ABBA…OF COURSE!

When we learn about the music of Sweden in class we simply must go there, and right away -- ABBA!

ABBA! ABBA! ABBA! ABBA!
Sweden's ABBA is one of the best selling bands of all time. Ever. In the whole universe. Formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in the early '70s, ABBA (composed of two married Swedish couples who used the first letters of their names to compose the name of their group) rocketed to international stardom after their song "Waterloo"--oh my goodness, look at those shoes...!--won the 1974 Eurovision contest. They followed up with an extraordinary string of hits like "SOS," "Mamma Mia," "Fernando," "Take a Chance on Me," and, of course, "Dancing Queen." ABBA's two marriages broke up in 1979 and 1981 and, much to the world's chagrin, the band broke up in 1983, though they have continued to sell millions of albums a year.