ABBA DANCING QUEEN

Published on: Thu, 17 Jan 2008 06:12:52 -0800

1969--1971: the formative years Benny Andersson was, from the age of 18, a member of The Hep Stars, a popular Swedish pop-rock group that mostly performed covers of international hits. Their live shows were often accompanied by mob scenes. Andersson played keyboards and eventually started writing original compositions for his band, many of which became major hits including "No Response" (#3 in 1965), "Sunny Girl", "Wedding", "Consolation" (all of which hit #1 in 1966), and "Speleman". Björn Ulvaeus from the age of 18 fronted The Hootenanny Singers, a popular Swedish folk-skiffle group. Ulvaeus started writing material for his band, and also attempted a brief solo career alongside it. His band and the Hep Stars sometimes crossed paths while touring, and on one such occasion in June 1966 Ulvaeus and Andersson decided to write a song together. This, their first attempt, was "Isn't It Easy to Say", later recorded by The Hep Stars. Stig Anderson, manager of the Hep Stars and founder of the Polar Music label, saw much potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to compose more. Both also began occasionally playing with the other's band on stage and on record, although it wasn't until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced some of their first real hits together: "Ljuva Sextiotal" ('Merry Sixties'), recorded by Brita Borg and The Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman". Andersson also had a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Lasse Berghagen, with whom he wrote and submitted the song "Hej, Clown" for the 1969 Melodifestivalen, the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest finals. The song tied for first, but re-voting relegated Andersson's song to #2.[5] As their bands began to break up, Andersson and Ulvaeus teamed up and eventually recorded their first album together in 1970, called Lycka ("Happiness" in Swedish), which comprised original compositions sung by the two men. Ulvaeus still occasionally recorded and performed with the Hootenanny Singers until the summer of 1974, alongside ABBA. The group's next album, Arrival, represented a new level of accomplishment in both songwriting and studio work, prompting rave reviews from more rock-orientated UK music weeklies such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express, and mostly appreciative notices from American critics. In fact, hit after hit flowed from Arrival: "Money, Money, Money", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", and "Dancing Queen". In 1977, Arrival was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Award in the category "Best International Album of the Year". By this time ABBA were very popular in the UK, most of Western Europe and Australia.

Author: mustmusthafa
Keywords: ABBA DANCINGQUEEN BLUES CLASSICAL COUNTRY ELECTRONICS FOLK HIP-HOP TOP HIT KARAOKE INDIE JAZZ pop r&b rap rock abba musi
Added: January 17, 2008