Was ABBA huge in the US?

[Wheeljak]

xI kinda liked the new discussion that grew in the drama room. Although I'm kinda happy that that thread was locked, I decided to break it off into a new one. Coz asserts that ABBA was huge here, but he's already admitted that he was high through much of the Seventies...

Here is a compilation of the chart performance of ABBA in countries which were major markets for their record sales:

http://www.zip.com.au/~callisto/summary.html

There's the numbers for ya. As I said, the world belonged to ABBA in the Seventies... but Americans coulda cared less. Incidentally, it looks like ABBA coulda recorded themselves reading the Sunday paper, and the Aussies would still buy it...

[Cozmo D]

There's the numbers for ya. As I said, the world belonged to ABBA in the Seventies... but Americans coulda cared less.

If you think 1 #1, 4 Top 10, 10 Top 20, and 14 Top 40 hits means "Americans coulda cared less", you don't know anything about the music business.

They were HUGE. Not as huge as they were in the rest of the world of course, but huge nonetheless. Household names huge.

[pmFan]

I gotta agree with Coz! Household names in the 70's. I remember things on the radio quite a bot. And when my mother got the Abba Gold LP (probably delivered COD) - we listened to it quite a bit. Everyone I knew at least knew of Abba and knew that lots of folks partied to Abba. They were big here.

[Wheeljak]

If you think 1 #1, 4 Top 10, 10 Top 20, and 14 Top 40 hits means "Americans coulda cared less", you don't know anything about the music business.

I have an old friend who spent a couple of weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 Dance Hits last year, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you've never heard of him.
No, I don't know anything about the music business; I never said that I did. However, I can count, and the numbers don't lie, 'cuz they're directly attached to money. Take ABBA's track record in the UK, for instance: 9 songs at #1, and 11 Top Ten Hits otherwise. That's what I call huge; their success in the US (#1 hit and 3 Top Ten hits) was quite modest by comparison; far overshadowed by many of their contemporaries.
And look at their album sales in the US-- never even cracked the Top Ten.

They were HUGE. Not as huge as they were in the rest of the world of course, but huge nonetheless. Household names huge.

If their success in America even came close to their success in the rest of the world, I would agree with you. However, they certainly weren't talked about in my neighborhood, and I was in the thick of the white-bread suburbs: ABBA's core audience.
The Bee Gees, on the other hand... now, THAT was a foreign act that was a household name here. You couldn't get away from them on the radio. And they were much better than ABBA, too.

[Cozmo D]

I have an old friend who spent a couple of weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 Dance Hits last year, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you've never heard of him.

The Dance charts mean NOTHING. Even the R&B Charts mean squat compared to the Pop charts.

No, I don't know anything about the music business; I never said that I did. However, I can count, and the numbers don't lie, 'cuz they're directly attached to money.

Means shit if you don't know what you're counting. Back then there was no soundscan and the numbers had NOTHING to do with money. They were driven by Billboard reporters who reported what they were playing, selling or liked. Want a higher number, spread a little coke around.

Take ABBA's track record in the UK, for instance: 9 songs at #1, and 11 Top Ten Hits otherwise. That's what I call huge; their success in the US (#1 hit and 3 Top Ten hits) was quite modest by comparison; far overshadowed by many of their contemporaries.
And look at their album sales in the US-- never even cracked the Top Ten.

We weren't talking about a comparison with their success overseas, we were talking about how they did HERE. And for the record, a success overseas pales in comparison to a success here. As for album sales, back then the industry was still single driven.

If their success in America even came close to their success in the rest of the world, I would agree with you. However, they certainly weren't talked about in my neighborhood, and I was in the thick of the white-bread suburbs: ABBA's core audience.

I guess your neighborhood just cancels out what both PM Fan and I remember huh?

[Mistress M]

I was too young to remember, but according to my mom they: "...weren't like the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or anything, but they were popular, you bet."

[syxxpm]

ironically enough the biggest selling U.S. hit they had was not "dancing queen" it was" take a chance on me" which was a #3 for a few weeks in the spring of 1978

[syxxpm]

I gotta agree with Coz! Household names in the 70's. I remember things on the radio quite a bot. And when my mother got the Abba Gold LP (probably delivered COD) - we listened to it quite a bit. Everyone I knew at least knew of Abba and knew that lots of folks partied to Abba. They were big here.

i dont know about cod.....ABBA gold was released on cd and cassette only in november 1992!!

if you mean old best ofs possibly

greatest hits march 1976
"comic book style album cover"

greatest hits 2 november 1979
"black cover with band photo dead center"

or abba the singles -the first ten years "november 1982"
"cool cover shot with girls in evening gown and frida complete with "raquel welch" haircut

[Chief]

yes they were huge in my area...cant speak for the rest of the country though...

[syxxpm]

and yes i own all the albums...even the live one....

ring ring 5/73
waterloo 4/74
abba 5/75
arrival 11/76
the album 1/78
voulez vous 6/79
supertrouper 11/80
the visitors 12/81
abba live "post breakup comp"-11/86
gold 11/92
more gold 10/93-(includes unreleased track "i am the city")
thank you for the music box set (includes disk or rarities including "dreamworld","you owe me one""just like that",etc

which goes to show ive turned into comic book guy from the simpsons....only exceptionally gayer.....

[pmFan]

greatest hits 2 november 1979
"black cover with band photo dead center"

That's the one - Still have the vinyl here in the house! A friend of mine had the Gold CD when I was in Chicago in the 90's...

Cool that you have a decent collection of their's - I take it that they were popular in you circles of friends?

[ElizabethX]

I always had the impression that ABBA was big, even if today that transformed into a small but loyal following. I wasn't born though so I wouldn't know personally how it was back then. I don't think anyone in my family was into it.

[syxxpm]

That's the one - Still have the vinyl here in the house! A friend of mine had the Gold CD when I was in Chicago in the 90's...

Cool that you have a decent collection of their's - I take it that they were popular in you circles of friends?

not really....i was 4 and 1/2 when they split (january 1983)

i got into them in late 95 when vh1 had a special about them which led me into buying gold...then more gold..than the boxset....than years later the albums....

nah my dad and i like them...all the people i grew up with were into death metal or gangsta rap...(celtic frost,cannibal corpse,crowbar,danzig and the other side was nwa,ice cube,slick ric, epmd

(apparently you were a "fag" if you like anything that wasnt musically or lyrically disonant....)read pop...or pop sounding.....

"this was highschool kids doing the "look at the hard edge music i listen to....doesnt that make me mysterious and hardcore(manly)...wouldnt you like to lay me"....phase

basically rap and metal was a pair of jeans to get them noticed....youd be amazed at how many would not know most of the lyrics to the bands they were listening to....(im in it for the guitars/ just like that dope bassline is a copout!)spout me back the lyrics to half of what you just heard....

if im into a band im gonna know at least 50% of the lyrics....lololol

[pmFan]

Celctic Frost - I saw that somewhere and downloaded it to give it a listen - was not the "Celtic" I had in mind...

Growing up, I would listen to whatever I could get on my second-hand, cheap radio. Once in a while my mother would get some LP on TV... By the time I was in highschool, I got a job at KMart and had my own money coming in. I was into Rap and Dance by then (classic rock just behind that). Beatles was a standard in our house while growing up (plus Jimi, Janis, Doors, Stones, LedZep, etc)

[pmFan]

I know what you mean about the stereo-types applied back in school... heh heh I have big collection of Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, etc. I also appreciate the girl voices - Cranberries, Sinad O'Conner, Abba, Veruca Salt, Breeders, Loreena McKennitt , Sarah McLachlan, Peter Paul and Mary, Mammas and Pappas, etc, etc - friends just look at me sideways when I switch it up and crank up some bluegrass!

[Etherspin]

wheres the love for Neil Diamond ?!?!!?!

dig that sinead oconnors Empire song tho!

[pmFan]

wheres the love for Neil Diamond ?!?!!?!

dig that sinead oconnors Empire song tho!

i like some neil - but I don't like it too sappy! I like much of the Monkees - Neil is in there...

[Etherspin]

would you say no to sweet caroline ??!?!! WTF!!!

[pmFan]

would you say no to sweet caroline ??!?!! WTF!!!

That one is a cult classic! Any group of people drunk in one place, put that on and cut out after the title and you will hear "Bomp Bomp Bommmm" at the top of their drunk lungs!

[Wheeljak]

would you say no to sweet caroline ??!?!! WTF!!!

Just don't play that Heartlight song. That's the sappiest song known to man.