Mikey’s Ultimate Jukebox: Why ABBA Matters To Me
They were the most important Swedish import other than Volvo automobiles. They have written and recorded amazing pop music masterpieces. Made up of two previously married couples, there was plenty of drama to go around in this group during their run in the 70’s and early 80's. The two men in the group were responsible for crafting the pop songs that have stood the test of time such as Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Take A Chance On Me, and others. The blonde female singer in the group was one of the most beautiful women ever in pop music. Ladies and gentlemen… Benny. Bjorn. Anni-Frid. Agnetha…..ABBA!! And why they matter to much to me.
Band Members: Agnetha Faltzsog, Anni-Frid, Bjorn Ulveus, Benny Andersson
Year Inducted: 2014
Years As A Fan: 24 Years (*1994)
Intro Song: Dancing Queen
Top 500 Songs: The Winner Takes It All, Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, The Name Of The Game, Knowing Me Knowing You
Addl. Key Songs: Take A Chance On Me, SOS, Tiger, Summer Night City, Waterloo, Honey Honey, Gimme Gimme A Man (After Midnight), Under Attack, When All Is Said And Done, One Of Us, Our Last Summer, Does Your Mother Know, Money Money Money, Super Trouper
Key Albums: ABBA Gold, Arrival, The Album, Mamma Mia, The Visitors, Super Trouper
Personal Music Awards: N/A
Seen Live: 2014 Community Theatre (Tribute Band)
Photo Opp: N/A
Even though I was really into popular music thanks to MTV in the early 80’s and my father introducing me to a whole bunch of artists he liked from the 60’s and 70’s, it wasn’t until my high school days in the 80’s that I discovered the greatness of ABBA. I might have been somewhat conscious of their well-known hit, Dancing Queen. But until I really discovered the Swedish sensation, I assumed it was an Olivia Newton-John tune. During one of my weekend visits to Sam Goody in the Rockaway Mall in 1993, I noticed in the front of the store a display for an album called ABBA Gold. My first instinct was that it had something to do with Israel, since Abba in Hebrew means father. Boy, was I ever wrong. I picked up the CD, flipped it over to review the song titles to see if I could figure out what this ABBA thing was all about. The back of the album had a photo of the group of which I noticed these the two dudes who obviously not from the USA and two ladies dressed in campy costumes. I wasn’t sure if this was a joke, or if this ABBA thing was from a completely different universe. For a greatest hits album, I never heard of any of these song titles. Although I was somewhat curious, it wouldn’t be until a few months later that I would listen the music that changed my life.
My brother and I were fortunate to be part of an Australian student exchange program in high school . We hosted an amazing girl named Pam Fulford for a month in 1993, and we would return the favor and visit her in Australia a year later. While looking at her CD collection, I noticed she had the ABBA Gold album. She told us that ABBA was a big deal in her native country, and popped the CD in for us to listen. The first track was Dancing Queen, which I was surprised to admit I did actually know. But as we were talking and catching up, the ABBA music played in the background and didn’t really resonate with me. A few days later with my classmates on a visit to Sydney,we hit a quaint little cafe for lunch. The music playing as we ate our food was ABBA which I only knew because I just heard it a few days earlier. This time around, besides the opening track, I was digging the second and third songs. Assuming it was ABBA Gold, that was the first time I really listened to Knowing Me Knowing You and Take A Chance On Me. When we returned to the United States, my brother and I added the ABBA Gold album to our music collection. I enjoyed the first three tracks that I had known, but each time I listened to the album, I would discover more great songs like SOS, Mamma Mia, and The Name Of The Game. A year later, ABBA Gold Vol. 2 came out. Although not as amazing as the first ABBA Gold album, there were some other great tunes especially the first song on the album, Summer Night City.
In college, thanks to the internet and some 70’s-related specials on VH1, I began to learn more about the individual members of the group and their overall legacy. I watched the ABBA movie and was mesmerized by Agnetha and her tight outfits. I found out Benny and Anni-Frid were a couple, and Agnetha and Bjorn were also married. Although I was becoming a fan of ABBA, they had broken up in the early 80’s and weren’t really in the public eye. That kind of changed when a movie called Muriel’s Wedding came out while I was in college and featured the music and legacy of ABBA. All of a sudden, ABBA’s music was becoming featured on 70’s radio specials and performed by bands at weddings, and it wasn’t just Dancing Queen! How I remember those golden years in college listening to ABBA Gold on repeat on my Sony Discman walking to class! If there was ever one album in my collection that I played over and over, ABBA Gold was that album.
In the early 00’s, the big news was a new musical was coming to Broadway after it’s initial run in Europe inspired by ABBA. Written by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulveus, the story was kind of silly and campy. But it fit with their music, and it became a smash leading to a fantastic movie released in 2008 starring Meryl Streep. Ten years later due to the financial success of the film, we were treated to more campy fun with Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again! Bands were releasing ABBA cover tunes and albums. Rock bands were claiming ABBA’s music inspired them. All of a sudden, it was cool to admit you liked ABBA and their campiness. Although I appreciated the camp of ABBA, it was their music that I really loved. I’d eventually add all of their albums to my collection and discover more great songs like When All Is Said And Done, Angeleyes, and Honey Honey.
Even with all of the money and pressure for ABBA to reunite, I applaud them for never caving in and doing it. With the internal drama, the awkwardness of performing with your ex-spouse, and not wanting to change their music to reflect the current scene, it really didn’t make sense for them to reunite. Would I love to see ABBA in concert!! Absolutely, only I could just imagine what a ticket would cost for this event.. Although I doubt a reunion concert tour will ever happen, I do think they will record a new album together. In fact, there is going to be an ABBA TV special at the end of the year of which ABBA will record together for the first time almost 40 years. I’m sure the songs will be great! ABBA can be shared by all, and even my kids love their music as it really is timeless. ABBA perfected the art of writing and recording the “perfect” pop songs.
-Mikey Hersh
