16-12-2017, 17:38
Happy Birthday to Benny Andersson, pianist and songwriter extraordinaire - of ABBA fame of course. He was born on this day in 1946, in Vällingby, Sweden.
Benny had had a musical career prior to ABBA, with The Hep Stars, and he continued to have one afterwards too, composing music for film, scoring musicals such as Chess and Mamma Mia, along with Björn Ulvaeus (with whom he collaborated in both pre and post-ABBA days), and playing and recording with his Benny Andersson Orkester which is ongoing, I believe. He released a solo album this year simply titled Piano. Must listen to it sometime - CH reviewed it, if I'm not mistaken.
ABBA split up in 1982 after one intense decade during which they made a massive and indelible impression upon the world of pop. They were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, and are unlikely to be forgotten any time soon. Benny and Björn wrote most of the band’s material and whatever the magical formula was that they had going, it worked like a dream. They have to be one of the most successful song-writing duos ever. I can’t believe it’s so easy to remember the lyrics to songs I haven’t heard in absolute aeons, this one, for example, which is one of my favourites, and incidentally, the longest track they recorded at 5 minutes and 51 seconds …
Benny had had a musical career prior to ABBA, with The Hep Stars, and he continued to have one afterwards too, composing music for film, scoring musicals such as Chess and Mamma Mia, along with Björn Ulvaeus (with whom he collaborated in both pre and post-ABBA days), and playing and recording with his Benny Andersson Orkester which is ongoing, I believe. He released a solo album this year simply titled Piano. Must listen to it sometime - CH reviewed it, if I'm not mistaken.
ABBA split up in 1982 after one intense decade during which they made a massive and indelible impression upon the world of pop. They were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, and are unlikely to be forgotten any time soon. Benny and Björn wrote most of the band’s material and whatever the magical formula was that they had going, it worked like a dream. They have to be one of the most successful song-writing duos ever. I can’t believe it’s so easy to remember the lyrics to songs I haven’t heard in absolute aeons, this one, for example, which is one of my favourites, and incidentally, the longest track they recorded at 5 minutes and 51 seconds …
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson