Scientists confirm Freddie Mercury had an amazing voice
Freddie Mercury has long been considered one of the best vocalists in popular music, but now there's scientific evidence to back up that opinion, thanks to a group of researchers from Sweden, Austria and the Czech Republic.
Researchers studied archival recordings of Mercury both singing and speaking in interviews to analyze his pipes, and while they couldn't confirm his rumored four-octave range, they did discover some interesting facets of his vocal techniques that helped him stand out.
The results -- which were published Friday in the scientific journal Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology -- show that Mercury was likely a natural baritone, despite being known as a tenor.
Most interesting among the findings is evidence that the Queen singer used subharmonics in his singing by vibrating his ventricular folds, a technique typically used only by Tuvan throat singers, a technique that "aids in creating the impression of a sound production system driven to its limits, even while used with great finesse," according to the report. "These traits, in combination with the fast and irregular vibrato, might have helped create Freddie Mercury's eccentric and flamboyant stage persona."