Queen earned its second and final American No. 1 hit 45 years ago when “Another One Bites the Dust” topped the charts and showcased the band’s versatility. Freddie Mercury of the band Queen performs onstage at the Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, September 19, 1980. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

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To this day, Queen is still regarded as not just one of the most commercially successful rock bands in history, but also one of the most innovative. It would have been easy, after rising to the top of the charts the first few times, for the band to stay in its own lane and continue to churn out hit after hit with a tried-and-true formula, but that’s not what Freddie Mercury and company wanted.

The musicians were still interested in pushing the boundaries of their sound and of what mainstream audiences would accept. That devotion not just to success, but creation, helped ensure that the group created some of the most inventive rock smashes of all time, as truly nothing sounds like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and other such smashes — at least not anything that reached the same heights.

One of Queen’s most famous singles reached the top of the Hot 100 45 years ago, bringing the globe-dominating act back to the highest of highs for what would turn out to be the final time.

How Many No. 1 Hits Did Queen Chart?

Despite the band’s immense popularity and the millions upon millions of albums and singles sold throughout the decades, Queen collected a shockingly small number of No. 1 songs in America – just two. One of those tracks celebrates a milestone anniversary of dominating the Hot 100, as it’s been almost half a century since Queen last controlled the most important songs tally in the United States.

“Another One Bites the Dust” Became a No. 1 Smash

Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 on the chart dated October 4, 1980. The track took over the reins of the list of the biggest songs in America from Diana Ross, who led for a month with “Upside Down.”

“Another One Bites the Dust” ceded control to Barbra Streisand, who sent “Woman in Love” to the top spot for three weeks — exactly as long as Queen’s cut had commanded the list. Those two female singers are typically thought of as quite different from the legendary rock outfit, but “Another One Bites the Dust” fits into the sound of the early ’80s quite well.

Queen Crossed Genres With “Another One Bites the Dust”

“Another One Bites the Dust” stands out in Queen’s discography because of much more than its chart position in America. The tune, credited to one of the biggest rock acts ever, was a success on some surprising Billboard lists. The single reached some of the highest spaces on both the Hot Soul Singles and Disco Top 100 charts — two rosters published by the chart company that haven’t existed for decades.

While Queen is these days often only associated with rock and sometimes even the harder side of the genre, back when the band was churning out the biggest hits in the world, not everything was so neatly categorized. “Another One Bites the Dust” showed the group’s eagerness to release music that incorporated what was happening at the time and what the members were hearing, while still being undeniably Queen.

Queen’s Only Two No. 1s Dominated in 1980

Throughout the years Queen released new music, the band scored just a pair of No. 1s on the Hot 100. Impressively, both topped the tally in 1980. “Another One Bites the Dust” doubled the group’s total champions, as earlier in the year, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” led the list for four frames, beginning in late February.

Did “Bohemian Rhapsody” Reach No. 1?

Queen charted four top 10s in America, and almost managed another No. 1 with “Bohemian Rhapsody.” That tune debuted on the Hot 100 in 1976, but reached its all-time high of the runner-up space in 1992. “We Are the Champions” became Queen’s first smash to break into the highest tier on the Hot 100 when it soared all the way to No. 4 in 1978.

What Are Queen’s Biggest Hits?

By the time Queen released “Another One Bites the Dust,” the band was already well known for producing arena-sized anthems. The English rockers had scored huge wins with tracks like “You’re My Best Friend,” “Somebody to Love,” “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and of course the aforementioned “We Are the Champions,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and others.

The Game Changed Queen’s Sound

“Another One Bites the Dust” was included on Queen’s album The Game, its eighth full-length, which embraced the last gasps of disco and the new wave sound that would come to dominate much of the ’80s. The Game, which arrived in the summer of 1980, was Queen’s first full-length to use a synthesizer, and that alone proved just how interested the musicians were in experimentation and in trying to stay current.

Queen’s Later Singles Fall Short of No. 1

While “Another One Bites the Dust” was a huge win for Queen — one of the band’s biggest — it did turn out to be one of the last major successes for the group in America. The outfit only sent “Bohemian Rhapsody” into the highest tier years later, but as a re-release, and no other Queen singles would find their way into the top 10, although classics like “Body Language” and “Radio Ga Ga” came close.

Queen would go on to continue to rack up wins on the Hot 100, but none would manage to reach the same heights as tunes like “Another One Bites the Dust,” which first made it to No. 1 45 years ago, and which still owns a special place in rock’s history books.