Mama Mia! The Swedish Group ABBA Has Made a Lot of Money, Money Money!

Much has been written about the Swedish super group called ABBA. After all, the group has more than proven its endurance to a global audience.

The group's iconic logo was/is also a registered trademark

Songwriters and musicians Björn Ulaeus and Benny Andersson first met in 1966, and in 1969, the seeds of the soon-to-be Swedish supergroup were planted when Björn met his fiancée, Agnetha Fältskog, and Benny met his fiancée, Anni-Frid (known as Frida) Lyngstad, and the group formed in Stockholm in 1972. Ulvaeus and Andersson knew how to write contagious pop hits, but Fältskog's and Lyngstad's beautiful harmonies were integral to the global chart-topping ABBA sound. The group's name is an acronym from the first letter in each of their names. In 1974, ABBA was the contestant for Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, the pan-European music festival. Sweden (and ABBA) took home the prize as the winner of the Eurovision contest that year with their performance of the song "Waterloo".

Although relatively unknown outside of Scandinavia at the time, ABBA used the Eurovision song contest as a launching pad to become a global pop music sensation. While Sweden has long been one of the world's largest cultural exporters (books, music, film, television programming, etc.), likely because in Swedish public schools, the population is taught English in as a core subject (along with Swedish and mathematics) staring in grade school between the ages 7 and 9, depending on the school attended. Indeed, most Scandinavians are praised for having both fluency in English and language competency in addition to their own native tongues, hence Swedes successfully export to the broader English-speaking world.

Anyway, in 1974, in spite of competing against the likes of Olivia Newton-John who represented the UK in Eurovision that year (unfortunately, she sang a boring song entitled "Long Live Love" that year, and her outfit was similarly conservative), ABBA grabbed the top prize.  A video of the group's winning performance in the 1974 Eurovision contest can be seen below, or by visiting HERE.



Not only was the ABBA song "Waterloo" understood across Europe, but the band also wore what were considered pretty daring costumes that year, too. Their costumes were certainly eye-catching: shiny, satin, all-in-one outfits and even shinier knee-length hot-boots. The costumes were explained largely as a way to exploit a Swedish tax law. As long as their outfits were so outrageous that they could not be worn on the street, the band could claim the cost of the outfits were tax-deductible.

ABBA band member Björn Ulvaeus recalled: "In my honest opinion, we looked like nuts in those years. Nobody can have been as badly dressed on stage as we were." Björn added: "We figured with our clothes, people would remember us even if we finished ninth." Frida noted: "We chose clothes we felt comfortable in. My favorite was a body stocking with a little dress cut diagonally. I thought I was elegant and sexy in it."

But the costumes fit right into the disco era which was just emerging around the world at the time, and people remembered the band who wore such colorful (if garish) outfits. It didn't hurt that their music was universal, and the harmonies of the women's voices in the group sounded great. They took their knack for memorable (if ugly) costumes, along with catchy lyrics and danceable pop melodies and became a global superstar group whose success is in many ways, unparalleled. All told, ABBA released eight studio albums over their original 10 years together. Perhaps their most iconic single was their 1976 hit "Dancing Queen" which can be listened to below, or by visiting https://youtu.be/xFrGuyw1V8s?si=HojD4RRc6NKTZylr.

"Dancing Queen" was ABBA's biggest hit in the United States (going to number one), and it also topped the charts in Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Germany and Zimbabwe. "Dancing Queen" also reached the top five in many other countries.

At their commercial zenith in the late 1970's, ABBA were reputedly second only to Volvo in their contribution to Sweden's exports. While figures vary, industry watchers agree that ABBA has sold at least 200 million albums and singles worldwide (some unconfirmed estimates put the figure closer to 400 million, behind only The Beatles but ahead of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Queen), and certainly comparable to the Rolling Stones. Collectively, estimates are that ABBA has earned more than $2 billion in album and singles sales during its career.

The 1974 Eurovision-winning band was actually made up of two couples — Agnetha Fältskog and  Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad. Both couples would later split as the band became most successful, and ABBA broke up as a group in 1982. ABBA was always bigger in terms of studio recordings, but decidedly less so when it came to touring and live performances. Despite some disagreements among the quartet, the four largely remained in touch and they seem fairly united in decision-making that has perpetuated their fame and fortune. The original ABBA team have proven themselves VERY adept at continuing the nurture their money-machine by carefully licensing their songs to bands and singers who have kept their songs continually playing (and selling).

For example, in 1992, they wisely licensed several of their songs to the UK pop duo Erasure (Vince Clarke and Andy Bell) which released an EP of four of ABBA's best-known hits. That EP revived ABBA's songs for a generation of young adults who grew up listening to the original ABBA songs on the radio, and was also Erasure's first and only #1 on the UK Singles Chart for the single "Take A Chance on Me", plus it got significant airplay in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

ABBA later licensed its songs to live theater productions of the show "Mama Mia" which opened in London and remained a best-seller there, replicating that successful run in New York, Toronto, Sydney and elsewhere. The stage version's worldwide gross from 49 productions exceeded $2 billion in 2015, having been seen by 500 million people. The 14-year Broadway run alone grossed more than $600 million, according to the trade group Broadway League.

In 2014, the ABBA band-members released a video they called "The Last Video" which can be seen below, or by visiting https://youtu.be/8L6T6Yj5u4k which is indicative of the continued creative work from the group members.

ABBA's West-End/Broadway success with "Mama Mia", in-turn, lead to the Hollywood movie version of "Mama Mia" that starred Meryl Streep. The "Mamma Mia" movie version of the all-ABBA musical was released by Universal and earned the band another $600 million at the box office, while the sequel (whose story was panned) still quietly earned another $280 million during just its first four weeks without even factoring in DVD and streaming sales, licensing to cable television, etc. ABBA also released (or was it really a re-release of their biggest hits?) "ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits", which has been called one of the most influential compilation albums ever released, and sparked a strong revival of ABBA's music that has endured well into the 21st century.

In 2018, one guest-star of "Mama Mia 2", herself a seventies pop icon Cher, released a whole new album of ABBA covers following her appearance in the sequel movie. She announced one of the singles "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" via her active Twitter account.

🎂time pic.twitter.com/222E1D3m2B

— Cher (@cher) August 8, 2018

Cher told the press (see HERE): "I've always liked ABBA and saw the original Mamma Mia musical on Broadway three times. After filming "Mamma Mia! 2: Here We Go Again", I was reminded again of what great and timeless songs they wrote and started thinking 'why not do an album of their music?' The songs were harder to sing than I imagined but I'm so happy with how the music came out. I'm really excited for people to hear it. It's a perfect time."

Meanwhile, back in Stockholm, Sweden, the ABBA The Museum is a Swedish interactive exhibition about the pop band ABBA that opened in Stockholm, Sweden in May 2013. ABBA's collected works are showcased in a contemporary, interactive setting at Djurgården, Stockholm.

ABBA also announced that the Swedish foursome had recorded several brand new songs during 2018, its first in 35 years, which will be released in early 2019. The original band members are all now in their seventies, so studio recordings are one thing, but the group has said they have no intention of doing any live performances. But there ARE plans for a TV special, and a separate digital project to recreate the four members performing as what they're branding their 'ABBAtars' using the experience gained from the ABBA Museum to further their commercial success on a global basis.

Just how much longer ABBA can perpetuate its "Money, Money, Money" tree remains to be seen. But they've proven themselves perhaps the most successful at merchandising their music in a way that few other bands have yet to replicate -- it doesn't just happen, it takes a degree of talent, intellect and work -- but perhaps could pave the way for future artists in the 21st century?

Strange Archives: Attention K-Mart Shoppers

The internet has a collection of the truly obscure! The website Plaid Stallions, with a heavy focus on toys from the 1970's, featured a 1978 newspaper flyer for K-Mart including ads for toys of that era. However, because its the holiday season, memories of shopping at cheesy, American discount stores like K-Mart is also no doubt something for which many people are familiar.

Notably, the Internet Archive is assembling a massive digital collection of miscellaneous things, some quite impressive, such as the emulator library of video games and home video game consoles as well as handheld devices which I've addressed in prior posts, including one about Speak & Spell and other items, for example. There are also video clips from different sources, and a large audio collection. Due to copyright issues, audio can be more challenging, but sometimes the work is already done by others, in this case the once-giant discount retailer K-Mart Corporation.

Shoppers of K-Mart may recall the retailer's in-store audio background music which was periodically interrupted by K-Mart product commercials which were usually introduced with the phrase "Attention K-Mart Shoppers".  A collection entitled "Attention K-Mart Shoppers" is one such collection. It even contains special audio advertisements announcing the addition of a new K-Mart pharmacy from 1974 where shoppers could fill their prescriptions.

As the archivist Mark Davis admits, this is a somewhat strange collection. In the late 1980's and early 1990's, he worked for K-Mart behind the service desk and the store played specific pre-recorded cassettes issued by corporate (before that, they were reel-to-reel tapes sent to each store location every month to keep the background music fresh). This was background music, or perhaps you could call it elevator music. Some have some recordings of musicians including the likes of Neil Diamond, for example. He saved the tapes from the trash during this period, and its built from his extensive, if odd collection, although others have since supplemented his recordings. One of these recordings date back to December 1974, evidenced by the continuous loop of Christmas music that was featured. Separately, there was also a Muzak Christmas music tape from another collection which was quite similar, except its missing the regular K-mart ads throughout. Another 1973 recording featured the company's advertising jingle used at the time about K-Mart being "your savings store". There are even some in the collection that came from vinyl recordings when the company still went by the name S.S. Kresge which date back to the 1960's. An October 1989 recording is possibly the type most people who shopped at K-Mart back in the day will remember. Most recordings are differentiated mainly by the introductory spot introducing the retailer to shoppers, as if the big red "K" and the aqua-blue "mart" wasn't enough of a tip for them to know exactly where they were.

Until around 1992, the cassettes were rotated monthly. Then, they were replaced weekly. Finally sometime around 1993, satellite programming was introduced which eliminated the need for these tapes altogether. The older tapes contain canned elevator music with instrumental renditions of songs. Then, the songs became completely mainstream around 1991. All of them have advertisements every few songs.

He notes that the monthly tapes were very, very, worn and rippled at the time they were converted to MP3 files. He says that's because they ran for 14 hours a day, 7 days a week on auto-reverse. If you do the math, assuming that each tape is 30 minutes per side, that's over 800 passes over a tape head each month.

Still, for anyone interested in this peculiar collection of background music that played in K-Mart stores during that era, this collection might be worth listening to.

Visit the full "Attention K-Mart Shoppers" collection at https://archive.org/details/attentionkmartshoppers for this rather unusual collection.

For a sample of what's contained in this collection (this one from 1973), listen to the embedded post below, or visit https://archive.org/details/Kmart1973ReelToReel for the recording.

Free to Be ... You and Me

It started with a book, or at least an idea for a book.  On March 11, 1974, on the ABC television network, a television special entitled "Free to Be ... You and Me" aired on U.S. broadcast television.  Produced by 1960's "That Girl" star Margaret Julia Thomas, better known as Marlo Thomas, (Marlo was the daughter of 1950's TV legend Danny Thomas, although her own TV show had gained her fame and popularity for being one of the first TV shows that featured a working woman who was not actively seeking out a husband, along with "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" which ran a few years later).  Incidentally, Marlo's brother Tony Thomas was co-owner of Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, which is the company that produced such hit sitcoms as The Golden Girls (very recently, his partner Paul Junger Witt died of cancer, see https://usat.ly/2KnztsL for that news).

At the time, because Ms. Thomas was already a celebrity in her own right, she was able to assemble an all-star cast for this particular special, among them: Marlo Thomas herself, along with actors/actresses Alan Alda, Dustin Hoffman, Kris Kristofferson, Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, Carol Channing, talk show host Dick Cavett, comedy producer Carl Reiner, NFL football star Rosey Grier, singers Diana Ross, Rita Coolidge, Dionne Warwick, Harry Belafonte, singer/songwriter Roberta Flack and a very young Michael Jackson (then of the hit Motown singing group known as the Jackson 5).

The idea began with Ms. Thomas herself, who as noted, was already a star of the late 1960's TV sitcom "That Girl", and in 1971, she also became a new aunt.  (This was prior to Ms. Thomas marrying daytime television talk show host Phil Donahue in 1980, whom she remains married to as of 2018).  Ms. Thomas felt that her young niece's storybooks were the same old ones that she had read as a child, and she felt that the then-recent entries to the bedtime canon only reinforced the idea that boys were supposed to grow up to become pilots and doctors while girls were supposed to become lesser stewardesses (the feminine form of a term that has since been replaced with the gender-neutral term flight attendant) and nurses.

Marlo Thomas conceived a children's book that, instead of telling boys and girls who they should be, instead hopefully opened them to the possibilities of who they COULD be.  She gathered many of her talented friends and acquaintances from various worlds of the arts (TV, music and even professional sports) and the result was highly-regarded as a modern classic of children's literature.  Life-enhancing themes were imaginatively blended with music and humor to expand children's personal horizons, enabling them to invent their own futures without limitation, while dispelling some old constraints and worn-out conventions in the process.

Among her collaborators was Shel Silverstein and co-producer Carole Hart, and the project created a gold record album and a best-selling book.  Then, in 1972, it was then turned into an Emmy-and Peabody-winning TV special.  The effort was feminist and multicultural; an early childhood education in empathy; multimedia before anybody even used the word.  It was also promoted by Gloria Steinem's Ms. magazine (I touched on Ms. magazine in my Lynda Carter post at https://goo.gl/c25V1y) which was very big at the time.

Ms. Thomas admitted that her inspiration was that she had just became an aunt (her sister Terre recently had a daughter she named Dionne Gordon in 1969 -- the very same year I was born).  Thomas wrote in the prologue to the book 'When We Were Free to Be' edited by Lori Rotskoff and Laura L. Lovett:

"Honestly I was just trying to do something for one little girl." That it would grow to become a cultural phenomenon was never a part of the plan."

But the basic themes in the book, album and TV special were meant to inspire girls and boys to challenge gender and racial stereotypes, value cooperation, and respect diversity became very much part of the feminist movement of those days.  Remember, back in those days, there were only 3 broadcast television networks (plus government-sponsored PBS if you count that, along with some independent stations in select markets).  Cable TV was largely non-existent at the time, and VCR's, DVR's, videocassettes, DVD's and streaming video hadn't been invented yet.  That basically guaranteed a large audience for a TV special that aired just once.

Marlo Thomas' own YouTube channel (which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/user/marlothomas) and The Free To Be Foundation's YouTube channels (which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/user/ftbfoundation) both have clips from different segments of the original ABC special.  I've pieced them together in a playlist (which may or may not be in the original sequence) below, along with clips prior to and at the end of the "Free to Be ... You and Me" television special with commentary from Marlo Thomas and several of the other collaborators on the project.



Yet this particular TV special, the book and especially the soundtrack that was created for it, were fondly remembered by thousands of kids who tuned in to watch the show when it aired on TV.  Today, those kids now are in their late 40's or early 50's, and stepping into leadership roles in society.  The lessons taught in the special remained in the minds of many of those who watched.

The result of "Free to Be ... You and Me" effort created a very large population that largely wants to put racial issues, xenophobia, homophobia, and misogyny behind it.

As one original review for the book 'When We Were Free to Be' eloquently observed:

"A moving reminder that the women's movement was and is ardently pro-child. These fascinating reminiscences and timely essays about what still needs doing to make our children truly 'free to be' will have you singing the songs again—or discovering the joy of learning them."

Some of the most popular tracks from the original soundtrack can be listened to at  The Free To Be Foundation's website at at http://www.freetobefoundation.com/.  I have included four of the main songs which are found on its website below.

Free To Be You And Me
http://www.freetobefoundation.com/audio/free_to_be.mp3



It's All Right To Cry
http://www.freetobefoundation.com/audio/its_all_right_to_cry.MP3



Sisters And Brothers
http://www.freetobefoundation.com/audio/sisters_and_bros.mp3



When We Grow Up
http://www.freetobefoundation.com/audio/when_we_grow_up.mp3



The book that inspired this blog "Whatever Happened To Pudding Pops?" has an entry about the "Free to Be ... You and Me" initiative which was as follows:


Free to Be ... You and Me

A BOY who loved his doll, a girl getting chomped by tigers, and a dog fixing a sink? Where do we sign up?

A record album, illustrated songbook, and 1974 TV special, triple-threat media powerhouse Free to Be ... You and Me was created when That Girl star Marlo Thomas wanted to teach her young niece that it was OK to break gender roles, in careers and life. And looking at today’s world, with its stay-at-home dads and doctor moms, there's little doubt that she helped make that happen.

Kids who got this book or album had probably never heard of women's lib except as a punch line on Maude. Many of the major points sailed over our heads; other parts seemed “no-DOY” obvious. No one likes housework. It's all right to cry. Boys can bake cakes, girls can bait hooks, and whatever gender you dreamy pencil sketches, snappy cartoons, and one story told in handwritten notes on torn notebook paper. Its most memorable song? "William Wants a Doll," sung by Alan "Hawkeye Pierce" Alda. Its best story? Shel Silverstein's hilarious “Ladies First,” in which a demanding little girl is eaten up by tigers. The book even addressed issues kids didn't know were issues, such as how you shouldn't dress your cat in an apron but should, if he so desires, let your dog be a plumber.  Heather Has Two Mommies gots nothing on this.

X-Tinction Rating: Revised and revived

Replaced By: A thirty-fifth anniversary addition of the book came out in 2008.  And in fall 2010, Target released a back-to-school ad prominently featuring the "Free to Be..." song.


The effort was not without criticism, even in the early 1970's.  As CNN reported, for every "Free to Be" class play, another school wouldn't acknowledge it. TV producers initially balked at a song that seemed to show Thomas and Belafonte as an interracial couple. At least one TV critic warned parents to keep kids away from the television when "Free to Be" was on.  James Dobson (who helped create several known anti-Semetic and anti-LGBT hate-groups, while avoiding anything that might imperil his own organization's tax-free status) Focus on the Family criticized it and advocated for rigid traditional gender roles in child-rearing. Even "Free to Be" supporters argued that some of the skits were classist, and noted that its bent toward traditional families with mommies, daddies and children were exclusionary to children in single-parent homes.

Still, with this kind of feminist-inspired teaching of children of that era, no one should be surprised that today, a majority of younger people are far less interested in reigniting old race or gender role tensions of the past (no matter what Donald Trump and his white supremacist supporters may believe, and a President who just barely won the electoral college while losing the popular vote by more than 3 million votes cannot presume he is guaranteed unwavering public support for his racial perspective).

Aside from the 2016 election results and the subsequent national embarrassment of white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, the country stands at a precipice right now.

Baby Boomer voters are finally outnumbered by the number registered voters, although voting patterns have enabled them to claim a majority for at least the 2016 election and possibly the next one or two elections, mathematically, their days are numbered.  Given the societal cues, the racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic views embodied by the Alt-Right (which is basically white supremacy re-branded with a new name), the very people who so fervently supported Mr. Trump will be increasingly difficult to maintain much beyond 2020.  Indeed, while he has solidified support among right-wing voters, polling shows that he has lost support among independent voters, and more generally, female voters overall.

On October 21, 2015, Marlo Thomas Tweeted this picture of herself,
her sister Terre and her niece Dionne (the little girl that inspired Free To Be)
who had both come to see her in the show Clever Little Lies.

While the original "Free to Be ... You and Me" television special had a very limited broadcast, The Free To Be Foundation was incorporated in 1973 to develop and market educational products that challenge stereotypes, fight discrimination, and encourage individuality and the freedom to pursue one's talents and dreams.  The foundation continues to maintain a website which can be visited at http://www.freetobefoundation.com/.  The Free To Be Foundation's website has links to where the 2008 thirty-fifth anniversary edition of the book (a link to the publisher is listed below) is still sold, along CD's with the soundtrack and even a DVD release of the original ABC television special.  In addition, a stage play with a script and accompanying music can be licensed from the foundation.

Several Links About the "Free to Be ... You and Me" initiative can be seen below:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/living/free-to-be-you-and-me-40-years/

https://www.uncpress.org/book/9781469619057/when-we-were-free-to-be/

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/doublex/features/2012/free_to_be_you_and_me_40th_anniversary_how_did_a_kids_album_about_gender/free_to_be_you_and_me_40th_anniversary_how_did_a_kids_album_by_a_bunch_of.html