ABBA

My grandmother was from Sweden, and I was a child in the 70Â’s. Therefore it was very logical for me to fall in love with the music of ABBA. Here it is almost 2009 and many of my daughters friends love dancing to ABBA, singing their lyrics with pretend microphones, and if they are lucky dancing underneath a real disco ball.

Did you know the name “ABBA” is an acronym formed from the first letters of each of the group memberÂ’s given name (Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid)?

ABBA was back in the spotlight in 2008 with the movie version of Mamma Mia, starring Meryl Streep, and Pierce Brosnan. The group members got together once again at the premiere in July. ItÂ’s coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray HI-DEF, December 16th.

Before this film there was ABBA: The Movie, directed by Lasse Hallström. He directed most of ABBA’s videos. All you Depp fans out there know him as the director of WhatÂ’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Chocolat.

Rumor has it, that John McCain wanted to use the group’s music in his 2008 presidential campaign, but opted against it, citing licensing and other concerns. Thank goodness for that because IÂ’m not sure what might have happened to my fond memories for ABBA music after it was linked with McCain.

If you’re an ABBA fan like me, join the fun at their official site.

We are not alone! Their official site is home to the worldÂ’s largest ABBA Online Community, now with 168,500 members. Who knew?

Check out this great video of ABBA performing Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! In 2005 a legendary performer used a sample of this song for her pop single. Can you name that tune?

Looking for a holiday gift for the ABBA fan in your life? How about the ABBA Nesting Doll collection, or the ABBA Singstar  game by Sony.