Studio Album · No. 1
Queen Songwriting Credits by Queen
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, John Anthony, Queen · Engineered by Mike Stone
Holds writing credit on 10 of 10 tracks
Authorship Breakdown 10 / 10 documented
Scored across the 10 tracks with documented writers, by whether Queen carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 10 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Queen's debut sets the band's defining authorship rule: every song is credited to the individual member who wrote it, not to the group. Freddie Mercury wrote five tracks, Brian May four (including "Doing All Right," co-written with his old Smile bandmate Tim Staffell), and Roger Taylor one, while John Deacon had not yet started contributing songs. There are no outside writers beyond Staffell, so the album is entirely self-authored by a band of four separate songwriters.
Queen's debut studio album, released July 13, 1973, through EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and John Anthony alongside the band, the album was recorded in increments from 1971 to 1973 as the band worked around other commitments. It establishes the fundamental authorship dynamic that would define Queen's catalog, Freddie Mercury writes the majority (five tracks), Brian May writes four, and Roger Taylor contributes one. John Deacon does not contribute any original compositions to the debut. The sleeve famously declared 'No synthesisers!', all of Brian May's orchestral-sounding guitar was achieved through overdubs on his hand-built Red Special guitar. Despite modest initial sales, the album contains 'Keep Yourself Alive' (May), which became a staple of their live set. Track 2, 'Doing All Right,' is co-credited to May and Tim Staffell, a bandmate from Queen's predecessor group Smile. Track 10 'Seven Seas of Rhye' appears here as a brief instrumental preview; the full song appeared on Queen II.