"Somebody to Love" (Queen)

For the first 14 years of my life, I never paid Queen much attention.  I was aware of songs like "Another One Bites the Dust," which pop radio played into oblivion when I was a little kid.  But, unfortunately, it wasn't until after frontman Freddie Mercury passed in 1991, when I began hearing other musicians' tributes to Mercury/the band, that I started to realize just how talented Queen was.  To have not just one, but four individuals who were strong songwriters in one band is pretty remarkable.  But also having one of them be a consummate showman who could control a crowd just by walking on stage?  That is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of group.
What cinched it for me was watching We Will Rock You, the 1982 concert film documenting the band's November 1981 performance at the old Montreal Forum, on late night television circa 1992.  (The film was remastered, re-edited, and re-released as Queen Rock Montreal in 2007; I caught it again on cable a few months ago.)  
I remember watching them burn through a blistering, punkish reworking of "We Will Rock You" and thinking that they sounded way grittier and more rocking than on the studio recording.  Three mind blowing songs later when Mercury sat down at the piano and launched into an extended, electrifying version of the gospel-tinged "Somebody to Love," I was a fan.
The version of "Somebody to Love" from 1976's A Day at the Races has become one of my favorite Mercury studio performances.  He delivers every word with a ton of soul.  And just when you think you've reached the climax, suddenly he soars into this angelic falsetto on the a cappella breakdown.  I get a lump in my throat every single time.
According to guitarist Brian May in a 2011 interview with AbsoluteRadio, Mercury wrote the song as an homage to Aretha Franklin—hence the gospel feel of the tune.  May notes that they took a similar approach as on the theatrical "Bohemian Rhapsody," layering in the multiple vocal harmonies that Mercury had dreamed up to create the epic feel of the track; however, the distinction is that they were trying to sound like a gospel choir instead of a classical concert choir.
Said May, "I always remember thinking that, yeah, this is going to be something great."