ABBA was the biggest pop group ever to come out of Sweden; they released 8 studio albums. The word ABBA comes from the first letters of their names combined:
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Benny Anderson
Bjorn Ulvaeua
Agnetha Faktskog
Benny Andersson, a member of pop band, The Help Stars, and Bjorn Ulvaeua, part of folk music group Hootenanny Singers, meet for the first time in 1966. They immediately began a songwriting collaboration. Music publisher Stig Anderson encouraged the partnership, believing that the pair will eventually write an international hit. In 1969, Benny bacame romantically involved with solo artist Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, while Bjorn strikes up a relationship with another solo artist, Agnetha Faltskog. The following year the four work as a group for the first time, in the cabaret show Festfolk. Their first collaboration on record, also in 1970, is the Benny & Bjorn single, 'Hej gamle man!' ("Hey Old Man!") on which Frida and Agnetha sang the backing vocals. In the spring of 1972 they made their first collaborative attempt with modern pop music...
ABBA can also speak and sing in many languages such as, Swedish, German, Spanish, French, and English.
Studio albums[]
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Certifications
(sales thresholds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE
[4] |
AUS
[5][6] |
AUT
[7] |
CAN
[8][a] |
FRA
[9] |
GER
[10] |
JPN
[11] |
NL
[12] |
NOR
[13] |
NZ
[14] |
UK
[15] |
US
[16] | |||
| 1973 | Ring Ring
|
2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 32 | — | — |
|
| 1974 | Waterloo
|
1 | 18 | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | 1 | 38 | 28 | 145 | |
| 1975 | ABBA
|
1 | 1 | — | 55[a] | — | 31 | — | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 174 | |
| 1976 | Arrival
|
1 | 1 | 12 | 4[a] | 15 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 20 | |
| 1977 | The Album
|
1 | 4 | 2 | 8[a] | 13 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| 1979 | Voulez-Vous
|
1 | 5 | 2 | 6[a] | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 19 | |
| 1980 | Super Trouper
|
1 | 5 | 3 | 7[a] | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 17 | |
| 1981 | The Visitors
|
1 | 22 | 3 | 18[a] | 12 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 29 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||