Songs That Changed Music: Abba - Dancing Queen
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Published 2021-10-06
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At the start of the seventies, the idea of a musical group from a non-English speaking country having significant and consistent chart success in the English speaking market, seemed unimaginable. But in the mid-seventies, one group transcended all of these expectations, with songwriting and a sound that illustrated pop perfection.
The group was ABBA and their most iconic hit - “Dancing Queen” - brought an infectious, American disco groove to EuroPop, taking the world by storm and changing the course of popular music history.
ABBA - as a quartet - was formed in Stockholm in 1972…when two married couples: Agnetha [Ag-neh-tha] Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus And Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid (“Frida”) Lyngstad formed a pop group with a name built as an acronym of their first initials..
Agnetha... Björn... Benny... and Anni-Frid
The group was gaining traction, but their first big break came in 1974, when ABBA earned a spot in the Eurovision Contest with their song “Waterloo.” It was the first time, performers were allowed to sing in their choice of language - rather than the language of the country they represented. ABBA sang in English and eschewed the ball gowns and tuxedos of the other competitors.
They appeared on stage in their glam-rock attire, singing in English in a style unlike anyone else around them.
The quartet would go on to win the entire competition, and the song’s release would be the first one credited under their new name --- ABBA. After its success at Eurovision, “Waterloo” hit the number one spot in not only Sweden but also, the UK, Germany Switzerland...and it made a powerful showing on the American stage, hitting number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Dancing Queen was written by Benny and Björn, and manager Stig Anderson. They credit George McCrae’s 1974 disco hit, “Rock Your Baby” as a major inspiration. Under the working title of “Boogaloo”, Benny played the instrumental track for his wife Frida who was brought to tears by the sound. She recalled: “Benny came home with a tape of the backing track and played it for me. I thought it was so enormously beautiful that I started to cry.”
The track was produced by Benny and Björn, with Michael B. Tretow as the engineer.
On August 16, 1976 “Dancing Queen” was released as a single in Sweden. The response was massive, as it took the number one spot on charts all over the world - including in the US, when in April of 1977, it became the group’s first and only US number one hit.
And it remains their most popular and iconic hit. It is the quintessential ABBA recording, showcasing the band’s pop perfection. In 2015, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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All Comments (21)
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Who are some other artists you would like us to cover in this series?
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Back in 75 my then girlfriend told me she was embarrassed when I put an ABBA song on the pub jukebox. She didn't last long, ABBA did...
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I'm a 64 year old metalhead and I love Dancing Queen!
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Dancing Queen: arguably one of the, if not most, perfect pop songs of all time.
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Never met a musician of any genre that doesn't like ABBA. Every square inch of their songs is filled with catchy ideas. Perfect pop songwriting
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Good lord! Those isolated vocals were incredible.
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Great to hear so much respect paid to ABBA. They’ve been labelled as uncool over the years, but the tracks still change your mood and pack the dance floor. The songwriting and production was stellar.
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The piano is heavenly
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abba has some of the best bass lines of all time
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Rutger Gunarsson's playing on this is fantastic. He was a superb bassist. The vocal performances with such tight harmonies are sublime and in my opinion this recording is a timeless classic. For a lot of people Abba is a bit kitsch and lightweight but if this track doesn't move you, then it's time to book your plot in a cemetery.
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A few years ago I was stopped at a light, and I heard "Dancing Queen" playing in the car next to me. The song ended, and the next song began. It was "Dancing Queen". Some people REALLY love it!
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During a period when I had lost interest in listening to anything I had a coworker who was in a punk band and one day when discussing music we both agreed that Dancing Queen was one of the greatest songs ever written.
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Quite right about how many of us Gen X, especially musicians were rather negative about ABBA, but really, you just can't argue with such brilliance can you? The vocals on this are just drop-dead stunning and astounding, hearing them isolated just reinforces it - brings a tear to the eye, incredible. For me, what's interesting about ABBA is the streak of joy and melancholy that runs through it. It's hard to explain, but their hits are never just sugar, there's something else there, under the surface.
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Not originally a big fan of ABBA, but I’m growing respect
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Gunnarsson’s bass lines are amazing. The guy was a legend.
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Hearing someone pronounce all the Swedish names and words just made my day 😹
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Years later, a friend of mine did a tour through Mongolia. Part of the journey was with a microbus and what did the driver play on the little tape player of the bus? Abba, Dancing Queen .... It's truly an immortal worldwide evergreen.
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As a native son there's no denying the impact ABBA made on us growing up in Sweden, whatever generation they've always been there. Its only later I've been really listening to them and realized how huge of an influence they are and how good the songwriting, performances and arrangements are. I'm glad you choose Dancing Queen, this song has it all, groove, melody, hook, sadness, happiness, drama, restrain and release. Visually it's such a powerful scene you get sucked into.
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12:16 the voices of the girls 🥹. Ridiculously talented
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oh man those isolated vocals.. they just absolutely shimmer.. so beautiful
