In the history of popular music, there are moments when genius recognizes genius. One of the most famous occurred backstage in Los Angeles in 1980, when Michael Jackson made a bold prediction about a song Queen wasn’t even sure should be a single. That track was Another One Bites the Dust—and Jackson was convinced it was unstoppable.
At the time, Queen were touring North America in support of The Game. After a show at the Los Angeles Forum, Jackson—already one of the biggest stars in the world and a devoted Queen fan—went backstage to talk music with Freddie Mercury, John Deacon, and the rest of the band. As unreleased tracks played, one song grabbed Jackson instantly.
Queen, however, was hesitant. “Another One Bites the Dust” was built on a stripped-down funk groove, miles away from their operatic rock identity. Drummer Roger Taylor reportedly felt the song was too repetitive, too disco-inflected, and simply “not rock and roll.” To the band, it felt risky.
Jackson saw the opposite. He famously insisted Queen would be “mad” not to release it as a single, declaring that the bassline was so irresistible it would cross every cultural and genre boundary. His verdict was absolute: “The rhythm is so infectious that the entire world will dance.”
That rhythm was the work of John Deacon. Inspired by the sleek funk of Chic—particularly “Good Times”—Deacon crafted a bassline that functioned as the song’s heartbeat. Under producer Reinhold Mack, the arrangement was deliberately minimal. Taylor was even asked to tape parts of his drum kit to create a tight, looping feel, a move he initially despised. Yet that mechanical pulse became the song’s signature.
Mercury, encouraged by Jackson’s enthusiasm, leaned into a gritty, almost confrontational vocal style that contrasted sharply with his usual flamboyance. The result was raw, hypnotic, and unlike anything Queen had released before.
When the song finally dropped in August 1980, Jackson’s prophecy came true. “Another One Bites the Dust” exploded across radio formats, dominating Black radio stations in the U.S. and confusing listeners who assumed Queen must be a funk band. It spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Queen’s best-selling U.S. single, moving more than four million copies.
Its cultural reach went even further. The song’s steady 110 BPM tempo was later cited by medical professionals as ideal for performing CPR, giving the phrase “infectious rhythm” a literal, life-saving meaning.
Jackson’s friendship with Mercury continued into the early 1980s, producing unreleased collaborations like There Must Be More to Life Than This. Though their paths eventually diverged, Jackson’s role in championing “Another One Bites the Dust” remains legendary.
He understood something timeless: a truly great song doesn’t belong to a genre—it belongs to people. In recognizing that groove, Michael Jackson didn’t just predict a hit. He helped unlock one of the most universal songs ever recorded.