THE SONG’S ORIGIN STORY INVOLVES…COWBOYS?
Today I continue “Another Listen”, a spin-off of “Moteventure Reactions”, where I listen and react to a song that I’ve heard many times and have loved for one reason or another. I hope you enjoy it!
Formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor, the band we know as Queen was complete with the addition of John Deacon a year later. Moving from progressive rock with hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We are The Champions” and “Somebody to Love” to become one of the greatest arena and pop rock acts of all time, Queen has sold more than 300 million albums to date.
QUEEN’S MOST PROFITABLE SINGLES?
Although Queen has released numerous singles during their career, these are arguably the most profitable of their best-selling hits:
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Don’t Stop Me Now
- Under Pressure (with David Bowie)
- Another One Bites the Dust
- We Will Rock You
QUEEN’S MOST PROFITABLE ALBUMS?
Although Queen struck gold with a number of hit singles, the singles led to larger success overall with album sales. Their top 5 albums?
- Greatest Hits
- A Night at the Opera
- News of the World
- The Game
- A Kind of Magic
LEGACY
Wikipedia advises that beginning with their first single, “Keep Yourself Alive” in 1973 through “You Are the Champions” in 2020, Queen has released seventy-three singles, fifteen studio albums, ten live albums, sixteen compilations and two soundtracks to date. Presently, they are listed as the 5th most successful artist of all time.
Queen has earned a Lifetime Grammy along with their four total career nominations. With numerous industry accolades to their credit, the British band is the most streamed legacy act on Spotify, the most bootlegged act of all time, and is at #52 on Rolling Stone’s list of “Greatest Artists of all Time”.
Today’s featured track is “Another One Bites the Dust” and is included on their eighth studio album, “The Game” (1980). Released as the album’s second single in August of that year, the song peaked at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in the U.S. for three weeks.
BEHIND THE SONG
It’s fascinating to learn that each member of the band has penned one of Queen’s chart-toppers, this one having been written by bassist John Deacon, who was inspired by infectious bassline in the disco group Chic’s number one smash, “Good Times‘ from the previous year.
“Freddie sung until his throat bled on Another One Bites The Dust. He was so into it. He wanted to make that song something special.”
Brian May (Mojo)
The lyrics were originally themed around cowboys (shoot-out!), but once the music and Freddie Mercury’s vocals were added, Deacon realized the lyrics needed to change, and left the final version without nary a mention of cowboys or the wild, wild west.
After hitting number one in the U.S., the track took on an even more impressive feat, with its 110 beats per minute (bpm) being used for CPR training (CPR standard rates of compression are from 100-120 bpm).
During the production of Rocky III, this was the song that was originally planned to be the backbone of Rocky’s iconic training scene. Due to the request for use being declined, Stallone hired a group called Survivor, who recorded a little song called “Eye of the Tiger” instead.
Lastly, if you play the song backwards, the title repeated may sound mysteriously like “decide to smoke marijuana”, although the band dismissed that allegation as simply a mind game.
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One response to “MOTEVENTURE REACTIONS: QUEEN – “ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST””
[…] April has proven to be a dynamic and engaging month for the blog, offering a wide range of topics to captivate readers. The month kicked off with a reflective piece titled “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”, exploring the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Subsequently, the focus shifted to making a personal impact within one’s community with “Small Acts, Big Impact”. Music enthusiasts were treated to features on iconic artists such as David Bowie and Queen. […]
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