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TL;DR:

  • Some John Lennon songs and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” sound like the same era.
  • John compared Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” to tunes by an early rocker.
  • He also discussed the influence of 1950s music.

Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” inspired John Lennon songs. The former Beatle explained why Queen inspired him to start making music again. Notably, Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” was a bigger hit than John’s No. 1 song from that period.

Some John Lennon songs and Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ sound like the 1950s

John released his final album, Double Fantasy, in 1980, five years after his previous album, Rock ‘n’ Roll. During a 1980 interview with the Los Angeles Times, John discussed new music. “I love the music of today,” he explained. “It’s the best period since the 1960s: The Pretenders, The B-52’s, Madness. Someone showed me a video of The Clash. They’re good.

“It’s the perfect time for me to be coming back,” he said. “I started noticing what was happening when Queen did the Elvis-sounding tune (‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’). I thought: ‘This is my period again.'” Notably, Double Fantasy features 1950s-style tunes, such as “Woman,” “Hard Times Are Over,” and, most famously, “(Just Like) Starting Over.”

The singer said Queen’s ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ was 1 of many new retro songs

John discussed why 1950s music seemed to be making a comeback. “I think a lot of the new kids went to the ’50s because they were sick of hearing so much about the ’60s,” he said. “They all said, ‘Screw the ’60s and all of that intellectualizing, let’s go back to when it was fun.'”

John and Queen weren’t the only musicians to draw inspiration from 1950s music in the 1980s. Songs such as Madonna’s “True Blue,” “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “One More Minute,” and “The Longest Time” by Billy Joel all sound like 1950s doo-wop. On top of that, the 1980s movies Clue, Back to the Future, and The Thing were all fueled by nostalgia for that decade.

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Queen’s song was a lot bigger in the United States than 1 of John Lennon’s songs

Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, making it the band’s longest-running No. 1 single. The tune appeared on the album The Game. That record reached topped the Billboard 200 for five of its 43 weeks on the chart. The Game was Queen’s sole chart-topping album in the United States.

Meanwhile, John’s “(Just Like) Starting Over” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks and lasted on the chart for 22 weeks. On the other hand, Double Fantasy was No. 1 for eight of its 77 weeks on the Billboard 200. Double Fantasy was a far bigger hit than any of the other albums he did after leaving The Beatles.

John released some great songs on Double Fantasy and he wouldn’t have made the album without Queen’s influence.

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