How ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” Became the Happiest Song Ever – And the Hit They Almost Delayed

Coming up, a snapshot of international supergroup ABBA in 1976, with two massive hits on the horizon... Fernando and Dancing Queen. Yet they made a choice no one saw coming. Fernando was a reworking of a song originally written by ABBA's manager for one of their singer’s solo careers. The principal writers of ABBA wanted the band to record it but they didn’t care for his lyrics. So they rewrote it. The other song Dancing Queen was inspired by a smash that opened the gates for an entire musical movement and later science would prove that it is the happiest song ever recorded. … But Why did This Group pick one song over the other? And what impact did it have on their legacy? We explore the surprising decision to sit on a song that made one of their lead singers burst into tears because She knew would be their biggest hit in favor of another more complex one… that may have been code for a man who saved them from an earthquake …Huh? Don’t worry you’ll get it soon… It's next on Professor of Rock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.