Everything about Another One Bites The Dust totally explained
"
Another One Bites the Dust" is a
1980 funk-rock song from the
English rock band Queen, written by
bassist John Deacon and was a worldwide
crossover hit (hitting number one on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100, hitting #2 on the
R&B charts and the Disco Top 100, and #7 in the
UK Singles Chart). The song is Queen's best selling single and their biggest hit to date, with sales of over 7 million copies. The track is on the album
The Game (1980). In 1998, it was remixed and re-released by
Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel and featured Free's rap vocals.
History
The bass line was inspired by the song "
Good Times" by the
Disco group
Chic. In an interview with
New Musical Express,
Chic co-founder
Bernard Edwards stated, "...that Queen record came about because that Queen bass player... spent some time hanging out with us at our studio".
The opening line "Steve walks warily down the street" is thought to be a reference to Steve McQueen.
Recording sessions were produced by
Reinhold Mack at Musicland Studios in
Munich (
West Germany) and consisted of Deacon playing almost all the instruments:
bass,
piano, rhythm and lead
guitars and handclap percussion.
Roger Taylor added a drum loop under protest and
Brian May did some noises with his guitar and an
Eventide Harmoniser. There are no synthesizers used in the song: all effects are created with pianos, guitars, and drums, with subsequent tape playback performed in reverse at various speeds. Finally, some sound effects were run through the Harmoniser for further processing. The effect of the Harmoniser can be heard clearly in the "swirling" nature of the sound immediately before the first lyric. Taylor didn't like the song, but
Freddie Mercury strongly believed in it and added some ideas. During the mix the road crew suggested it as a single but the band didn't like the idea until
Michael Jackson recommended it after a concert (this was confirmed by Roger Taylor and Brian May on the
U.S. radio show
In the Studio with Redbeard that spotlighted the album
The Game on one episode).
The song garnered Queen its only
Grammy nomination, for
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The band lost to
Bob Seger's album
Against the Wind.
The music video was filmed at
Reunion Arena in
Dallas, Texas.
Alleged backmasking
A common
urban legend surrounding the chorus is that, when
played in reverse
, it contains the messages "it's fun to smoke
marijuana" and "start to smoke marijuana".
Charts
Cover versions
1998 single
In 1998,
Wyclef Jean along with
Pras Michel,
Canibus, and
Free and remixed the song using a new instrumental track and samples from the actual song for the 1998 movie
Small Soldiers. This version also appeared on Queen's compilation
Greatest Hits III released in 1999. It enjoyed the most success in the UK, where it entered the chart at #5, its highest chart position, going on to spend six weeks on the chart. It also reached the top ten in
Finland. It charted #18, #23, #50 and #62 in
New Zealand,
Austria,
Sweden and
France, respectively.
The song appeared in the end-credits of the 1998 film
Small Soldiers, with scenes from the movie featuring in the music video. In 1999, the track also featured on Queen's
Greatest Hits III album.
It was Pras' third top-10 UK hit as a solo artist following
Ghetto Supastar and
Blue Angels.
Tracklists and formats
- "Another One Bites The Dust" (Radio Edit) (4:00)
- "Another One Bites The Dust" (LP Version) (4:20)
- "Another One Bites The Dust" (Instrumental) (4:17)
- "Another One Bites The Dust" (A Cappella) (4:45)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (New LP Version) (4:20)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Main Pass Mix) (4:46)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Radio Edit) (4:17)
A Side
"Another One Bites The Dust" (LP Version) (4:20)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (Small Soldiers Video Mix) (4:00)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (Instrumental) (4:17)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (A Cappella) (4:45)
B Side
"Another One Bites The Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Main Pass) (4:48)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Radio Edit) (4:17)
"Another One Bites The Dust" (Team 1 Black Rock Star Remix Instrumental) (4:46)
2004 version
The song was remixed and covered by Greek-American singer Kalomoira for her debut self titled album released in Greece and Cyprus in September 2004. The album reached number 1 in both countries and was certified gold.
2006 version
The song was remixed again in 2006 by The Miami Project.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Another One Bites The Dust'.
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