Throwback Thursday: ABBA

Welcome back to another edition of Throwback Thursday. Today we are taking it back to 1979.

1979 was a year when things were really shakin’ and quakin‘… Iran was in a complete revolution, the United States was having all kinds of global dealings, and everyone was still shakin’ it on the dance floors…

In terms of Music, Disco was still the ball that was spinning and turning, and leading that rotation was a wee little music group from Sweden (okay not so wee & little). That group would go on to not only impact its own nation, but the entire world, even well beyond the 70s: That group was ABBA.

In 1979, after having conquered the world with their other famous hits, ABBA co-founders, Benny Anderson & Bjorn Ulvaeus, had begun writing more. A song that was originally titled, ‘Been Gone and Done It’, was pegged to be a dance track in which a lonely girl is seeking romance, as seen in films. For this girl, she would do almost anything to get this love to the point of sheer craziness. She would even sing her heart away.

A departure from previous ABBA tunes, this song spotlighted Agnetha Faltskog’s voice only, while co-singer Anni-Frid Lynstad sang in the chorus. Written with the B-side, ‘The King Has Lost His Crown’, the song was released in August of 1979 to coincide with the concert tour they would go on.

It would go on to be another instant hit for the Swedish quartet, so much so that it would be performed in 5 different versions (Spanish, American, French, A-Teen, & the Original). Its impact would be heavy in later years as well. The song itself would find new life in the stage adaptation, ’Mamma Mia’. It would reinvigorate a new generation, it would also inspire an icon to use it as well.

Having begged Benny & Bjorn to use a sample from this track, the Queen of Pop, Madonna would use the flute portion in her dance hit ‘Hung Up’. It would not only revitalize her music career, but would also grab the attention of a new generation of ABBA fans…

So here is your throwback for Thursday, 'Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)':

ABBA - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! from ScienceNET on Vimeo.

Here is Madonna's, 'Hung Up', as well...

Madonna - Hung Up from MadonnArgentina on Vimeo.