Thank You for the Music
Encyclopedia
"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 group ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album (1977) and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 compilation album Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs (similar compilations were released in other countries). The song "Our Last Summer
Our Last Summer
"Our Last Summer" is a song by ABBA from the group's seventh studio album, Super Trouper. It was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.Recording for this track began on 4 June 1980 in Polar Music Studios...

", which was originally featured on the group's seventh studio album Super Trouper
Super Trouper (album)
Super Trouper is the seventh studio album by Swedish pop group ABBA, first released in 1980 .-Overview:Led by the international hit "The Winner Takes It All", Super Trouper was the group's sixth chart-topping album in the UK. It was also the best-selling album in Britain for 1980...

(1980), was the B-side. The was simultaneously released in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 (as Epic were the licensees for both UK and Ireland), and later released in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 (by Disques Vogue
Disques Vogue
Disques Vogue was founded in France in 1947, the same year that the USA Vogue closed shop. They originally specialized in jazz recordings, featuring such artists as Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, and Errol Garner. In the late 1950s Vogue expanded into pop music,...

), with the same B-side but different artwork, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 (by Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

), with "Medley" as the b-side (and again, different artwork).

"Thank You for the Music" was also the b-side to the single "Eagle
Eagle (song)
The song "Eagle" was recorded in 1977 by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the first track on the group's fifth album, simply titled The Album and the longest track they ever recorded...

" in 1978, which itself was only released in limited territories, namely Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 (though in some territories it was released as a double A-side). "Thank You for the Music" also formed part of ABBA: The Movie
ABBA: The Movie
ABBA: The Movie is a 1977 film about the pop group ABBA's Australian tour. It was directed by Lasse Hallström, who directed most of the group's videos. The film has become a cult film among ABBA fans...

. It was however released as an A-side single in South Africa where it peaked at number 2 in August 1978 and became the eighteenth best-selling single of that year.

Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Fältskog
Agnetha Åse Fältskog is a Swedish recording artist. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide, making it the fourth...

 performed lead vocals, with Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Prinzessin Reuss von Plauen , is a Norwegian-born Swedish pop singer...

 joining in on the chorus. "Thank You for the Music" was intended to form part of a "mini-musical" called The Girl with the Golden Hair (a phrase which is featured in the song) that songwriters Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

 and Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

 included in ABBA's 1977 tour. It was the opening track in the four-song musical, along with "I Wonder (Departure)", "I'm a Marionette" and "Get on the Carousel". These tracks from the musical were featured on ABBA: The Album, with the exception of the latter, which remains unreleased. "Thank You for the Music" is more well-known in its own right these days: it did make its way into the worldwide musical Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia!
Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...

.

The album version was recorded on 21 July 1977 at Glen Studio after a complete alternate version (known as "Thank You for the Music" (Doris Day version)) was recorded on 2 June 1977 at Marcus Music Studio. The Doris Day version was first released on the box set Thank You for the Music
Thank You for the Music (album)
-Disc 2:-Disc 3:-Disc 4:-Personnel:ABBA*Benny Andersson - synthesizer, keyboards, vocals*Agnetha Fältskog - vocals*Anni-Frid Lyngstad - vocals*Björn Ulvaeus - acoustic guitar, guitar, vocalsAdditional personnel*Ulf Andersson - saxophone...

.

"Gracias por la Música" is the Spanish-language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 recording of "Thank You for the Music", with lyrics by Buddy and Mary McCluskey. The B-side was the Spanish-language version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! ", originally titled "Been and Gone and Done It", is one of Swedish pop group ABBA's biggest disco hits. It was recorded and released in 1979 with "The King Has Lost His Crown" as the B-side. It appears on ABBA's Greatest Hits Vol...

" entitled "¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!". The song was released in 1980 to promote the band's Spanish-language album/compilation Gracias Por La Música. It was the group's seventh best-selling Spanish single, and also peaked at number 4 in Argentina.

Reception

"Thank You for the Music" was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 at the time, peaking at a lowly number 33, despite being released in both a poster sleeve and a picture disc in addition to the regular version. The low chart placing could be attributed to ABBA's declining popularity since their last Top 10 hit in 1981. But also, because of the song's inclusion on ABBA: The Album and Greatest Hits Vol.2 (both of which topped the UK charts), as well as being performed by the band during their world tours, it can be said that "Thank You for the Music" had been heard by fans and the like many times up to this point. The title itself is often also taken to signal the end of ABBA, leading it to be considered a farewell song. In Ireland, the single did a bit better, peaking at number 17. In the Netherlands, it peaked a number 38, but in France it could only manage number 58.

Cover versions

  • Irish siblings The Nolans
    The Nolans
    The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish all-female band consisting of a group of sisters. The group, best known for their song "I'm In the Mood for Dancing", gained prominence as guest performers on numerous television shows in the United Kingdom...

    , who were often seen on various British variety TV programmes in the 1970s and early 1980s, recorded their own cover of this song. It is included on their album Nolan Sisters.
  • German eurodance group E-Rotic
    E-Rotic
    E-Rotic is a German Eurodance project. They are mostly known for their use of sexual topics and innuendo in their music. Some of the female vocalists who fronted E-Rotic over the years also fronted Missing Heart vocals.-History:...

     recorded a cover of the song for their 1997 ABBA tribute album Thank You for the Music.
  • The 2001 compilation ABBAMetal (also released as A Tribute to ABBA
    A Tribute to ABBA
    -External links:* on Nuclear Blast...

    ) features a cover by German power metal
    Power metal
    Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...

     band Metalium
    Metalium
    Metalium was a power metal band from Hamburg, Germany. Their style of music was that of the traditional power metal sound which was pioneered in Hamburg by bands such as Helloween and Blind Guardian...

    .
  • British vocalist Dame Vera Lynn
    Vera Lynn
    Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...

     recorded a version of this song for her self-titled album.
  • The song's chorus was included as part of a medley entitled "Thank ABBA for the Music" on the 1999 compilation ABBAmania
    ABBAmania
    ABBAmania is a tribute album to Swedish pop band ABBA, released in 1999. It followed an ITV programme of the same name and featured various British and Irish artists covering ABBA songs.-Track listing:# "Money, Money, Money" – Madness...

    , which coincided with a British TV special. It was performed by Tina Cousins
    Tina Cousins
    Tina Cousins is an English singer-songwriter and former fashion model. She has had five singles in the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with others. She has also achieved popularity in Australia. She started her career as a model...

    , Billie Piper
    Billie Piper
    Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...

    , Steps, Cleopatra
    Cleopatra (band)
    Cleopatra are a platinum-selling, BRIT Awards and MOBO Awards nominated, R&B/pop girl group from the UK whose members are sisters Cleo, Yonah, and Zainam Higgins.The girls were signed to Madonna's Maverick record label...

     and B*Witched, and peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number 4 in April 1999.
  • The subsequent ABBAMania 2 album from 2004 contains a cover of the song performed with British TV actors Charlotte Bellamy
    Charlotte Bellamy
    Charlotte Bellamy is an English actress.-Early life:Bellamy attended Middlesex University studying Performance Arts, graduating in 1993.-Acting career:...

    , Jane Danson
    Jane Danson
    Jane Danson is an English actress, most famous for playing the role of Leanne Battersby in Coronation Street.-Acting:...

    , Wendi Peters
    Wendi Peters
    Wendi Louise Peters is an English television and theatre character actress. Peters is married to Kenny Linden and they have one daughter together called Gracie who was born in 2000.-Film:...

    , Bernie Nolan (of the Nolans), Tricia Penrose
    Tricia Penrose
    Patricia "Tricia" Penrose is an English actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Gina Ward in ITV1's long-running 1960s drama Heartbeat, a role she played continuously from 1993 to 2010...

    , Will Mellor
    Will Mellor
    William "Will" Mellor is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Jambo Bolton in Hollyoaks, Gaz Wilkinson in comedy, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps...

    , and Lee Otway
    Lee Otway
    Lee Otway is an English actor best known for his role as David "Bombhead" Burke in the British television drama Hollyoaks....

     on lead vocals.
  • A cover of the song is included on the 2004 tribute album Funky ABBA by Swedish jazz musician Nils Landgren. However, this version omits everything except for the first verse and chorus.
  • The German 2004 ABBA Mania compilation features a cover version performed by all the music artists who appeared in the TV special, with Barbara Schöneberger on lead vocals.
  • American actress/singer Jan Gelberman recorded a cover of the song for her album With Love To Share.
  • Swedish opera singer Anne Sofie von Otter's cover of the song was included as a bonus track on her 2006 ABBA tribute album I Let The Music Speak.
  • Filipino actress/singer Lea Salonga
    Lea Salonga
    Lea Salonga-Chien is a mezzo-soprano singer and actress from the Philippines well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon, for which she won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards.She was the first Asian to play the roles of Éponine and...

     recorded a cover of the song when she was a child.
  • A cover of the song was recorded by the finalists in the Dutch version of the music reality series Idols
    Idols (Netherlands)
    Idols is a television show on the Dutch television network RTL 4, which is part of the Idol series based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in the Netherlands....

    in 2006. This version includes vocals by the eventual winner of that season, Raffaëla Paton
    Raffaëla Paton
    Raffaëla Paton is a Dutch singer of Surinamese descent and the winner of the 2006 Dutch talent show Idols.-Biography:...

    .
  • A cover of the song by Finnish
    Finland
    Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

     a cappella
    A cappella
    A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

     choral ensemble Rajaton
    Rajaton
    Rajaton is a Finnish a cappella ensemble, founded in Helsinki in 1997. The Finnish word rajaton means "boundless", to indicate the breadth of their repertoire, from sacred classical to near Europop...

     can be found on their 2006 ABBA tribute album Rajaton Sings ABBA With Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
  • In the soundtrack for the 2008 movie adaptation of the stage musical Mamma Mia
    Mamma Mia! (film)
    Mamma Mia! is a 2008 musical/romantic comedy film adapted from the 1999 West End/2001 Broadway musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson...

    , the song is included as a hidden track sung by actress Amanda Seyfried
    Amanda Seyfried
    Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...

    .

Live covers and appearances in other media

  • The original ABBA recording features in the film ABBA: The Movie
    ABBA: The Movie
    ABBA: The Movie is a 1977 film about the pop group ABBA's Australian tour. It was directed by Lasse Hallström, who directed most of the group's videos. The film has become a cult film among ABBA fans...

    (1977).
  • A live version was performed on TV by The Carpenters
    The Carpenters
    Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...

     in 1978 in the Tonight Show hosted by John Davidson
    John Davidson (entertainer)
    John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an American singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991....

    . Fans have been requesting for years that Richard Carpenter release the Carpenters' version.
  • The song is performed in the Mamma Mia!
    Mamma Mia!
    Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...

    musical by the characters of Sophie and Harry. However, it omits the first verse of the original song. In the context of the musical, Harry is reminiscing about his younger, carefree days. At the same time, Sophie is letting the potential fathers get to know her better. She expresses how much she loves to sing and dance. Also, in order to coincide with the lyric, "I'm the girl with golden hair," Sophie's hair colour is usually blonde. "The Girl with Golden Hair" was a mini-musical that Benny and Bjorn wrote which ABBA performed at their Melbourne concert
  • American singer Deborah Boily recorded a live performance of the song for her album Thank You for the Music.
  • Portuguese
    Portugal
    Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

     singer Nucha
    Nucha (singer)
    Nucha is a Portuguese singer, best known for her participation in the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest....

     performed the song on the show "Chuva de Estrelas" for the channel SIC during the early 1990s.
  • A live version was performed by Norwegian art band, Hurra Torpedo
    Hurra Torpedo
    Hurra Torpedo is a band from Norway that plays songs using kitchen appliances alongside more traditional instruments. They were formed in the early nineties, are part of the artistic collective Duplex Records, and all members of the band also play in a variety of other bands in Norway.During...

    .
  • 16-year-old Zoe Birkett
    Zoe Birkett
    Zoe Birkett was one of the youngest contestants on the ITV show, Pop Idol, being only 16 at the time.-Music career:...

     performed a rendition of the song on the final 6 round of hit series Pop Idol
    Pop Idol
    Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...

    , in 2002.
  • In the 2003 comedy film Johnny English
    Johnny English
    Johnny English is a 2003 British action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. The film stars Rowan Atkinson as the incompetent titular English spy, with John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tim Pigott-Smith and Ben Miller in supporting roles...

    starring Rowan Atkinson
    Rowan Atkinson
    Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...

    , it is briefly sung in the dark as an echo chant.
  • The song was sung on Australian Idol
    Australian Idol
    Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...

     season 6 by Teale Jakubenko during ABBA week.
  • In the French and Saunders
    French and Saunders
    French and Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring comic duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. It is also the name by which the performers are known on the occasions when they appear elsewhere as a double act....

    : Still Alive farewell tour in 2008, both Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
    Jennifer Saunders
    Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...

     perform the song to close the show with Dawn choosing to send herself up by making noises instead of actually singing in some parts.
  • Several ABBA cover band
    Cover band
    A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...

    s end their concerts with "Thank You for the Music", as a tribute to the original group.
  • The horror novel Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist
    John Ajvide Lindqvist
    John Ajvide Lindqvist is a Swedish writer, mostly of horror novels and short stories. Ajvide Lindqvist grew up in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg. His debut novel Let the Right One In a romantic, social realistic vampire horror story published in 2004, enjoyed great success in Sweden and abroad...

    opens with a quote from Thank You For The Music.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK