Abba: A Lost Music?

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It occurred to me yesterday that Abba has seemingly had virtually no play at all on U.S. radio as oldies music. While they were nowhere near as massively huge in the U.S. as they were in Europe (and seemingly elsewhere), they nevertheless had tons of hits here. They had four top ten hits:

"Waterloo"-#4 in '74
"Dancing Queen"-#1 in '76
"Take a Chance on Me"-#3 in '78
"The Winner Takes It All"-#8 in '80

And it's not like oldies radio only plays songs that were top 10, anyway. Abba also had SIX other top 20 songs ("S.O.S.," "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do," "Fernando," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "The Name of the Game," and "Does Your Mother Know") and FOUR MORE that made the top 40 ("Honey Honey," "Mamma Mia," "Chiquitita," and "When All Is Said and Done").

When the oldies radio format started in the U.S., it was mostly '50s and '60s music, but even then, there was some early '70s stuff. Abba's first hit, "Waterloo," was '74, so it's conceivable that that was a little late for oldies radio at the time. '70s hits, and not just very early '70s hits, have become a bigger part of oldies radio playlists since then, but it doesn't seem like Abba have been included. I NEVER hear Abba on the radio. I don't think they get played on soft rock format stations very much either--possibly "Dancing Queen," but I would think that that would be about it. Why don't they get more play on soft rock stations? Are a lot of their hit songs too energetic? Too bubblegum?

Maybe the fact that they might be perceived as bubblegum is part of the larger problem with oldies radio's relationship with Abba, too. Apart from a couple token Jackson Five songs, a couple English bubblegum songs from the very early seventies (Edison Lighthouse, etc.), and a couple of other things (all very early seventies, as in Shocking Blue's "Venus"), there's very little '70s pop/bubblegum that gets played. It seems like the '70s hits that ARE getting played are, generally speaking, more adult-oriented. Abba might be in some gray area between adult-oriented hits and bubblegum; in any case, they're not getting played.

They had so many hits in the U.S., but I would imagine that there are a couple of generations of young Americans who don't know their songs at all.

― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 25 April 2004 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

I 'm in one of those generations (too young to remember anything but a posthumous bad cover of "Dancing Queen" released on a cover band's "Solid Gold Disco Hits" album I used to play as a kid), but the 90s helped prop irony from its cobwebbed coffin and many rock groups starting saying ABBA were the greatest band ever... so that revived them a little in the U.S. for a while.

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 25 April 2004 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I hear Dancing Queen and Take a Chance on the radio all the time. granted, many times it's on "70's saturday night" here, but how do you think I heard Abba the first time as a child here in the states?

― UH, Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:04 (twenty-two years ago)

"70's saturday night"

I'm curious, is that a local show or some syndicated oldies show? Even so, that's only two songs, one of which was the one I identified as probably getting a fair amount of play on soft rock radio (possibly, in some cases, oldies radio, too). Abba had fourteen top 40 hits here.

― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I heard them plenty on the easy listening station when my roommate used to listen to it.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Lots of their songs or just a couple?

― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:26 (twenty-two years ago)

just a few that I recognized, the big hits.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, again, they had ten top 20 hits, fourteen top 40.

― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Oldies stations in general stick with the biggest hits of a group.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Except for the Beatles. They play Beatles songs that weren't even singles. And they play every Supremes hit and most every Elvis hit. I think that, in general, they play a group's most well-known songs, even if those songs weren't top five or whatever. It seems to me that there are some Abba songs ("S.O.S.," "Fernando," "Mamma Mia") that are very well known and aren't getting played and other songs ("I Do, I Do, I Do," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Honey Honey," "Chiquitita," "The Winner Takes It All") that were big hits, were very well known in their time, and haven't been revived by radio at all.

― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 25 April 2004 17:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Its really no loss...

― Jive Control, Sunday, 25 April 2004 18:23 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm going to exert jive control by asking you to please consider avoiding spreading interpersonal negativity. I like Abba and you don't. It doesn't mean that we cannot be friends. Thank you.

― Tim Ellison, Sunday, 25 April 2004 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Radio or not, they're hardly a lost music in the States: 'Abba Gold' (1993) was triple platinum here last time I looked. Which just about qualifies them for "more popular than ever" status.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 26 April 2004 07:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, I was mainly talking about radio, specifically. But I think radio is significant. Despite that Broadway show with the Abba songs, the A-Teens, and sales of an Abba greatest hits CD, I'd still imagine that a lot of Abba's big hits in the States are not well-known by more recent generations.

― Tim Ellison, Monday, 26 April 2004 16:42 (twenty-two years ago)

here in new york, oldies radio means the amazing wcbs-fm, which at this point is playing songs well into the '80s (at least), and which may be the most bubblegum station i've ever heard. they most definitely play abba. abba is in fact listed as member of the wcbs-fm hall of fame at wcbsfm.com.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 26 April 2004 17:17 (twenty-two years ago)

The soft-rock station here at the office has a standard repertoire of a half-dozen or so ABBA hits they play, most frequent being "Fernando", "Mamma Mia" and (of course) "Dancing Queen". (Strangely, they almost never play "Take A Chance On Me" despite it's being their second-biggest hit.) But yeah, they were bigger here (Canada) than in the USA.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I hear "Dancing Queen" occasionally and "S.O.S." and "Waterloo" once or twice on my local oldies station, but only after they chnaged their slogan to "the biggest hits of the '60s and '70s" and fouled up their playlists by giving about half of their airtime to Jackson Browne and Cat Stevens.

― Mike Ouderkirk (Mike Ouderkirk), Monday, 26 April 2004 18:23 (twenty-two years ago)

When All Is Said and Done was single in the US?!?!? Blimey!!!

Actually, Abba was much more massively successful outside the US- all bar 3 of their singles from "Mamma Mia" to "Super Trouper" were UK no.1s!!!!!

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Monday, 26 April 2004 19:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Tim, I hear this stuff on the radio all the time (that is, when I LISTEN to the radio, which isn't much). Just the other day I remarked to a friend that "Waterloo" was playing. So, I'm not sure if I agree with your premise...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Monday, 26 April 2004 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm sure there's some variance, but are there more than a few songs that you hear all the time? I don't think I've heard "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do," "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Honey Honey," "Chiquitita," or "The Winner Takes It All" on the radio since the times when those songs were current. And songs like "S.O.S.," "Waterloo," "Fernando," and "Mamma Mia" have never seemed to be on oldies playlists, at least where I live (San Diego).

― Tim Ellison, Monday, 26 April 2004 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Was "Honey Honey" ever even on the radio? And if you asked some people, I think they'd agree that "Fernando" is still the song they most strongly identify with Abba, partly because it's still played from time to time.

I dunno — I don't think anyone from that era really has a playlist that stretches beyond that of 4 or 5 songs, max.

Oh, but I did hear a muzak version of "Chiquitita" in a French cafe in DC about 6 months ago...

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Monday, 26 April 2004 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Now i'm trying to figure out who did the "Take a Chance" cover in the 90s. I remember hearing it too, it was stupid.

― uh, Monday, 26 April 2004 21:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I learned how to play "Super Trouper" on the keyboard this weekend (it's in C major BTW).

― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 26 April 2004 21:11 (twenty-two years ago)

"Was "Honey Honey" ever even on the radio?"

Yeah, I think I remember it. I mean, it was a top 40 hit.

Whether or not a station here and there plays a COUPLE of Abba songs, there's definitely an issue with '70s pop/bubblegum and oldies radio in general, particularly with the new "biggest hits of the '60s and '70s format" that Mike mentions above. I mean, they're not playing Bay City Rollers and the DeFranco Family and the Sylvers either.

― Tim Ellison, Monday, 26 April 2004 21:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I think I agree with the original post - I've yet to hear Abba on the radio. We do have a small 70s gold station, but it has terrible reception (it's run by high school kids) so I can rarely hear it.

― dleone (dleone), Monday, 26 April 2004 22:17 (twenty-two years ago)

there's definitely an issue with '70s pop/bubblegum and oldies radio in general, particularly with the new "biggest hits of the '60s and '70s format" that Mike mentions above. I mean, they're not playing Bay City Rollers and the DeFranco Family and the Sylvers either.

i repeat, sort of: you need to move to new york city and settle in with wcbs-fm.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 26 April 2004 22:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Now i'm trying to figure out who did the "Take a Chance" cover in the 90s. I remember hearing it too, it was stupid.

Erasure

― Andy, Monday, 26 April 2004 22:26 (twenty-two years ago)

abba are one step away from disco, and no oldies stations play disco, they only play 60's rock and r&b, and soft-rock from the early 70's.

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 26 April 2004 22:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Not even one step away on "Summer Night City", which is a genuine disco raver. As is most of the "Voulez Vous" album, to variable results; i.e. some good stuff, but nothing up to SNC.

― Tom May (Tom May), Tuesday, 27 April 2004 01:58 (twenty-two years ago)

There is a station in Sherbrooke, Quebec that seems to have respect for the sounds of Abba. (102.7) I mean all of their stuff. That's cool. Their playlist is about 2/3 french, 1/3 anglo.

― jim wentworth (wench), Tuesday, 27 April 2004 04:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Dom, you've never heard "Dancing Queen" on the radio?

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 27 April 2004 12:25 (twenty-two years ago)

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