co-hosts of The Music Instinct, a two-hour award-winning documentary produced by PBS and based on Levitin's best-selling book This Is Your Brain On Music. Later that year, the two appeared together on a panel at the World Science Festival, where McFerrin demonstrated audience participation with the ubiquitous nature of human understanding of the pentatonic scale by singing and dancing, and having the audience sing while following his movements.^[8]

Discography[link]

As leader[link]

• Bobby McFerrin (1982)
• The Voice (1984)
• Spontaneous Inventions (1987)
• Elephant's Child (1987)
• Simple Pleasures (1988)
• Don't Worry, Be Happy (1988)
• How the Rhino Got His Skin/How the Camel Got His Hump (1990)
• Medicine Music (1990)
• Play, with Chick Corea, 1992
• Hush, with Yo-Yo Ma, 1992
• Many Faces of Bird (1991)
• "The Siamese Cat Song" on Simply Mad About the Mouse (1991)
• Sorrow Is Not Forever (1994)
• Paper Music (1995, Doick with the St. Paul Chamber orchestra)
• Bang! Zoom (1996)
• The Mozart Sessions, with Chick Corea, 1996
• Circlesongs (1997)
• Mouth Music (2001)
• Beyond Words (2002) – featuring Chick Corea, Cyro Baptista and Richard Bona
• Konzert für Europa -The Schönbrunn Concert (2004)
• VOCAbuLarieS (2010)

As sideman[link]

• Pharoah Sanders, Journey to the One, 1980
• Grover Washington, Jr., The Best Is Yet to Come, 1982
• Various Artists, The Young Lions, 1983
• Charles Lloyd Quartet, A Night in Copenhagen (Blue Note, 1984)
• Various Artists, A Tribute to Thelonius Monk, 1984
• Chico Freeman, Tangents, 1984
• Michael Hedges, Watching My Life Go By, 1985
• The Manhattan Transfer, Vocalese, 1985
• Joe Zawinul, Di•a•lects, 1986
• Weather Report, Sportin' Life, 1985
• Al Jarreau, Heart’s Horizon, 1988
• Quincy Jones, Back on the Block, 1989
• Laurie Anderson, Strange Angels, 1989
• Gal Costa, The Laziest Gal in Town, 1991
• Dizzy Gillespie, Bird Songs: The Final Recordings (Telarc, 1992), To Bird with Love (Telarc, 1992)
• Jack DeJohnette, Extra Special Edition (Blue Note, 1994)
• Yellowjackets, Dreamland, 1995
• George Martin, In My Life, 1998 – on "Come Together" with Robin Williams
• En Vogue, Masterpiece Theatre, 2000
• Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Little Worlds, 2003
• Chick Corea, Rendezvous in New York, 2003
• Wynton Marsalis, The Magic Hour, 2004
• size2shoes, 2006 (free track)^[9]

Grammys[link]

• 1985, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, male, "Another Night In Tunisia" with Jon Hendricks
• 1985, Best Vocal Arrangement for two or more voices, "Another Night In Tunisia" with Cheryl Bentyne
• 1986, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, male, "Round Midnight"
• 1987, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, male, "What Is This Thing Called Love"
• 1987, Best Recording for Children, "The Elephant's Child" with Jack Nicholson
• 1988, Song of the year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, male, Record of the year, "Don't Worry, Be Happy"
• 1988, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, male, "Brothers"
• 1992, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, "Round Midnight"

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bobby McFerrin

• Bobby McFerrin

Freddie Mercury
Mercury performing in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1978 with Queen
Background information
Birth name	Farrokh Bulsara
Born	(1946-09-05)5 September 1946 Stone Town, Zanzibar
Origin	London, England, UK[1]
Died	24 November 1991(1991-11-24) (aged 45) Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom
Genres	Rock, hard rock, glam rock
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Multi-instrumentalist Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar
Years active	1969–1991
Labels	Columbia, Polydor, EMI, Parlophone, Hollywood Records
Associated acts	Queen, Wreckage/Ibex, Montserrat Caballé Freddie Mercury's Signature

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara (Gujarati: ફારોખ બલ્સારા‌), 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991)^[2][3] was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range.^[4][5][6] As a songwriter, Mercury composed many hits for Queen, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "We Are the Champions". In addition to his work with Queen, he led a solo career, and also occasionally served as a producer and guest musician (piano or vocals) for other artists. He died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS on 24 November 1991, only one day after publicly acknowledging he had the disease.

Mercury was a Parsi born in Zanzibar and grew up there and in India until his mid-teens. He has been referred to as "Britain's first Asian rock star".^[7] In 2002, Mercury was placed at number 58 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, in 2006, Time Asia named him one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years,^[8] and he continues to be voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music. In 2005, a poll organised by Blender and MTV2 saw Mercury voted the greatest male singer of all time.^[9] In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 18 on their list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.^[6] In 2009, a Classic Rock poll saw him voted the greatest rock singer of all time.^[10] Allmusic has characterised Mercury as "one of rock's greatest all-time entertainers", who possessed "one of the greatest voices in all of music".^[11]

Early life[link]

Mercury was born in the British protectorate of Zanzibar, East Africa (now part of Tanzania). His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara,^[a] were Parsis from the Gujarat region of the then province of Bombay Presidency in British India.^[12][b] The family surname is derived from the town of Bulsar (also known as Valsad) in southern Gujarat. As Parsis, Mercury and his family practised the Zoroastrian religion.^[13] The Bulsara family had moved to Zanzibar so that his father could continue his job as a cashier at the British Colonial Office. He had a younger sister, Kashmira.^[14]

The house in Zanzibar where Mercury lived in his early years

Mercury spent the bulk of his childhood in India and began taking piano lessons at the age of seven.^[15] In 1954, at the age of eight, Mercury was sent to study at St. Peter's School, a British-style boarding school for boys in Panchgani near Bombay (now Mumbai), India.^[16] One of his formative musical influences at the time was Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar.^[17] Aged 12, he formed a school band, The Hectics, and covered rock and roll artists such as Cliff Richard and Little Richard.^[18] A friend from the time recalls that he had "an uncanny ability to listen to the radio and replay what he heard on piano".^[19] It was also at St. Peter's where he began to call himself "Freddie". Mercury remained in India, living with his grandmother and aunt until he completed his education at St. Mary's School, Bombay.^[20]

At the age of 17, Mercury and his family fled from Zanzibar for safety reasons due to the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution,^[7] in which thousands of Arabs and Indians were killed.^[21] The family moved into a small house in Feltham, Middlesex, England. Mercury enrolled at Isleworth Polytechnic (now West Thames College) in West London where he studied art. He ultimately earned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, later using these skills to design the Queen crest. Mercury remained a British citizen for the rest of his life.

Following graduation, Mercury joined a series of bands and sold second-hand clothes in the Kensington Market in London. He also held a job at Heathrow Airport. Friends from the time remember him as a quiet and shy young man who showed a great deal of interest in music.^[22] In 1969 he joined the band Ibex, later renamed Wreckage. When this band failed to take off, he joined a second band called Sour Milk Sea. However, by early 1970 this group broke up as well.^[23]

In April 1970, Mercury joined guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor who had previously been in a band called Smile. Despite reservations from the other members, Mercury chose the name "Queen" for the new band. He later said about the band's name, "I was certainly aware of the gay connotations, but that was just one facet of it".^[1] At about the same time, he changed his surname, Bulsara, to Mercury.^[24]

Career[link]

Singer[link]

Freddie Mercury in 1978

Freddie Mercury's vocal range

Although Mercury's speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he delivered most songs in the tenor range.^[25] His vocal range extended from an F (F2) to an F (F6).^[26] He could belt up to a high F (F5).^[26] Biographer David Bret described his voice as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, perfect coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches".^[27] Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, with whom Mercury recorded an album, expressed her opinion that "the difference between Freddie and almost all the other rock stars was that he was selling the voice".^[28] She adds, "His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sung with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word."^[26] As Queen's career progressed, he would increasingly alter the highest notes of their songs when live, often harmonising with seconds, thirds or fifths instead. Mercury was said to have "the rawest vocal fold nodules" and claimed never to have had any formal vocal training.^[29]

Songwriter[link]

Mercury wrote 10 of the 17 songs on Queen's Greatest Hits album: "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Seven Seas of Rhye", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Bicycle Race", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Play the Game".^[30]

The most notable aspect of his songwriting involved the wide range of genres that he used, which included, among other styles, rockabilly, progressive rock, heavy metal, gospel and disco. As he explained in a 1986 interview, "I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things."^[31] Compared to many popular songwriters, Mercury also tended to write musically complex material. For example, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is acyclic in structure and comprises dozens of chords.^[32][33] He also wrote six songs from Queen II which deal with multiple key changes and complex material. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", on the other hand, contains only a few chords. Despite the fact that Mercury often wrote very intricate harmonies, he also claimed that he could barely read music.^[34] He wrote most of his songs on the piano and used a wide variety of different key signatures.^[32]

Live performer[link]

Mercury, performing live in 1979, with his bottomless microphone stand

Mercury performing live in 1984

Mercury was noted for his live performances, which were often delivered to stadium audiences around the world. He displayed a highly theatrical style that often evoked a great deal of participation from the crowd. A writer for The Spectator described him as "a performer out to tease, shock and ultimately charm his audience with various extravagant versions of himself".^[35] David Bowie, who performed at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and recorded the song "Under Pressure" with Queen, praised Mercury's performance style, saying: "Of all the more theatrical rock performers, Freddie took it further than the rest... he took it over the edge. And of course, I always admired a man who wears tights. I only saw him in concert once and as they say, he was definitely a man who could hold an audience in the palm of his hand."^[36] Queen guitarist Brian May wrote that Mercury could make "the last person at the back of the furthest stand in a stadium feel that he was connected."^[37]

One of Mercury's most notable performances with Queen took place at Live Aid in 1985, during which the entire stadium audience of 72,000 people clapped, sang and swayed in unison. Queen's performance at the event has since been voted by a group of music executives as the greatest live performance in the history of rock music. The results were aired on a television program called "The World's Greatest Gigs".^[38][39] In reviewing Live Aid in 2005, one critic wrote, "Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, etc all are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all."^[40]

Over the course of his career, Mercury performed an estimated 700 concerts in countries around the world with Queen. A notable aspect of Queen concerts was the large scale involved.^[31] He once explained, "We're the Cecil B. DeMille of rock and roll, always wanting to do things bigger and better."^[31] The band was the first ever to play in South American stadiums, breaking worldwide records for concert attendance in the Morumbi Stadium in São Paulo in 1981.^[41] In 1986, Queen also played behind the Iron Curtain when they performed to a crowd of 80,000 in Budapest, in what was one of the biggest rock concerts ever held in Eastern Europe.^[42] Mercury's final live performance with Queen took place on 9 August 1986 at Knebworth Park in England and drew an attendance estimated as high as 300,000.^[43]

Instrumentalist[link]

Freddie Mercury playing guitar during a live concert with Queen in Frankfurt, Germany, 1984.

As a young boy in India, Mercury received formal piano training up to the age of nine. Later on, while living in London, he learned guitar. Much of the music he liked was guitar-oriented: his favourite artists at the time were The Who, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, and Led Zeppelin. He was often self-deprecating about his own skills on both instruments and from the early 1980s onward began extensively using guest keyboardists for both Queen and his solo career. Most notably, he enlisted Fred Mandel (a Canadian musician who also worked for Pink Floyd, Elton John and Supertramp) for his first solo project, and from 1985 onward collaborated with Mike Moran (in the studio) and Spike Edney (in concert), leaving most of the keyboard work exclusively to them.

Mercury played the piano in many of Queen's most popular songs, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Somebody To Love" and "Don't Stop Me Now". He used concert grand pianos and, occasionally, other keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord. From 1980 onward, he also made frequent use of synthesisers in the studio. Queen guitarist Brian May claims that Mercury was unimpressed with his own abilities at the piano and used the instrument less over time because he wanted to walk around onstage and entertain the audience.^[44] Although he wrote many lines for the guitar, Mercury possessed only rudimentary skills on the instrument. Songs like "Ogre Battle" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" were composed on the guitar; the latter featured Mercury playing acoustic guitar both on stage and in the studio.^[45]

Solo career[link]

In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury put out two solo albums and several singles. Although his solo work was not as commercially successful as most Queen albums, the two off-Queen albums and several of the singles debuted in the top 10 of the UK Album Charts. His first solo effort involved his contribution to the Richard "Wolfie" Wolf mix of Love Kills on the 1984 album (the song also used as the end title theme for National Lampoon's "Loaded Weapon") and new soundtrack to the 1926 Fritz Lang film Metropolis. The song, produced by Giorgio Moroder, debuted at the number 10 position in the UK charts.^[46]

Mercury's two full albums outside the band were Mr. Bad Guy (1985) and Barcelona (1988). The former is a pop-oriented album that emphasises disco and dance music. "Barcelona" was recorded and performed with the opera singer Montserrat Caballé, whom he had long admired. Mr. Bad Guy debuted in the top ten of the UK Album Charts.^[46] In 1993, a remix of "Living on My Own", a single from the album, reached the No.1 position on the UK Singles Charts.^[47] The song also garnered Mercury a posthumous Ivor Novello Award. Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes Mr. Bad Guy as "outstanding from start to finish" and expressed his view that Mercury "did a commendable job of stretching into uncharted territory".^[48] In particular, the album is heavily synthesiser-driven in a way that is not characteristic of previous Queen albums.

Barcelona, recorded with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, combines elements of popular music and opera. Many critics were uncertain what to make of the album; one referred to it as "the most bizarre CD of the year".^[49] The album was a commercial success,^[50] and the album's title track debuted at the No.8 position in the UK charts and was a hit in Spain.^[51] The title track received massive air play as the official hymn of the 1992 Summer Olympics (held in Barcelona one year after Mercury's death). Caballé sang it live at the opening of the Olympics with Mercury's part played on a screen, and again prior to the start of the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final in Barcelona.^[52]

In addition to the two solo albums, Mercury released several singles, including his own version of the hit The Great Pretender by The Platters, which debuted at number five in the UK in 1987.^[46] In September 2006, a compilation album featuring Mercury's solo work was released in the UK in honour of what would have been his 60th birthday. The album debuted in the top 10 of the UK Album Charts.^[53]

In 1981–1983, Mercury recorded several tracks with Michael Jackson, including a demo of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This".^[54] None of these collaborations were officially released, although bootleg recordings exist. Jackson went on to record the single "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for The Jacksons's album Victory.^[55] Mercury included the solo version of "There Must Be More To Life Than This" on his Mr. Bad Guy album.^[56] In November 2011, Brian May announced that a series of duets that Mercury recorded with Jackson are to be released in 2012.^[57][58]

Personal life[link]

Queen in New Haven, Connecticut, US in November 1978.

Relationships[link]

In the early 1970s Mercury had a long-term relationship with Mary Austin, whom he had met through guitarist Brian May. He lived with Austin for several years in West Kensington. By the mid-1970s, however, the singer had begun an affair with a male American record executive at Elektra Records, which ultimately resulted in the end of his relationship with Austin.^[59] Mercury and Austin nevertheless remained close friends through the years, with Mercury often referring to her as his only true friend. In a 1985 interview, Mercury said of Austin, "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary [Austin], but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me."^[60] He also wrote several songs about Austin, the most notable of which is "Love of My Life". In his will, Mercury left his London home to Austin, rather than his then partner Jim Hutton, saying, "You would have been my wife and it would have been yours anyway".^[61] Mercury was also the godfather of Mary's oldest son, Richard.^[44]

During the early to mid 80s, he was romantically involved with Barbara Valentin, an Austrian actress,^[62] who is featured in the video for "It's a Hard Life".^[63] By 1985, he began another long-term relationship with a hairdresser named Jim Hutton. Hutton, who himself was tested HIV-positive in 1990,^[64] lived with Mercury for the last six years of his life, nursed him during his illness, and was present at his bedside when he died. Hutton claimed that Mercury died wearing a wedding band that Hutton had given him.^[64] Hutton died from cancer on 1 January 2010.^[65]

Sexual orientation[link]

Mercury was an acknowledged bisexual.^[18][66][67] While some critics claimed he hid his sexual orientation from the public,^[7][28][68] others claimed he was "openly gay".^[8][69] In December 1974, when asked directly, "So how about being bent?" by the New Musical Express, Mercury replied, "You're a crafty cow. Let's put it this way; there were times when I was young and green. It's a thing schoolboys go through. I've had my share of schoolboy pranks. I'm not going to elaborate further." Homosexuality was legalised in the United Kingdom in 1967, only seven years earlier. In the 1980s, he would often distance himself from his partner, Jim Hutton, during public events.^[64]

In 1992, John Marshall of Gay Times expressed the following opinion: "[Mercury] was a 'scene-queen', not afraid to publicly express his gayness but unwilling to analyse or justify his 'lifestyle' ... It was as if Freddie Mercury was saying to the world, 'I am what I am. So what?' And that in itself for some was a statement."^[70] A writer for a gay online newspaper felt that audiences may have been overly naïve about the matter: "While in many respects he was overtly queer his whole career ("I am as gay as a daffodil, my dear" being one of his most famous quotes), his sexual orientation seemed to pass over the heads of scrutinising audiences and pundits (both gay and straight) for decades".^[71]

Personality[link]

Although he cultivated a flamboyant stage personality, Mercury was a very shy and retiring man in person, particularly around people he did not know well.^[19][28][72] He also granted very few interviews. Mercury once said of himself: "When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man."^[73] While on stage, Mercury basked in the love from the audience, which was famously noted by Kurt Cobain, in his suicide note, when he wrote of how he both admired and envied Mercury for being able to do so.^[74]

Criticism and controversy[link]

HIV[link]

Mercury did not disclose his HIV status to the public for several years, and it has been suggested that he could have made a contribution to AIDS awareness by speaking earlier about his situation and his fight against the disease.^[75][76]

Other controversies[link]

Queen were widely criticised when they broke a United Nations cultural boycott in 1984 by performing a series of shows at Sun City, an entertainment complex in Bophuthatswana, a homeland of (then) apartheid South Africa. As a result of these shows, Queen was placed on a United Nations list of artists who broke the boycott and was widely criticised in magazines such as the NME.^[40]

A further controversy ensued in August 2006, when an organisation calling itself the Islamic Mobilization and Propagation petitioned the Zanzibar government's culture ministry, demanding that a large-scale celebration of what would have been Mercury's sixtieth birthday be cancelled. The organisation issued several complaints about the planned celebrations, including that Mercury was not a true Zanzibari and that he was gay, which is not in accordance with their interpretation of sharia. The organisation claimed that "associating Mercury with Zanzibar degrades our island as a place of Islam".^[69] The planned celebration was cancelled.

Illness and death[link]

According to his partner Jim Hutton, Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Easter of 1987.^[77] Around that time, Mercury claimed in an interview to have tested negative for HIV.^[28] Despite the denials, the British press pursued the rampant rumours over the next few years, fuelled by Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance, Queen's absence from touring, and reports from former lovers to various tabloid journals – by 1990 the rumours about Mercury's health were rife.^[78] At the 1990 Brit Awards held at the Dominion Theatre, London on 18 February, Mercury made his final public appearance on stage when he joined the rest of Queen to collect the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.^[79][80] Towards the end of his life, he was routinely stalked by photographers, while the daily tabloid newspaper The Sun featured a series of articles claiming that he was seriously ill; notably in an article from November 1990 which featured an image of a haggard looking Mercury on the front page accompanied by the headline "It's official – Freddie is seriously ill".^[81]

However, Mercury and his inner circle of colleagues and friends, whom he felt he could trust, continually denied the stories, even after one front page article published on 29 April 1991, which showed Mercury appearing very haggard in what was by then a rare public appearance.^[82] Brian May confirmed in a 1993 interview that Mercury had informed the band of his illness much earlier.^[83] Filmed in May 1991, the music video for "These Are the Days of Our Lives" features a painfully thin Mercury, which are his final scenes in front of the camera.^[84]

After the conclusion of his work with Queen in June 1991, Mercury retired to his home in Kensington. His former partner, Mary Austin, had been a particular comfort in his final years, and in the last few weeks of his life made regular visits to his home to look after him.^[85] Near the end of his life, Mercury was starting to lose his sight, and his deterioration was so overpowering he couldn't get out of bed.^[85] Due to his worsening condition, Mercury decided to hasten his death by refusing to take his medication, and just continued taking pain killers.^[85]

On 22 November 1991, Mercury called Queen's manager Jim Beach over to his Kensington home, to discuss a public statement. The next day, 23 November, the following announcement was made to the international press on behalf of Mercury:^[86]

A little over 24 hours after issuing that statement, Mercury died on the evening of 24 November 1991 at the age of 45, at his home in Kensington.^[66] The official cause of death was bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS.^[87] The news of his death had reached newspaper and television crews by the early hours of 25 November.^[88]

On 27 November, Mercury's funeral service was conducted by a Zoroastrian priest. An intensely private man, Mercury's service was for 35 of his close friends and family, with Elton John and the remaining members of Queen among those in attendance.^[89][90] Mercury was cremated at Kensal Green Cemetery, West London, with the whereabouts of his ashes believed to be known only to Mary Austin.^[91]

In his will, Mercury left the vast majority of his wealth, including his home and recording royalties, to Mary Austin, and the remainder to his parents and sister. He further left £500,000 to his chef Joe Fanelli, £500,000 to his personal assistant Peter Freestone, £100,000 to his driver Terry Giddings, and £500,000 to Jim Hutton.^[92] Mary Austin continues to live at Mercury's home, Garden Lodge, Kensington, with her family.^[92] Hutton was involved in a 2000 biography of Mercury, Freddie Mercury, the Untold Story, and also gave an interview for The Times for what would have been Mercury's 60th birthday.^[77]

Legacy[link]

Continued popularity[link]

The extent to which Mercury's death may have enhanced Queen's popularity is not clear. In the United States, where Queen's popularity had lagged in the 1980s, sales of Queen albums went up dramatically in 1992, the year following his death.^[93] In 1992 one American critic noted, "What cynics call the 'dead star' factor had come into play—Queen is in the middle of a major resurgence".^[94] The movie Wayne's World, which featured "Bohemian Rhapsody", also came out in 1992. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Queen have sold 32.5 million albums in the United States, about half of which have been sold since Mercury's death in 1991.^[95]

Estimates of Queen's total worldwide record sales to date have been set as high as 300 million.^[96] In the UK, Queen have now spent more collective weeks on the UK Album Charts than any other musical act (including The Beatles),^[97] and Queen's Greatest Hits is the highest selling album of all time in the UK.^[98] Two of Mercury's songs, "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", have also each been voted as the greatest song of all time in major polls by Sony Ericsson^[99] and Guinness World Records,^[100] respectively. The former poll was an attempt to determine the world's favourite song, while the Guinness poll took place in the UK. In October 2007, the video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" was voted the greatest of all time by readers of Q magazine.^[101] Consistently rated as one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music, Mercury was voted second to Mariah Carey in MTV's 22 Greatest Voices in Music.^[8] Additionally, in January 2009, Mercury was voted second to Robert Plant in a poll of the greatest voices in rock, on the digital radio station Planet Rock.^[102] In May 2009, Classic Rock magazine voted Freddie Mercury as the greatest singer in rock.^[10] In 2011, NME magazine readers voted Mercury second to Michael Jackson in the Greatest Singers Ever poll.^[103] In 2011, a Rolling Stone readers' pick placed Mercury in second place of the magazine's "Best Lead Singers of All Time".^[74]

[edit] Posthumous Queen album

In November 1995, Queen released Made in Heaven, an album featuring Freddie Mercury's previously unreleased final recordings from 1991—as well as outtakes from previous years and reworked versions of solo works by the surviving members.^[104] The album cover features the Freddie Mercury statue that overlooks Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland, where he had written and recorded his last songs at Mountain Studios.^[104] The sleeve of the album contains the words; "Dedicated to the immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury".^[104]

Tributes[link]

Statue of Freddie Mercury overlooking Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland.

A statue in Montreux, Switzerland (by sculptor Irena Sedlecka) was erected as a tribute to Mercury.^[105] It stands almost 10 feet (3 metres) high overlooking Lake Geneva and was unveiled on 25 November 1996 by Freddie's father and Montserrat Caballé, with bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor also in attendance.^[106] Beginning in 2003, fans from around the world gather in Switzerland annually to pay tribute to the singer as part of the "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" on the first weekend of September and the Bearpark And Esh Colliery Band played at the Freddie Mercury statue on 1 June 2010.^[107] In 1999, a Royal Mail stamp with the image of Mercury on stage was issued in his honour as part of the Millennium Stamp series.^[108][109]

In 2009, a plaque was unveiled in Feltham where Mercury and his family moved upon arriving in England in 1964. The star in memory of Mercury's achievements was unveiled in Feltham High Street by his mother Jer Bulsara and Queen bandmate Brian May.^[110] A tribute to Queen has been on display at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas throughout 2009 on its video canopy.^[111] In December 2009 a large model of Mercury wearing tartan was put on display in the centre of Edinburgh as publicity for the run of We Will Rock You at the Playhouse Theatre.^[112]

A statue of Mercury stands over the entrance to the Dominion Theatre in London's West End since May 2002, where the main show has been Queen and Ben Elton's musical We Will Rock You.^[113][114]

For Mercury's 65th birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him.^[115] It included an animation set to the Mercury penned song, "Don't Stop Me Now".^[116]

Importance in AIDS history[link]

As the first major rock star to die of AIDS, Mercury's death represented a very important event in the disease's history.^[117] In April 1992, the remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust and organised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness to celebrate the life and legacy of Mercury and raise money for AIDS research, which took place on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992.^[118] The Mercury Phoenix Trust has since raised millions of pounds for various AIDS charities. The tribute concert, which took place at Wembley Stadium for an audience of 72,000, featured a wide variety of guests including; Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin), Roger Daltrey (of The Who), Extreme, Elton John, Metallica, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Tony Iommi (of Black Sabbath), Guns N' Roses, Elizabeth Taylor, George Michael, Def Leppard, Seal, Liza Minnelli (and also U2 via Satellite). Elizabeth Taylor spoke of Mercury as "an extraordinary rock star who rushed across our cultural landscape like a comet shooting across the sky".^[119] The concert was broadcast live to 76 countries and had an estimated viewing audience of 1 billion people.^[120]

Appearances in lists of influential individuals[link]

Several popularity polls conducted over the past decade indicate that Freddie Mercury's reputation may in fact have been enhanced since his death. For instance, in a 2002 vote to determine whom the UK public considers the greatest British people in history, Mercury was ranked number 58 in the list of the "100 Greatest Britons", broadcast by the BBC.^[121] He was further listed at the 52nd spot in a 2007 Japanese national survey of the 100 most "influential heroes".^[122] Despite the fact that he had been criticised by gay activists for hiding his HIV status, author Paul Russell included Mercury in his book "The Gay 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Gay Men and Lesbians, Past and Present."^[123] Other entertainers on Russell's list included Liberace and Rock Hudson. In 2006, Time Asia magazine named him as one of the most influential Asian heroes of the past 60 years: The article credited Mercury with having "duplicated in popular music what other Indians—such as Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth – have done in literature: taking the coloniser's art form and representing it in a manner richer and more dazzling than many Anglophones thought possible."^[8] In 2008, Rolling Stone' magazine ranked Mercury No.18 in its list of the "Top 100 Singers Of All Time".^[6]

Portrayal on stage[link]

On 24 November 1997, a monodrama about Freddie Mercury's life titled Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God opened in New York City.^[124] It presented Freddie Mercury in the hereafter; examining his life, seeking redemption and searching for his true self^[125] The play was written and directed by Charles Messina and the part of Mercury was played by Khalid Gonçalves (né Paul Gonçalves) and then later, Amir Darvish.^[126] Billy Squier opened one of the shows with an acoustic performance of a song he had written about Mercury titled "I Have Watched You Fly".^[127]

Portrayal in film[link]

Brian May announced in a September 2010 BBC interview^[128] that Sacha Baron Cohen, previously best known for his comedic characters Borat, Ali G and Brüno, had been chosen to play Mercury in a film about his life. TIME commented with approval on his singing ability and resemblance to Mercury.^[129] The motion picture is being written by Peter Morgan, who had been nominated for Oscars for his screenplays The Queen and Frost/Nixon. The film, which is being co-produced by Robert De Niro's TriBeCa Productions, will focus on Queen's formative years and the period leading up to the celebrated performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert. Filming was planned to begin sometime in 2011.^[130]

In April 2011, Brian May confirmed that a lot of work was still being done in preparation for the film. He said that after holding back for a long time due to mixed feelings, the band had approved a team to start filming later in 2011, and Baron Cohen's eagerness had been the key to progress.^[131] The film is currently in development and is tentatively scheduled for a release sometime in 2014.^[132]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• Adi Bulsara, a cousin
• Zubin Mehta, a relative

Notes[link]

References[link]