Writer(s):

Benny Andersson/
Stig Anderson/
Bjorn Ulvaeus

Quotable:

“Arguably the world’s first Europop disco hit” ^SF with a rhythm inspired by George McCrae’s 1974 “Rock Your Baby.” ^BBC

First charted:

8/21/1976

Charts:

HT 1 ¹
HP --
CB 1 ¹
UK 1 ⁶
AC 6
CW --
RB --
AR --
MR --
AA --

Sales (in millions):

sales in U.S. only 1.0
sales in U.K. only - estimated 1.0
sales worldwide - estimated 6.0

Airplay (in millions):

1.0 m

In DMDB Book(s):

Awards:

Dancing Queen

Abba

Review:

This song has mistakenly been rumored to have been written for the wedding of the King and Queen of Sweden. ^KL Abba did, in fact, debut the song two months prior to its official release ^TB 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 instead of dealing with just the dating scene, the song hones in on the joy of dancing. ^AMG That has certainly aided the song’s durability since it isn’t just tied to the fleeting fad of 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 has discussed his enthusiasm about the song. He 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 was driving all over Stockholm to find someone to listen to the song. Abba singer Agnetha Faltskog was asleep. Björn finally 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 consective top ten singles streak. ^BR1 In the U.S., the song was the group’s best-selling single ^LW and only hit to reach the chart pinnacle.

Review Source(s):

^AMG All Music Guide
^BBC BBC Radio 2 “Sold on Song Top 100” (2004).
^BR1 Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). New York, NY: Billboard Books. Page 458.
^KL Jon Kutner/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.
^SF Songfacts.com
^TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 163.