Tribute to ABBA

  good old fascinating American disco rhythms bad Swedish/European electronic synth pop beats not good enough - not made for dancing Here is the story: “Me and I” is a song from ABBA’s 1980 album Super Trouper. As with much of ABBA’s 80s output, the song features use of a synthesizer, and some have classified the song as synthpop. Never released as a single, the song is often regarded by ABBA fans as one of their best album tracks. The song was written by ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song can be considered to be an early electronic song. Anni-Frid Lyngstad handles the lead vocals. Background Recording began on 8 September 1980 and finished on 25 September 1980.[1] The track acquired the following two working titles: “Jackass” and “Piccolino”. It is the last song on the first side of Super Trouper. In the book Bright Lights, Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm, he wrote the following:"Bjorn's maturity as a lyricist was showcased in songs like 'The Winner...

  ABBA never brought extra backup singers both white and black to perform background vocals in the studio behind them on their 7th album, "Super Trouper" , such as: Petsye Powell Dona' Thedford Roy Galloway Arthur Simms Margo Williams Billy Thedford Yvonne Hodges Norma Garbo Catherine Russell   Julia, Maxine, Luther & Oren Waters Merry Clayton Louise Bethune Carolyn Willis, Edna Wright & Shelly Clark Tawatha Agee Venette Gloud Luther Vandross and his friends Charles Chalmers, Sandy Rhodes & Donna Rhodes Betty Wright Ullanda McCullough Gwen Guthrie Polly Cutter Norma Jean Wright Pattie Brooks Brenda Russell Darlene Love Venetta Fields Teri DeSario Jocelyn Brown Betsy Allen Helen Chappelle Vicki Brown Judy Clay Stephanie DeSykes Leanora Logan LaRita Gaskins Rene Mills Vicki Hampton because they had no extra money, so ABBA wanted themselves alone on all vocals as The Silver Convention Official Tribute Page from Facebook once commented: To name singers who did N...

No pulsating kick sound of the bass drum during the first half of the chorus for the third time " no handclaps no American flavor Their 1980 original is too plain with ordinary europop beats that doesn’t make me want to dance. It didn't move me. Plus it was American disco enough. It would've needed more work. Here is the story about why it had no American disco elements after the disco backlash: Understanding ABBA’s “Super Trouper” and the Disco Backlash Historical Context of Disco in the Late 1970s The late 1970s witnessed a significant cultural phenomenon known as disco, characterized by its upbeat tempo, danceable rhythms, and orchestral arrangements. However, by the early 1980s, this genre faced a backlash. The backlash was fueled by various factors including a perceived over-commercialization of disco music, a growing discontent among rock fans, and events such as the infamous Disco Demolition Night in 1979 which symbolized a rejection of disco culture. ABBA’s Positi...

  #470, 29th November 1980   The mockery of pop stars who write songs about how tough their lives are is as routinised as any of the tour grind they complain about: a reliable cue to take a celebrity down a peg. “Super Trouper” seems to have escaped this, maybe because ridicule was diverted to its silly, awkward title – or maybe because its exhausted candour rings too true.  “Wishing every show was the last show”; “bored of a success that never ends”; “how can anyone be so lonely?”  – as sung here these aren’t just the decadent complaints of over-indulged divas, they’re the sound of a miserable woman who’s stuck on a golden treadmill and wants off. The figleaf these sentiments are clothed in – she wants to escape into the arms of a lover – is hardly convincing. The feelings are too stark, the wash-out in Frida’s voice too obvious, for even that lovely soaring middle eight to seem like anything but fantasy. No, this is ABBA hitting a wall, an apt last number one for t...

SOMEWHERE IN THE CROWD THERE'S YOU (AMERICAN VERSION) Narrated by George Smith & Laurie Maitland- aired on November 3, 2000 I was 25 when I was doing a little documentary with George Smith, my partner about ABBA's 7th album, "Super Trouper" as we celebrated its 20th anniversary of their release, released on November 3, 1980. That was 2 years after my self-titled debut album release. I was wondering why they refused to go powerhouse American disco or sophisticated disco with bongos and congas playing when they couldn't sound like Donna Summer and I was also wondering why they never brought additional backup singers from both America, Canada and UK to sing backup behind them. - Laurie Maitland Here is the story: Super Trouper is the seventh studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA, first released in 1980. It features the No.1 singles "The Winner Takes It All" and "Super Trouper". The album became the biggest-selling album of 1980 in the UK...

It's that time again. Another “Who Did it Better?” This one would have been suggested by Charles Woods. Please listen to both then where your thoughts in the comments section. "Super Trouper" is a single by Swedish pop group ABBA , and the title track from their 1980 studio album of the same name, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song – with lead vocals, sung without fire by Anni-Frid Lyngstad – had the working title "Blinka Lilla Stjärna",[2] and was the last track to be written and recorded for the album (ultimately replacing the track "Put On Your White Sombrero"). "Super Trouper" is included on the compilation album Gold: Greatest Hits, and also features in the musical Mamma Mia!.  The name "Super Trouper" referred to the spotlights used in stadium concerts.[3]   American alto pop singer Debbie Sims covered this song, sung with fire in an American disco style with strong disco beats from her 1998 album, “Songs...

“Super Trouper” was a hit single for Swedish pop group ABBA, and was the title track from their 1980 studio album Super Trouper, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song, with lead vocals by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, was the last to be written and recorded for this album. “Super Trouper” is included on the Gold: Greatest Hits compilation, as well as in the Mamma Mia! musical. Debbie Sims - best Disco Version: Personnel: Lead Vocals – Debbie Sims Bass – Vince Fay Drums & Congas – Daryl Burgee Electric Piano – Joel Bryant, Greg Phillinganes Grand Piano – Laurie Maitland Guitars – Paul Jackson Jr. Horns Arranged by Lou Del Gatto Percussion – Alan Estes Handclaps: Robert P. Brown, Colleen Heather, Janice Kahn, Willie Mae Kidd "Sasha", Eric Lipman, Sonia Lonon, Laurie Maitland, Frank Simon, Pam Sindaco and Tim Wang Backing Vocals – Christine Burnett, Dennis Englewood, Helen Taylor, Joyce Berry, Laurie Maitland, Liz McKay, Lupe MacKenzie, Matthew Foster, Tric...

This is Debbie Sims' first single off from the 1998 tribute album, "Songs of Andersson & Ulvaeus", which is a tribute to the Swedish pop music quartet ABBA. NOTE: PROBLEM: The original song, “Super Trouper” by ABBA contains no strings, no horns, no bongos, no congas, no American percussion playing, no bass drum pounding, nor handclaps since the disco backlash started in late 1980, but too many synthesizers that made their original sound too euro-pop, too plain, too ordinary, too Schlager, too Swedish pop with not enough American disco rhythms or not enough American roots when they don’t pronounce the “z” sound, but pronounce the “s” sound just because the members from ABBA, named, Frida Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are Swedish. Also, in this original song by ABBA, during the first half of the chorus for the third time, there were no drums playing nor the pulsating beat of the bass drum playing that made it too plain; instead it had n...

  "Super Trouper" is a single by Swedish pop group ABBA, and the title track from their 1980 studio album of the same name, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song – with lead vocals by Anni-Frid Lyngstad – had the working title "Blinka Lilla Stjärna",[2] and was the last track to be written and recorded for the album (ultimately replacing the track "Put On Your White Sombrero"). "Super Trouper" is included on the compilation album Gold: Greatest Hits, and also features in the musical Mamma Mia!.  The name "Super Trouper" referred to the spotlights used in stadium concerts.[3]