Don’t Stop Me Now
Queen
1978

Some of you just went apoplectic in not seeing “Bohemian Rhapsody” here.  (Some of you thought I would be so dumb as to take “Under Pressure” as my Queen pick, not realizing that Bowie is hot garbage.). I get it.  Bohemian Rhapsody is a fine song.  Check that, Bohemian Rhapsody is a great song.  I love it.  I still love it today.  It’s just….not as good as Don’t Stop Me Now [ducks].

But don’t just take my word for it!  Listen to science, which has proven — proven! — that Don’t Stop Me Now is the happiest song ever.  True story:  when the movie Bohemian Rhapsody came out, I was adamant that I wanted to be there opening night because I love this band and I knew the movie would be great (it was).  The highlight of the movie, of course, is the band’s famous performance at Wembley Stadium for Live Aid in 1985.  But the *real* highlight is the conclusion of that scene, which is the conclusion of the whole movie:  the band slowly walking off the Live Aid stage, with just Freddie’s vocal to Don’t Stop Me Now playing in isolation before bringing up all of the backing instruments.  That moment was so magical to me that every time I boarded a plane over the next year or so, I would immediately pull up the movie, skip over the first 2 hours or so, and just watched this scene.  You can experience it for yourselves here.  Absolutely brilliant stuff.  Chills.  Every time.

Another true story:  this song was originally my #1 song for this list.  In the end, I had to search my feelings and go with my favorite band of all time and also duck it behind another song that I just had a hard time placing anywhere lower than #2.  But this is on my Mt. Rushmore and I would definitely not argue with anyone who put it as their #1 song of all time.  Because who am I to argue with science?

Other Songs Considered:
I’m sad to say I don’t have a Queen song list of all time, so for now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody To Love, Fat Bottomed Girls, Killer Queen, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love