Farrokh Bulsara / Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British musician, best known as the lead singer of the English rock band Queen (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001). He is noted for his vocal abilities and for his live performances. As a songwriter, he composed many international hits, including "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love", "We Are the Champions" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". In addition to his work with Queen, Mercury also produced several hits as a solo artist as well.

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on the African island of Zanzibar, at the time a British colony, now part of Tanzania. His parents, Bomi Bulsara and Jer Bulsara were Parsis from India who practiced the ancient Persian religion, Zoroastrianism. The family had moved to Zanzibar in order for Bomi to continue his job as a middle-ranking cashier at the British Colonial Office. Mercury had one younger sister, Kashmira.

Mercury was sent back to India at the age of 7 to attend St. Peter's School, a boarding school for boys at Panchgani near Bombay (now Mumbai). At St. Peter's, he was a bright student who excelled at sports and learned to play the piano. At school, he formed a popular school band, called The Hectics, for which he played the piano. It was also at St. Peter's where he began to call himself "Freddie." Mercury remained in India for most of his childhood, living with his grandmother and aunt. He completed his education in India at St. Mary's (ISC) High School in Mazagon before returning to Zanzibar.

At the age of 17, Mercury and his family were forced to flee from Zanzibar to England as a result of the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. The family moved into a small house in the suburban town of Feltham outside London. Mercury enrolled at Isleworth Polytechnic (now West Thames College) in West London where he studied art. He ultimately earned a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design at Ealing Art College, later using these skills in order to design the Queen crest. Mercury remained a British citizen for the rest of his life.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in popular music of all time, Freddie Mercury possessed a very distinctive voice, including a recorded range of nearly four octaves. Although his speaking voice naturally fell in the baritone range, he delivered most songs in the tenor range. Biographer David Bret described Mercury's voice as "escalating within a few bars from a deep, throaty rock-growl to tender, vibrant tenor, then on to a high-pitched, almost perfect coloratura, pure and crystalline in the upper reaches." On the other hand, he would often lower the highest notes during live performances. Mercury also claimed never to have had any formal training. Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé, with whom Mercury recorded an album expressed her opinion that "the difference between Freddie and almost all the other rock stars was he was selling the voice."

Freddie Mercury died of HIV-AIDS in 1991.