Rewinding the Charts: In 1980, Another One Topped the Chart for Queen
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The band earned its second Hot 100 No. 1 with an iconic bassline inspired by Chic’s 1979 disco smash, “Good Times”
Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust” left pop-music enthusiasts with a distinct feeling of déjà vu — mainly due to the song’s unmistakable throbbing bassline, written and recorded by bassist John Deacon.
Its familiarity to the bass in Chic’s “Good Times,” which had topped the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1979, was no accident. In an interview before his death in 1996, Chic bassist Bernard Edwards recalled: “That Queen record came about because [Deacon] spent some time hanging out with us at our studio.”
It turned out there was room for both songs. “Another One Bites the Dust” hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 dated Oct. 4, 1980, for the first of three weeks. It was the second single from The Game to top the chart; “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” held the top spot for four weeks.
Queen enjoyed further chart success, although the group never reached the top 10 again during the lifetime of its captivating, operatic frontman, Freddie Mercury, who died of complications from AIDS in 1991 at age 45. In 1992, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a No. 9 Hot 100 hit in 1976, rose to No. 2 fueled by its use in the box-office hit Wayne’s World, starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey.
Queen continues to tour, now with American Idol finalist Adam Lambert providing lead vocals. Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers has also fronted the band live.
The group was portrayed on the big screen in Bohemian Rhapsody, which opened last November and starred Rami Malek as Mercury. When trailers set to “Another One Bites the Dust” debuted in June, the song took a trip to the top 15 of Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart and later ascended to No. 4 upon the film's 2019 Academy Awards success.
