Great Moments in Vinyl plays ABBA

August 26, 2022 • Joliet Area Historical Museum • Joliet, IL

This is the story of ABBA. Four talented individuals who came together simply to write songs and blend their voices...and then went on to conquer the world of pop music.

Björn Ulvaeus was a handsome guitarist who had a successful stretch in a Swedish folk group known as The Hootenanny Singers.

He paired up with Benny Andersson, a keyboard player from a band named The Hep Stars...who were considered Sweden’s answer to The Beatles.

Björn and Benny found that they clicked as a songwriting duo. So Benny would craft a catchy tune, and Björn would go off with a recording of it and write some words.

Along the way, they’d met two talented singers: Agnetha Fältskog, who had already been a teenage pop star in Sweden, and Anna-Frid Lyngstad, a talented vocalist who hadn’t yet made her mark in the music business.

But there’s one other person who rounded out the lineup: their savvy and crafty manager Stig Anderson. The musicians had the talent, but Stig was the one who put all the pieces in place to make Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anna-Frid big stars.

By the way, did you notice their initials?

Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anna-Frid.

A...B...B...A. Or ABBA.