Studio Album · No. 3
Sheer Heart Attack Songwriting Credits by Queen
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, Queen · Engineered by Mike Stone
Queen wrote 13 of 13 documented tracks
Authorship Breakdown 13 / 13 documented
Scored across the 13 tracks with documented writers, by whether Queen carries a lyricist or composer credit.
Share of the 13 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.
By the Numbers
Sheer Heart Attack is where all four members became writers: John Deacon contributes his first solo song, "Misfire," and "Stone Cold Crazy" is the band's first track credited to all four together, a rare early exception to their one-writer-per-song rule. Freddie Mercury still leads with seven songs, including the breakthrough single "Killer Queen," and Brian May adds four. It is fully self-written, and the shared "Stone Cold Crazy" credit hints at the collective approach they would adopt years later.
Queen's third studio album, released November 8, 1974, produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen. Sheer Heart Attack is generally considered the album where Queen found their commercial footing. 'Killer Queen,' the lead single written entirely by Freddie Mercury, reached number two in the UK and broke the band in the United States. The album also marks Queen's first track with all-four-member writing credit: 'Stone Cold Crazy,' co-written by Mercury, May, Taylor, and Deacon, would later be recorded by Metallica and win a Grammy. John Deacon writes his first solo composition for the band here, 'Misfire.' The album shows Mercury's theatrical range from music hall ('Bring Back That Leroy Brown') to hard rock ('Flick of the Wrist') to delicate ballads ('Lily of the Valley'). Brian May contributes five tracks including 'Now I'm Here' and 'Brighton Rock,' the latter featuring an extended live-performance guitar solo section that became a concert staple.