Written by John Deacon
Recording
At its height, Disco attracted a number of established musicians from other genres to try out their own version of Disco style. Some, like the Rolling Stones (Miss You, Emotional Rescue), Paul McCartney (Goodnight Tonight), and Rod Stewart (Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?) were relatively successful while others like Elton John (Victim Of Love) and Dolly Parton (Baby I'm Burnin') met with significantly less success. One of the most memorable Disco cuts by a non-Disco artist, Queen's Another One Bites the Dust, came at the tail end of Disco's dominance of the Pop music world. Written by bassist John Deacon, Another One Bites the Dust was released as the 3rd single from the group's album The Game following the smash hit rockabilly of Crazy Little Thing Called Love and disappointment of Play the Game.
Another One Bites the Dust was a stunning surprise for Disco and Queen audiences alike. The usual flamboyant rocking style of the group was stripped down to a hard throbbing bass, drum track, funky guitar and Freddie Mercury's sharp vocals. The bassline is reminiscent of Bernard Edwards' work on Chic's Good Times. No hi-hat cymbals or swells of orchestral strings are included. Sparse synthesizer swells, never before used by Queen until this album, replace orchestral flourishes. Among the studio effects used on the recording is reversed recordings of piano tones that give a swelling, rushing effect. Audiences were thrilled. Another One Bites the Dust soon topped the Pop chart and hit #2 on both the Disco and R&B charts.
Queen's recording pointed in fertile directions for future Dance music including the hard House bass beats that would eventually replace traditional Disco bass. Ironically, it was possibly the beginning of the end of Queen's Pop success in the United States. The group's followup album, Hot Space, fully embraced Dance music and R&B to disastrous results. The group never again reached the top ten of the Pop chart in the U.S.
