Dancing Queen is one of the greatest hits from ABBA and impossible not to sing along to it, whether performed by James Last or S Club 7 at an outdoor wedding disco.
Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wrote Boogaloo in 1975 for recording in Germany for television special. It first saw airplay during an Oktoberfest celebration.
1. Dancing Queen – ABBA
ABBA’s most well-known song and the one that got parties going and dance floors packed is also its most heartbreaking. A thick melancholy pervades every piano chord and its unmistakably singable chorus; this tune captures how painful watching life pass you by can be; knowing there will never be enough years for everyone in order to reach the finish line is something this song also explores.
Dancing Queen is an irresistibly catchy disco track paired with Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad’s silky vocals and striking disco beat – it is sure to become a pop classic. What draws listeners in, though, are the lyrics which convey a poignant reminder: youth comes and goes; all we can hope for now is watching every moment pass with joyous smiles on our faces.
Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson first wrote the track in the summer of 1975, yet it would take another 12 months before it would be released as a single. At first they weren’t sure whether ‘Waterloo’ should take precedence over an alternative ballad called ‘Fernando,’ but Stig Anderson eventually decided that having another ballad on their repertoire would provide a much-needed contrast against its success across many European charts.
After its premiere on television during a gala held to mark Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Silvia Sommerlath’s wedding celebrations in August 1976, “Dancing Queen” quickly became their signature song and one of their top chart hits both domestically and internationally, becoming their penultimate top ten hit in America.
It was an appropriate end for ABBA, who first rose to international stardom with their breakthrough single Waterloo about Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat at Waterloo and launched them onto global fame. Their music would later appear everywhere from Spike Lee movies and John Waters’s cult classics soundtracks to hit TV show The X Factor.
Over three decades, Dancing Queen has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and been covered by artists as diverse as Kurt Cobain and Dionne Warwick; but its lasting legacy will forever reside with ABBA’s version.
2. Dancing Queen – ABBA – Mamma Mia!
This song is virtually impossible not to sing along with, whether in a nightclub or supermarket, slurred into your hairbrush or belted at West End audiences. It evokes your greatest teenage memories when everything was bright and shiny and all that mattered – but, upon closer examination, this tune marks time’s inevitable passage – or perhaps more accurately put, recognizes its inevitable end – by respecting that time is ticking away despite how young you might feel at any given moment.
Written by guitarist Bjorn Ulvaeus and keyboardist Benny Andersson, “That Moment When Everything Changed” captures that poignant feeling when realizing that life’s best opportunities have passed us by. Andersson and Ulvaeus purposely withheld releasing it until their fourth album Arrival had been completed to increase its impact.
It was a hit; in the UK it spent seven weeks at number one and has become their signature single. Internationally, its success replicated itself; this song made ABBA famous worldwide and is still beloved today – from Pierce Brosnan and TOTP2 performances to Alan Partridge and Peter Kay routines to more recently featuring in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in 2018.
3. Dancing Queen – ABBA – Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
While most ABBA hits were designed to blast you with pop candy-fueled joy, their songs often contained an undercurrent of melancholy that made for memorable listening experience. Dancing Queen is especially heartbreaking in this respect; its message speaks of watching youth slip away as we age. This theme resonates through much of ABBA’s work; even the script couldn’t capture its essence properly! The Mamma Mia! film captures this spirit perfectly.
This song became an instant classic upon its debut in 1976 and remains a timeless hit today. A beautiful ballad, this tune perfectly sets up Sophie (Lily James), who can’t move without looking longingly back at Donna as an embodiment of all that freedom and strength signifies; all while melting into melancholy yearningness. A truly spiritual moment and fitting endpoint to the film which ends on Sophie recalling their summer of romance alongside three beautiful men (Joe Mankiewicz, Hugh Skinner and Jeremy Irvine).
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again keeps to its predecessor’s formula of mining ABBA’s greatest hits by heavily borrowing their songs – and this song in particular. Reworked specifically for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again by Swedish tribute band The A*Teens and American rock group Sixpence None The Richer, its soulful remake pays homage not only to ABBA themselves but also The Beach Boys and Erasure.
James delivers this song beautifully, making its impact all the more poignant. Joining her are younger versions of Christine Baranski’s Tanya and Julie Walters’ Rosie (Jessica Keenan Wynn and Alexa Davies respectively) serving as backup singers in Donna and the Dynamos, an unwitting ABBA cover band that Sophie and her friends form during their flings.
4. Dancing Queen – ABBA – The Greatest Hits
Dancing Queen is ABBA’s deluxe edition of their greatest hits album and stands as testament to their lasting music legacy and popularity. This compilation includes all major hits from their first three albums – Ring Ring, Waterloo and ABBA – that reached number one singles charts globally; some only charted in Sweden initially but many have become timeless classics over time.
ABBA’s record label used an innovative and strategic approach when marketing this album and the subsequent tour. They conducted polls among their global offices to ascertain which songs would resonate most with audiences, tested its cover art (which features classy minimal black-on-gold design compared to its kitschy studio album counterpart) with potential British buyers and made sequencing decisions based on fan feedback rather than chronological order – all efforts that helped ensure its smooth flow from track to track. This attention to detail certainly paid off, with an album that flows effortlessly and naturally from track to track.
“Dancing Queen” by ABBA stands as one of their most iconic songs, featuring its catchy piano melody and seductive lyrics that perfectly encapsulate the feeling of falling in love on a dance floor. No wonder that it became such a massive global success; even countries where Swedish Europop wasn’t particularly widespread (such as the US).
Cover versions of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA have long been enjoyed; from UK disco cover group Abbacadabra’s 1992 rendition to Swedish tribute band A-Teens’ 1999 single, none can compare with the original. Even those not normally interested in dance music will still find themselves bopping along to this timeless classic!
This song has also made appearances in several cult Australian films such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding; but Summer of Sam (1999) truly gave the song its place, with its depictions of police corruption and illegal dealings in New York.