Song Number 2
Doing Alright
1973 Queen
Written by Brian May and Tim Staffel
4:09 Minutes Long
Written by Brian May and Tim Staffell during the Smile period, the song was initially entitled "Feeling Alright," then "Doin' Alright," before finally becoming "Doing All Right." The two friends wrote it while living together in an apartment on Ferry Road in Barnes, London, where Roger Taylor would also eventually live. This song's accelerated chorus ballad was played during Queen's first concerts and is extremely popular with fans. It provided an income for life for Staffell, who finds it amusing to this day: "It never struck me as a particularly brilliant song. Though the roy-alties did help out in a bind!"5 "Doing All Right" was one of the few songs co-written with a musician outside Queen.(Page 34).
Production:
During the sessions, Brian May played the piano parts on the famous 1897 Bechstein available at the studio. Already famous for having been used in August 1968 by the Beatles during the recording of "Hey Jude" at Trident Studio (the Fab Four had also worked at Abbey Road Studios on the production of this track), it was Elton John who immortal-ized the piano in 1971 with his recording of "Your Song," the most famous song from his second, eponymous album. This is just one example of the prestige of the venue where Queen recorded, and from which they wished to profit. Freddie changed nothing from the original version and sang the song as Staffell performed it. From the produc-tion of their first album, the four musicians established a mode of operating that avoided any potential conflicts: whoever composed the song imposed his artistic direction, and the other three band members bent to his vision. Since "Doing All Right" was May's creation, and had already been recorded by Smile in 1969, Freddie settled for simply repro-ducing Brian and Tim's version without really leaving his mark on it. John Etchells made a notable recording of the song on February 5, 1973, during the group's first BBC Sessions, when Roger Taylor sang all of the last verse. It was this version that appeared on the compilation At the Beeb in December 1995.(Page 34).
Fun Facts:
1: After the demise of Smile, the friendship between Staffell, May, and Taylor continued. On December 22, 1992, while Roger Taylor's group, the Cross, was performing on stage at the Marquee Club in London, his two former roommates joined him to perform "Earth" by Smile and "If I Were a Carpenter" by Tim Hardin.(Page 34).
2:In the ninth minute of the film Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie proved himself when he hummed "Doing All Right" in front of May and Taylor; this got him the job of lead singer with Smile after the departure of Tim Staffell.(Page 34).
All information taken from: Queen All The Songs the Story Behind Every Track
