Abba “Dancing Queen” hit #1 in UK

Dancing Queen Abba

Writer(s): Benny Andersson/Bjorn Ulvaeus (see lyrics here) Released: August 16, 1976 First Charted: August 21, 1976 Peak: 11 US, 11 CB, 11 HR, 3 GR, 4 RR, 6 AC, 16 UK, 12 CN, 18 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.06 UK, 6.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 464.7 video, 1002.10 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This song has mistakenly been rumored to have been written for the wedding of the King and Queen of Sweden. KL Abba did debut the song at a televised tribute to Sweden’s Queen Silvia and King Gustaf XVI, a day before their marriage on June 19, 1976. SF However, since the song’s origins date to August 1975, TB it hardly could have been written with the nuptials in mind. The lyrics deal with a visit to a disco, but the song hones in on the joy of dancing. AMG That has aided the song’s durability since it isn’t just tied to disco, but to the greater world of dance-pop music. AMG The song is “arguably the world’s first Europop disco hit” SF with a rhythm inspired by George McCrae’s 1974 “Rock Your Baby.” BBC Björn Ulvaeus says that when he and Benny Andersson, his co-writer and co-member in Abba, finished mixing the instrumental track, he was so excited he drove all over Stockholm to find someone to listen to the song. He ended up at his sister’s house, playing it over and over. As he says, “We couldn’t believe how good it sounded.” BBC Neither could the rest of the world. The song topped multiple international charts, BBC notably becoming the group’s biggest of their nine #1 songs in the U.K. and part of an 18 consecutive top-ten singles streak. FB In the U.S., the song was the group’s best-selling single LW and only hit to reach the chart pinnacle. Resources: AMG All Music Guide BBC BBC Radio 2 (2004). “Sold on Song Top 100” FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 458. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 222. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 137. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 163. Related Links: First posted 9/4/2011; last updated 7/14/2023.