Queen released “Another One Bites the Dust” in 1980. The single was released in the United Kingdom on August 22, 1980, and appeared on Queen’s eighth studio album, The Game.
The song was written by Queen bassist John Deacon, whose spare, highly recognizable bass line gives the track its funk-influenced sound. Although Queen were primarily known as a rock band, the song drew on disco and funk, with Chic’s “Good Times” often cited as an influence on its bass approach.
The track became one of Queen’s biggest commercial successes. It reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for three weeks. It also became the band’s best-selling single, with reported worldwide sales exceeding seven million copies.
The year can be confused with 1979 because Queen recorded the album during that period, or with 1981 because the song continued charting and received major awards attention then. Its original single release, however, was in 1980. The phrase “bite the dust” means to die or to suffer defeat.