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Swedish superstars ABBA remain the most commercially successful pop group from the 1970s. The group has sold over 300 million records topping the charts throughout the mid 70s to the early 80s worldwide. As the first European band to receive praise and become prominent figures in the Anglophonic charts by legitimizing the Swedish music industry as a mainstream competitor, ABBA has set the stage for many other European groups.

In 1996, Benny Anderson from the popular Swedish alternative group Hep Stars and friend Bjorn Ulvaeus guitarist and vocalist for folk rock b Continued...

and Hootenanny Singers teamed up to write songs together. Their first composition “Isn’t It Easy To Say” became an instant hit for the Hep Star. Encouraged by their managers and music producers, the two eventually created their first album, Lycka (“Happiness”). Anderson and Ulvaeus both had girlfriends (eventually becoming their wives) who were vocalists. Benny’s significant other, Anni-Frid Lyngstad was a jazz singer who received credit by winning a national talent contest. Bjorn’s girlfriend, Agnetha Faltskog experienced a number one Swedish hit “I Was So In Love” and also portrayed Mary Magdalene in the Swedish production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Both women were asked to sing backing vocals on Lycka.

A year later Benny and Bjorn released “People Need Love” featuring the girls, which experienced moderate success peaking at number 17 on the Swedish Charts. Performing under the name Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida, the quartet entered the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest and earned third place singing “Ring, Ring”. However, their single and album of the same name was occupying the top spots on the Swedish charts and received acclaim in other regions of Europe.

The following year, the group entered the contest once again this time under their new name ABBA, which is an acronym of their first names. ABBA was actually the name of a Swedish canned fish company, therefore the group had to negotiate the rights to use it. Their performance swept the judges away with their winning song “Waterloo”. The single quickly became number one in the UK and placed number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Yet their album of the same name was not selling as well as the single.

Their follow-up album, ABBA, was released in 1975 and marked the beginning of their international fame. The album’s first single “SOS” made the Top Ten in the US and the UK. ABBA also featured “Mamma Mia” which peaked at number one in the UK and Australia, yet was merely a success in the US. In 1976, the band released their Greatest Hits album which included the smash single “Fernando” a song originally written in Swedish for Anni-Frid’s solo LP Frida Ensam. Arrival was the next album released which generated hits “Money, Money, Money”, “Knowing Me, Knowing You” as well as the infamous “Dancing Queen” which was the only single to reach number one in the US.

ABBA: The Movie was released in 1977 along with its soundtrack, The Album which featured songs “The Name of The Game” and “Take a Chance on Me” which both charted on the Billboard Hot 100. 1979’s disco oriented album Voulez-Vous received acclaim with singles “Summer Night City”, “Chiquitita”, “Does Your Mother Know” and “I Have a Dream”. Soon after the release, Bjorn and Agnetha announced their divorce. The band’s image of two happy loving couples slowly began to deteriorate at this point.

The single “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight)” was released in 1979 on the Greatest Hits Vol 2 and became their biggest disco success in Europe. Super Trouper in 1980 expressed a slight change in style with the prominence of synthesizers and focus on personal lyrics. The title track “The Winner Takes It All” was a worldwide success. Benny and Frida divorced in 1981 prior to the release of their final album The Visitors.

After the band breakup, Bjorn and Benny continued working together to create the music for the West End show Chess in 1984 as well as several others. An ABBA resurgence was experienced in 1992 with the release of the successful ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits. Frida and Agnetha experienced moderate success in their solo careers both producing several albums.