Record label Universal Music is marking the 50th anniversary of ABBA's hit single Dancing Queen with two special vinyl editions remastered at Abbey Road Studios in London.
The release includes a limited-edition glitter vinyl and a classic black vinyl edition to celebrate the 1976 track, which underwent a long recording process before becoming a global success.
Work on the song began after the Swedish pop group completed a summer tour of Sweden in early August 1975. Following their victory at Eurovision with Waterloo in 1974, the group had released their third album, titled ABBA, in the spring of 1975 featuring the hits SOS and Mamma Mia.
Glen Studios Sessions and Musical Influences
Songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson entered Glen Studios on the outskirts of Stockholm on August 4, 1975, spending two days recording instrumental tracks with session musicians. They brought melodies for three new songs with working titles: Tango, which later became Fernando; Olle Olle, which remained unreleased; and Boogaloo, which was intended as a dance track and eventually became Dancing Queen.
Ulvaeus and Andersson spent extensive time determining how to create a dance atmosphere while maintaining their signature pop sound. They drew inspiration from George McCrae's 1974 hit Rock Your Baby and the drum tracks on Dr John's 1972 album Gumbo, which was a favorite of session drummer Roger Palm and sound engineer Michael B Tretow.
The songwriters built a backing track featuring drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards. When Andersson brought a tape of the backing track home to singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, she said she found the recording so beautiful that she broke into tears.
Vocal Recording and Single Selection
Agnetha Fältskog took on the lead vocal role for the track, while manager Stig Anderson created the title Dancing Queen and co-wrote the lyrics with Ulvaeus. Fältskog and Lyngstad added their vocals in September 1975, but Ulvaeus and Andersson continued refining the recording through December 1975 in pursuit of a perfect mix.
Both Dancing Queen and Fernando were completed at roughly the same time as the group prepared to launch a new single in March 1976. Although the band knew both songs had strong hit potential, Anderson persuaded them to release Fernando first, arguing that the ballad offered a refreshing contrast to Mamma Mia.
The decision delayed the commercial release of Dancing Queen by five months. However, the group performed the song during a television special recorded in Germany in late January 1976 and another recorded during a trip to Australia in March 1976 for the broadcast ABBA in Australia.
Royal Performance and Single Release
ABBA also performed Dancing Queen on June 18, 1976, during a televised gala at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm held for the wedding of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Silvia Sommerlath, who married the following day. As the only pop act invited to the event, the band wore Baroque costumes to fit the formal occasion.
The single Dancing Queen was officially released in Sweden on August 16, 1976, featuring the track That's Me on the B-side from their upcoming album Arrival. The cover photograph, taken by Ola Lager, showed the four members wearing white hats and became one of the band's most recognizable images.
The song reached number one on music charts around the world and became ABBA's first and only number-one hit in the United States in April 1977. Fältskog later noted that while it is often difficult to predict whether a song will succeed, the group knew immediately during recording that Dancing Queen would be a major hit.
