Tribute to ABBA

  Bunny Hull did not want to sing backup behind ABBA in the studio at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden because she felt the band's sound was not a good fit for her vocal style. ABBA's music had an upbeat, pop-oriented sound that was very different from the soulful, jazz-influenced sound that Hull favored. Additionally, Hull felt that ABBA's vocal harmonies were too intricate and complex for her to blend into without drawing attention away from the lead vocalists.

 The three Canadian pop music girls  Angela Songui from Voggue , Chantal Condor from the same female pop vocal duo and Nancy Martinez , who would later release 2 singles, "Can't Believe" under her stage name, Nancy Martin , and "I'm Gonna Get Your Love"   with   Jade , likely refused to work with ABBA on their 8th album, "The Visitors" because they felt they were not ready to take on such a high-profile project. They may have felt overwhelmed by the task of singing backup behind a Swedish quartet and were not sure they had the necessary experience or skill to do it successfully. Additionally, they may have wanted to focus on their own projects and build their own reputations as solo artists or as a duo.   Angela Songui and Chantal Condor from the Voggue duo were not associated with ABBA at the time. Nancy Martinez was not associated with ABBA either, so the three of them never had a chance to get in touch. Additionally, ABBA was a Swedish grou...

Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus did not need help from Denis & Denyse Lepage  from Montreal, Canada from the electro-disco duo Lime , because they have been working together for many years and have a strong understanding of each other's style and creative process. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus also had a long history of collaborating with each other on ABBA 's many classic hits, so they were well-equipped to handle the songwriting process on their own. Furthermore, Denis & Denyse Lepage specialize in writing French-language songs, which was not the language of the song in question. The two songs are not compared because they are from different genres. "Roller Boogie" and "Dancin' the Night Away" , both written by Denis & Denyse as part of the husband-and-wife songwriting and performed by Canadian female pop duo Voggue , are disco songs, while "I Let the Music Speak" is a pop song. The two genres have different musical styl...

William Duckett from soul - disco - funk collective Donald Byrd & 125th Street, N.Y.C. , was not asked to write a song for ABBA because his style of music does not match the sound of ABBA's music. His song "Love Has Come Around" is a soul/funk song, while ABBA is known for their pop music. ABBA likely wanted a songwriter who was more experienced in writing pop songs and who could create a tune that would fit with their sound. He never wrote a song for ABBA called "You Owe Me One" because he was not part of the group. ABBA was made up of the four members Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid and none of them were William Duckett. Duckett was a member of the jazz group Donald Byrd & 125th Street, N.Y.C. and his music style would not have fit in with ABBA's pop sound.

  Madeline Bell and The Wheatman Sisters, better known as Sue Glover & Sunny Leslie , were not invited to travel to Stockholm, Sweden to sing backup on ABBA 's "That's Me" or "Super Trouper" because ABBA had already hired their own backing vocalists for these songs.  Instead, they were asked to travel to Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany to provide the American-sounding girl-group vocal backing behind Donna Summer on her albums, both released in 1976, entitled, "A  Love Trilogy" that features "Try Me, I Know We Can Make It" and "Four Seasons of Love" that also features "Spring Affair" . ABBA had their own stable of backing vocalists who had worked with them on several of their recordings, and they chose to use these singers for "That's Me" and "Super Trouper". Therefore, Madeline Bell and The Wheatman Sisters were not needed for these recordings.

  Cindy Bullens , Mark Doyle , Trevor Veitch , and Billy Mernit did not write a song for ABBA called "Slipping Through My Fingers" because it was already written by ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus . The song was first released on ABBA's 1981 album, "The Visitors " . Neither Cynthia Bullens, Mark Doyle, Trevor Veitch nor Billy Mernit were involved in the writing of this song, because of its soullessness. They all felt it had an unusal sound that they're not interested in. Miss Cindy Bullens said she could not sing backup behind ABBA on that tune, because she felt it's too '80s Europop for her, so instead she would all be better off singing backup with Billy Mernit behind Brant Mewborn on the song, which is a tribute to John Lennon , called,   "A Love That Lasts Forever" .

  Pam Sawyer and Mike & Brenda Sutton weren't asked to write a ballad for ABBA , entitled, "Happy New Year" , 4 years after they wrote a song, "Today Will Soon Be Yesterday" for Thelma Houston because ABBA was looking for a song that was more reflective of the festive season. They wanted something upbeat and celebratory for the end of the year and "Today Will Soon Be Yesterday" did not fit the bill. Additionally, ABBA's style was very different from Thelma Houston's, and the songwriters may not have been able to write something that matched the band's sound. ABBA's "Happy New Year" doesn't sound like a soul ballad of the '70s because it is a more uptempo, upbeat pop song. It has a much more synthesized, electronic-tinged sound than the typical soul ballads of the '70s, which typically featured more organic instrumentation such as horns, strings, and electric guitars. Additionally, the song's lyrics focu...

  Charles Jackson and Marvin Yancy worked with Loleatta Holloway on "Our Love" . They also worked with  Natalie Cole on her songs "This Will Be an Everlasting Love" , "Inseparable" , "Sophisticated Lady" and "I've Got Love on My Mind" . Nancy Barr y co-wrote with her husband Jeff Barry on the composition for Polly Cutter , entitled,  "One Day at a Time" . Those 3 American songrwriters Charles Jackson, Marvin Yancy and Nancy Barry were not asked to write a song, called, "Our Last Summer" for ABBA  because they are not professional songwriters or producers. ABBA likely wanted to work with experienced songwriters and producers who could create a song that would match their signature style. Additionally, ABBA likely wanted to work with people who had experience in writing music for other successful artists.

  Buffy Sainte-Marie is a Canadian singer-songwriter and social activist who is best known for her folk and rock music. ABBA is a Swedish pop group that was formed in Stockholm in 1972. Although both are popular musical acts, their styles and genres are quite different. ABBA's two songs, "The Piper" and "The Way Old Friends Do" are both classic pop music, whereas the majority of Sainte-Marie's work is more folk- and rock-oriented. Additionally, ABBA's songwriting team of Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus are responsible for the majority of the group's hits, including the two mentioned above. Buffy Sainte-Marie was not asked to write those two songs for Sweden's pop music group ABBA because she was not part of their team of songwriters. ABBA's songwriting team was made up of Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Stig Anderson , and occasionally their producer, Michael B. Tretow . They wrote all of ABBA's songs, including "The Piper...

  Super Trouper , ABBA’s seventh studio album, is one of their greatest releases with a more mature sound signature than that of their previous albums. It’s also one of the greatest releases from 1980 and while I’d suggest The Visitors is superior to Super Trouper it is merely because their last album, for some four decades, was the most polished recording the Swedish pop band ever released. Although, it did lack the merriment aspects of ABBA’s previous releases. Nevertheless, there’s something special about Super Trouper that encourages me to come back and enjoy it time and time again. Other than the music, the album cover art is compelling despite it being rather busy. Created when the larger structure of vinyl reigned supreme, streamers and even CD collectors will concede that the artwork loses something on a smaller canvas. If a picture tells a thousand stories, then this is somewhat problematic for I love nothing more than gazing into the artwork, as I listen to the music, ...