A Big ‘Billboard’ Accomplishment: ABBA Scores First #1 In Nearly 50 Years with ‘Gold: Greatest Hits’

A collection of Swedish soft rock sensation ABBA’s greatest hits that was released in 1992 has this week propelled the band to number one on Billboard‘s Dance Albums chart.
Gold: Greatest Hits includes songs like “Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia” and “Take a Chance on Me” and is currently number 80 on the Billboard 200 chart, which tracks albums of all genres. The collection has been listed on the Billboard 200 for 411 weeks and counting.
ABBA was formed in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972 by the quartet of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who used their initials to make up the band’s unusual name.
ABBA first reached No. 1 on Billboard chart in October 1976 when “Fernando” topped Adult Contemporary. In April 1977, “Dancing Queen” became the group’s first (and last) single to perch atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The band’s next number 1 was “The Winner Takes It All” which scored the top position on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1981.
Before this, the band’s first and only appearance on a dance chart’s top slot came 45 years ago in 1981 when three tracks, “Lay All Your Love on Me”, “Super Trouper”, and ”On and On and On” spent a week at No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart, which Billboard published from 1976 to 2020. As was the common practice at the time, the three tracks were combined into a single listing because all tracks were receiving club play from DJs.
ABBA is not credited with the film soundtracks for the chart-topping 2008’s Mamma Mia! and 2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and 1999’s Broadway recording of the Mamma Mia! musical is credited to the cast.


