Dancing Queen

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Dancing Queen
ABBA
publication August 16, 1976
length 3:51
Genre (s) Disco , pop
Author (s) Björn Ulvaeus , Benny Andersson , Stig Anderson
album Arrival

Dancing Queen is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA from 1976. It was written by Benny Andersson , Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson , the lead vocals were sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog . The single reached number 1 in the charts in 16 countries around the world and is one of the group's most successful hits. With over six million copies, Dancing Queen became one of the best-selling singles of the 1970s.

Contrary to popular belief, Dancing Queen was not written for Queen Silvia of Sweden , but only performed in her honor. The song developed into a disco classic soon after its release and has maintained this reputation to this day, where it almost always occupies a position in rankings for disco music or compilations , for example in the RTL television program The Ultimate Chart Show . The term “Dancing Queen” also became the epitome of famous and talented dancers and winners of dance competitions.

Emergence

Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus intended to write a piece with a modern dance rhythm in the summer of 1975. Although both musicians had a personal preference for funk and soul , such elements could not be taken into account for the new project, since they felt that these musical styles could not be combined with their music. They were therefore inspired by George McCrae's disco classic Rock Your Baby from 1974 for the groove of the new piece, which was initially produced under the working title Boogaloo . The recordings began on August 4, 1975 at the same time as those of the new studio album.

Sound engineer Michael Tretow and drummer Roger Palm contributed a drum rhythm, which they found on the album Gumbo by Dr. John , and Ulvaeus added the electric guitar to some passages . The finished demo tape in the key of A major finally made the composers extremely satisfied. Also, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad were positive about it.

"It's hard to tell when a hit is being made. You don't always sense it. Dancing Queen was an exception. We knew immediately it was going to be massive. "

“It's hard to say which song will be a hit, you don't always feel it. Dancing Queen was an exception. We knew immediately that it was going to be huge. "

"My favorite song has always been Dancing Queen . I must say it's a masterpiece and I remember when Benny and Björn have recorded the background in the studio Benny came home with the tape and played it for me. I started to cry, I was so moved by (it) because it was so beautiful. You know, one of these songs that instantly go straight into your heart and Dancing Queen was one of those songs. "

“My favorite song was always Dancing Queen . I have to say it's a masterpiece and I remember after Benny and Björn recorded the background in the studio, Benny came home with the tape and played it for me. I started to cry, I was so moved by it because it was so beautiful. One of those songs that go straight to your heart and Dancing Queen was one of them. "

The text was then written by ABBA's manager Stig Anderson and revised by Ulvaeus. It's about a group of friends who go dancing on Friday nights. Anderson gave the song its final title “Dancing Queen”. Originally the 2nd stanza contained an additional paragraph, which was discarded in the final version for unknown reasons. In mid-September 1975 the singing was recorded with the two singers and integrated into the music. The recordings were partially filmed by a television team as part of a documentary about Stig Anderson. It was the only time that a camera team was allowed to film ABBA while recording in the studio. After further revisions in autumn, the piece was completed towards the end of the year.

publication

At the beginning of 1976, in addition to Dancing Queen , the just finished piece Fernando was also available for a single release. Since Stig Anderson was of the opinion that the latter was a good contrast to the faster-paced predecessor Mamma Mia , it was finally decided in favor of Fernando . Nevertheless, on February 2, 1976, a music video for Dancing Queen was filmed in the Fattighuset disco on Döbelnsgatan in Stockholm's Norrmalm district . In this video, the four members wear different colored velvet costumes and dance on stage in front of a mostly young audience. In addition, the piece was shown in March 1976 on the German television program Musikladen .

On June 18, 1976, ABBA appeared in baroque costumes at the Royal Opera in Stockholm and dedicated Dancing Queen to the future queen , who the next day Carl XVI. Gustaf married. This appearance was u. a. presented on Swedish television and is now included as a bonus video on The Definitive Collection DVD . The single was finally released on August 16, 1976, over a year after recording began. On the cover of the single, the well-known ABBA logo with the mirror-inverted "B" was used for the first time . In 1992, Dancing Queen was re-released as a single to promote the compilation album ABBA Gold , released that year , which is now ABBA's best-selling album. The song appeared on the one hand as a 7 ″ single with The Day Before You Came as the B-side, on the other hand as a maxi single with the same song and also Lay All Your Love on Me and Eagle as an addition on CD.

Success and reception

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Dancing Queen
  DE 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 08/16/1976 (26 weeks)
  AT 4th 09/15/1976 (20 weeks)
  CH 3 08/13/1976 (34 weeks)
  UK 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 08/21/1976 (15 weeks)
  US 1 December 11, 1976 (22 weeks)
  SE 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 08/26/1976 (32 weeks)

The single entered the charts in 24 countries and became a number one hit in Norway , Sweden , Belgium , the Netherlands , Germany , Great Britain , Ireland , Australia , New Zealand , the USA , Denmark, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In Sweden alone, Dancing Queen held the top position for 14 weeks and became the most successful single of the year with around 150,000 copies sold. In Great Britain it was at the top of the chart for six weeks and has since been the best-selling ABBA single with 1.1 million copies. It has been sold an estimated 380,000 times in Germany.

In Australia it reached number 1 in the charts as the fifth ABBA single in a row , held it for eight weeks and achieved 20-fold gold for over 300,000 units sold. In New Zealand, Dancing Queen was number 1 for a total of eleven weeks and received a platinum award for 20,000 units sold. In the US, it was ABBA's only number one hit. The single was at the top of the charts for a week in April 1977 and was awarded gold for more than a million units sold. In addition, Dancing Queen reached 2nd place in Canada, 3rd place in Finland, France and Switzerland, 12th place in Spain and 14th place in Italy. The song was also a hit in Japan, reaching number 19 in the sales charts and selling around 350,000 times.

The single re-release in 1992 reached the top ten of the charts in Switzerland , Norway and Ireland and the top 20 in five other countries. In the list of the 500 best songs of all time by Rolling Stone, the piece ranks 171st in a survey by the musical instrument insurer Musicguard was voted Dancing Queen, ahead of Billie Jean ( Michael Jackson , # 2) and Twist and Shout ( The Beatles , # 3), in October 2014 as the most popular "floorfiller" in the United Kingdom .

Cover versions

Dancing Queen is one of ABBA's most frequently covered pieces. More than seventy cover versions by various solo artists and bands have been made since the 1980s. These include, for example, interpretations by Belinda Carlisle , Wing , S Club 7 , Jennifer Love Hewitt or E-Rotic . In addition, the song was often interpreted by music artists at concerts, for example by U2 at their Stockholm concert in 1993 or Kylie Minogue at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney in front of 110,000 spectators in the stadium and around three billion television viewers worldwide. In 2018 the American singer Cher released the album Dancing Queen , on which she covered ten of her favorite ABBA songs, including the theme song. It reached the top ten of the album charts in almost 20 countries and reached number 5 in Germany, number 4 in Austria and number 6 in Switzerland.

literature

  • Carl Magnus Palm: Abba. Story and songs compact. Bosworth Edition, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86543-227-8 (German translation: Cecilia Senge).
  • Carl Magnus Palm: Light and Shadow. ABBA - The real story. Bosworth Edition, Berlin 2006, ISBN 978-3-86543-100-4 (German translation: Helmut Müller).
  • Super Troupers - 30 years of ABBA. Documentation, 2004 (already published in 1999 under The Winner Takes It All - The ABBA Story abbreviated).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Abba - Dancing Queen SuperSeventies.com, 1977
  2. ↑ Carl Magnus Palm: Light and Shadow. ABBA - The real story. Page 342
  3. ↑ carlmagnuspalm.com ABBA - Dancing Queen on the website of Carl Magnus Palm
  4. ↑ a b c Carl Magnus Palm: Light and Shadow. ABBA - The real story. Pp. 327-342.
  5. ↑ a b c Carl Magnus Palm: Abba - Story and songs compact. Pp. 44-46.
  6. ↑ Agnetha Fältskog in an interview 1999: The ABBA Story - The Winner Takes It All. Documentation 1999, sound recording
  7. ↑ Anni-Frid Lyngstad in an interview 2004: Super Troupers: 30 years ABBA. Documentation 2004, released on DVD
  8. ↑ Carl Magnus Palm: ABBA / Arrival - Deluxe Edition. Text accompanying the CD / DVD edition, Polar Music International AB 2006, page 23f
  9. ^ Sara Russell: The ABBA travel guide to Stockholm. Premium Publishing, Stockholm 2010, 155 pages. ISBN 978-91-89136-69-4 , p. 26
  10. ↑ Booklet for the Deluxe Edition of the Arrival album from 2006, p. 23.
  11. ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US Charts SE
  12. ↑ ABBA Charts: Denmark ( Memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 11, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  13. ↑ ABBA Charts: Portugal ( Memento of the original from May 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 11, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  14. ↑ ABBA Charts: Mexico ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 11, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  15. ↑ ABBA Charts: Costa Rica ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 11, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  16. ↑ ABBA Charts: Zimbabwe ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 11, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  17. ↑ ABBA Charts: South Africa ( Memento of the original from February 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 11, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  18. ↑ Sweden - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  19. ↑ guardian.co.uk UK Million Selling Singles - Full List , accessed February 10, 2013
  20. ↑ ABBA Record Sales ( memento of October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) ABBA UK Sales (including digital sales) (English) accessed on May 11, 2016
  21. ↑ UKmix.org estimate based on the German Top 20 - The Chart Of 1976 (English) Accessed on May 11, 2016
  22. ↑ Peter Charley: THE ABBA ALBUM Horowitz Publications, January 1977 (?)
  23. ↑ ABBA Charts: Australian Sales Figures ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 12, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  24. ↑ New Zealand - Additional Information ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  25. ^ RIAA.com search for ABBA in the Gold & Platinum database, accessed January 12, 2015
  26. ↑ ABBA Charts: Finland ( Memento of the original from June 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 12, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  27. ↑ infodisc.fr Tous les Titres de l'Artiste choisi, accessed on May 12, 2016
  28. ↑ ABBA Charts: Españole / Spain ( Memento of the original of October 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 12, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  29. ↑ ABBA Charts: Italy ( Memento of the original from March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 12, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  30. ↑ ABBA Charts: Japan ( Memento of the original from April 26, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) Retrieved May 12, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / home.zipworld.com.au
  31. ^ The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In: www.rollingstone.com. December 9, 2004, archived from the original on June 20, 2008 ; accessed on March 12, 2012 .
  32. ↑ Boogying Britain: Abba's Dancing Queen voted favorite floorfiller - what else was in top 10? . Mirror, October 30, 2014
  33. ↑ Abba's “Dancing Queen” voted Britain's best 'floorfiller' . Business Standard, November 2, 2014
  34. ↑ www.secondhandsongs.com Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  35. ↑ officialcharts.de Cher - Dancing Queen (album), accessed on November 9, 2018
  36. ↑ austriancharts.at Cher - Dancing Queen, accessed on November 9, 2018
  37. ↑ hitparade.ch Cher - Dancing Queen, accessed on November 9, 2018
ABBA
Studio albums

Ring Ring • Waterloo • ABBA • Arrival • ABBA - The Album • Voulez-Vous • Super Trouper • The Visitors

Live albums

ABBA Live • ABBA Live at Wembley Arena

Compilation albums

Greatest Hits • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 • Gracias por la música • The Singles - The First Ten Years • ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits • More ABBA Gold - More ABBA Hits • ABBA Oro - Grandes Éxitos • Thank You for the Music • The Definitive Collection • 18 Hits • The Complete Studio Recordings • Number Ones • The Albums

Singles

People Need Love • He Is Your Brother • Ring Ring • Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) • Waterloo • Honey, Honey • So Long • I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do • SOS • Mamma Mia • Fernando • Dancing Queen • Money, Money, Money • Knowing Me, Knowing You • The Name of the Game • Take a Chance on Me • Eagle • Summer Night City • Chiquitita • Does Your Mother Know • Voulez-Vous • Angeleyes • Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) • I Have a Dream • The Winner Takes It All • Super Trouper • One of Us • Head over Heels • The Day Before You Came • Under Attack • Thank You for the Music • Happy New Year