Greatest Hits (ABBA album)

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Greatest Hits
Greatest hits by ABBA
Released	November 17, 1975
Recorded	March 1972- March 1975
Genre	Pop
Length	42:38
Label	Polar (Sweden) Epic (UK) Atlantic (US) Universal Music (2006 reissue)
Producer	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus
Professional reviews
Robert Christgau (C+) link
ABBA chronology
ABBA (1975) Greatest Hits (1975) Arrival (1976)
Alternate cover
UK Edition

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in 1975 (see 1975 in music). Greatest Hits was rush-released in Scandinavia in November 1975 to counter expected import sales of similar collections released by licencees in Europe, such as French Disques Vogue's ABBA's Greatest Hits and West German Polydor's The Best Of ABBA. The album was the best selling album of 1976 in the UK. Its compilation successor was Greatest Hits Vol. 2, released in 1979.

The artwork pictured (by artist Hans Arnold) was not used in all countries - a completely different design was used in the UK, North America and some other territories, featuring the group sitting in a park on a chilly autumn day. Benny and Frida are kissing, while Björn reads a technical paper and Agnetha looks wistfully ahead into the distance.[1]

Both versions of the sleeve featured a gatefold design.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Side A 1.2 Side B 2 Charts 3 See also

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson unless otherwise noted.

[edit] Side A

1. "SOS" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:22
2. "He Is Your Brother" – 3:17
3. "Ring Ring" (Anderson, Andersson, Cody, Sedaka, Ulvaeus) – 3:03
4. "Hasta Mañana" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:09 Not on US/Canada edition
5. "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" – 2:52
6. "Honey, Honey" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:55
7. "So Long" – 3:06

[edit] Side B

1. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:15
2. "People Need Love" – 2:43
3. "Bang-A-Boomerang" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 3:02
4. "Another Town, Another Train" – 3:10
5. "Mamma Mia" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:54
6. "Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)" – 3:05
7. "Waterloo" (Anderson, Andersson, Ulvaeus) – 2:42

The song "Fernando" was added to Greatest Hits when the LP was released in certain countries during the first few months of 1976. In Australia and New Zealand, where Greatest Hits was replaced by the local compilation The Best Of ABBA, "Fernando" was released on the Arrival album.

Variations on the tracklisting exist. For instance, "Fernando" was added as the opening track on the 1976 re-release of the album in Norway and Denmark, whereas in the UK and elsewhere it was added as the closing track. In the USA, the tracklisting missed out "Hasta Mañana" and rearranged some of the other tracks.

In 2006 the album was re-released on CD to mark its 30th anniversary, in a miniature album sleeve. The design and tracklisting was based on the 1976 Norway/Denmark re-issue, featuring the Scandinavian artwork with the park bench photo on the inner gatefold and "Fernando" as the opening track.

The UK park bench artwork was designed by CBS/Epic in the UK, and was also used in North America. It was issued on CD in 1984 by Atlantic in the US but was later deleted. This version copied the orignal vinyl album cover but without the tracklisting on the front.

[edit] Charts

Album - Europe

Year	Chart	Position
1976	UK Album Chart	1
1976	Norway's Album Chart	1 (1)

Album - USA and Canada

Year	Chart	Position
1976	Billboard 200 - USA	48
1976	RPM albums - Canada	2
1977	CRIA albums - Canada	6

Singles - Europe

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1976	"Fernando"	UK Singles Chart	1
1976	"Fernando"	Norway's Singles Chart	2 (7)

Singles - USA and Canada

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1976	"Fernando"	Billboard Hot 100 - USA	13
1976	"Fernando"	Billboard Adult Contemporary - USA	1
1976	"Fernando"	Cashbox singles - USA	10
1976	"Fernando"	RPM singles - Canada	4
1976	"Fernando"	RPM Adult Contemporary - Canada	1
1976	"Fernando"	Steede Report airplay - Canada	2

v • d • e ABBA Agnetha Fältskog • Björn Ulvaeus • Benny Andersson • Anni-Frid Lyngstad Studio albums Ring Ring • Waterloo • ABBA • Arrival • The Album • Voulez-Vous • Super Trouper • The Visitors Compilations Greatest Hits • Greatest Hits Vol. 2 • Gracias Por La Música • The Singles: The First Ten Years • ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits • More ABBA Gold: More ABBA Hits • ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos • Thank You for the Music • The Definitive Collection • The Complete Studio Recordings • Number Ones Hit singles "People Need Love" • "He Is Your Brother" • "Ring Ring" • "Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)" • "Waterloo" • "Honey, Honey" • "So Long" • "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" • "SOS" • "Mamma Mia" • "Fernando" • "Dancing Queen" • "Money, Money, Money" • "Knowing Me, Knowing You" • "The Name of the Game" • "Take a Chance on Me" • "Eagle" • "Summer Night City" • "Chiquitita" • "Does Your Mother Know" • "Voulez-Vous" • "Angeleyes" • "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" • "I Have a Dream" • "The Winner Takes It All" • "On and On and On" • "Super Trouper" • "Lay All Your Love on Me" • "One of Us" • "When All is Said and Done" • "Head over Heels" • "The Visitors" • "The Day Before You Came" • "Under Attack" • "Thank You for the Music" Related articles Discography • Unreleased songs • Eurovision Song Contest 1974 • Mamma Mia! (musical) • Mamma Mia! (film) • Congratulations • Music of Sweden • Stig Anderson • "Thank ABBA for the Music"

[edit] See also

• Music of Sweden
• Official Abba Website