Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

Today's episode is on the super group ABBA which is both a palindrome, an acronym and a mnemonic. Not todays mnemonic, but interestingly to this day no-one knows exactly which member is which letter in the acronym. Is Benny or Bjorn the first B or the last B. Or is Agnetha or Anni-Frid the first A or the last A?

Putting aside trivial matters ABBA were simply one of the biggest pop groups in music history, second only in sales to the Beatles. They put Sweden on the map and won that country their first Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.

Their songs just don’t seem to get old, their videoclips are timeless and their music arrangements and harmonies first class.

And to this day I still have more ABBA songs in my music collection than any other band.

With that being said, we will begin with an unbiased summary from Wikipedia

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ABBA_-_TopPop_1974_5.png

Wikipedia Summary

ABBA (/ˈæbə/ AB-ə, Swedish: [ˈâbːa]; formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time,[2] and are one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982, and in 2022.

In 1974, ABBA were Sweden's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo", which in 2005 was chosen as the best song in the competition's history as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the contest.[3] During the band's main active years, it consisted of two married couples: Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson. With the increase of their popularity, their personal lives suffered, which eventually resulted in the collapse of both marriages. The relationship changes were reflected in the group's music, with later compositions featuring darker and more introspective lyrics.[4] After ABBA disbanded in December 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued their success writing music for multiple audiences including stage, musicals and movies,[5][6] while Fältskog and Lyngstad pursued solo careers.[7][8]

Ten years after the group broke up, a compilation, ABBA Gold, was released becoming a worldwide best-seller. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into Mamma Mia!, a stage musical that toured worldwide and, as of April 2022, is still in the top-ten longest running productions on both Broadway (closed in 2015) and the West End (still running). A film of the same name, released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. A sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was released in 2018.

In 2016, the group reunited and started working on a digital avatar concert tour.[9] Newly recorded songs were announced in 2018.[10] Voyage, their first new album in 40 years, was released on 5 November 2021 to positive critical reviews and strong sales in numerous countries.[11] ABBA Voyage, a concert residency featuring ABBA as virtual avatars, opened in May 2022 in London.[12]

ABBA are among the best-selling music artists in history, with record sales estimated to be between 150 million to 385 million sold worldwide[13] and the group were ranked 3rd best-selling singles artists in the United Kingdom with a total of 11.3 million singles sold by 3 November 2012.[14] In May 2023 ABBA were awarded the BRIT Billion Award which celebrates those who have surpassed the milestone of one billion UK streams in their career.[15] ABBA were the first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, United States, Republic of Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.[16] They are the best-selling Swedish band of all time[17] and the best-selling band originating in continental Europe. ABBA had eight consecutive number-one albums in the UK. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin America and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish. ABBA were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.[18] The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the first recording artists to receive this honour from outside an Anglophonic country.[19] In 2015, their song "Dancing Queen" was inducted into the Recording Academy's Grammy Hall of Fame.[20]

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABBA]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ABBA_Schiphol_1976.jpg

Mnemonic

ABBA – Top 11 Songs Mnemonic – THe KiNGDoM of MRS Dancing Queen

(Picture the United Kingdom with a Dancing Queen as the reigning monarch)

1. Take a Chance On Me

2. Honey, Honey

3. Knowing Me, Knowing You

4. The Name Of The Game

5. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

6. Does Your Mother Know

7. Mamma Mia

8. Money, Money, Money

9. Ring Ring

10. SOS

11. Dancing Queen

Five Fun Facts

1. Abba were not the original ABBA! The original ABBA was a Swedish herring company that was named Abba Seafood that was founded in the 1800s. The group ABBA had to negotiate rights with the seafood company to use the name.

2. Madonna is one of only two artists that have been given rights to sample their music. Apparently, according to Madonna she had to “beg and implore” ABBA to sample their music for her single “Hung Up.”

The other artist to sample ABBA’s music were The Fugees for their song “Rumble In The Jungle.”

3. ABBA was nearly bigger than the car manufacturer Volvo, that is in terms of exports. Volvo was the number one exporter of Sweden but were closely followed by the supergroup ABBA.

4. A competition was actually held to find a name for the group by a Gothenburg newspaper. Names such as “Alibaba”, “Baba” and “FABB” were notable entries that impressed the group, however in the end went with the acronym ABBA which as I mentioned earlier no one knows what order each member appeared in the sequence.

5. ABBA were a huge hit in Australia as illustrated by a 1976 TV Special, which received more views than the 1969 moon landing.

Bonus Fact: Further to their popularity, they were to play two dates at the Royal Albert Hall back in 1977. 3.5 million people applied for tickets for the two dates which was enough people to fill the venue 580 times.

Apparently, they were so popular they could even sell toilets. I remember because I bought one. It was spectacular, what a loo!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ABBA_The_Museum_main_wax_statue.jpg

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. Did ABBA receive their royalties from Soviet states in oil because of the embargoed Ruble in the 1970’s? True or False

Q.2. Which song did ABBA win the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest?

Q.3. Who was ABBA’s manager who also co-wrote many songs?

Bonus Q. Which ABBA member is not Swedish?

Bonus Q. Most of ABBA’s videos were directed by who? Options are Lars Hallstrom or Bo Widerberg

Mnemonic Recap

ABBA – Top 11 Songs Mnemonic – THe KiNGDoM of MRS Dancing Queen

(Picture the United Kingdom with a Dancing Queen as the reigning monarch)

1. Take a Chance On Me

2. Honey, Honey

3. Knowing Me, Knowing You

4. The Name Of The Game

5. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)

6. Does Your Mother Know

7. Mamma Mia

8. Money, Money, Money

9. Ring Ring

10. SOS

11. Dancing Queen

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. Did ABBA receive their royalties from Soviet states in oil because of the embargoed Ruble in the 1970’s? True or False

A. True. Which was during the Cold War in the 70’s

Q.2. Which song did ABBA win the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest?

A. Waterloo. Which gave Sweden their first win in the contest

Q.3. Who was ABBA’s manager who also co-wrote many songs?

A. Stig Anderson, who was sometimes referred to as the 5th member. Unfortunately, it did not end to well with legal disputes from all ABBA members apart from Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Bonus Q. Which ABBA member is not Swedish?

A. Anni-Frid Lyngstad who was born on November 15th, 1945 in Bjørkåsen, Norway

Bonus Q. Most of ABBA’s videos were directed by who? Options are Lars Hallstrom or Bo Widerberg

A. Lars Hallstrom who went on to become a director of movies such as “My Life as a Dog”, “The Cider House Rules” and “Chocolat.”

Word of the Week

de novo

[ dee noh-voh, dey ]

adverb

anew; afresh; again; from the beginning.

Example

To listen to ABBA songs de novo never gets old; just forms a higher appreciation of their music.

Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]