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On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of ABBA's music in 2022, I'm going to tell you the story of ABBA through its songs.

Although ABBA's music began 50 years ago, we have to go back much further to begin this story.

Specifically, to January 25, 1931, in Hova, Sweden, the day Stig Erik Leopold Andersson, the former manager of ABBA and owner of the record label Polar Music, was born.

Stikkan Andersson

Stig started by writing his own songs and even released a single featuring his own vocals, but he quickly began buying the rights to international hits and translating them into Swedish for release in his own country.

That's why he founded Polar Music with his friend Bengt Bernard.

Together they produced more than 3,000 songs, which led to the rapid growth of Polar Music.

Let's listen to Stig's first hit, performed by himself, and his first two big hits of his own making, which helped create Polar Music.

Harry Brandelius+Jerry Hogstedt Orkester - Gradde Pa Moset

Stig- Tiveds Hambo

Stig Anderson+Borje Crona+Walle Soderlunds Orkester - Det Blir Inget Brollop Pa Lordag

Nacka Skoglund - Vi Hanger Me

Lill-Babs - Är Du Kär I Mej Ännu, Klas-Göran

Anita Lindblom - Sån't Är Livet

Björn Ulvaeus

Björn Kristian Ulvaeus was born on April 25, 1945, in Gothenburg, Sweden.

At the age of thirteen, he received a guitar and began playing music with a school group called the West Bay Singers.

In 1963, his mother entered them into a radio competition, where Bengt Bernard discovered them and, delighted, introduced them to Stig.

Stig and Bengt had just founded Polar Music and were looking for artists to sign, and so Björn and his group became the first members of Polar Music.

Stig changed the group's name to the Hootenanny Singers and asked them to sing only in Swedish.

Thus was born the group's first single in 1964: "Jag Väntar Vid Min Mila," although their first hit came with Stig's eighth single of the same year: "Gabrielle."

Björn had already started writing for his band, and the first song he wrote for them was "Darlin'."

The band's first two albums, titled "Darlin'," were also released that year.

“Hootenanny Singers” and “Hootenanny Singers Second LP”.

HootenannySingers - Jag Väntar Vid Min Mila

Hootenanny Singers - Gabrielle

Hootenanny Singers - Spanish Is The Loving Tongue

Hootenanny Singers - Darlin'

Benny Andersson

Benny Bror Göran Andersson was born on December 16 in Stockholm. Born into a musical family, he began playing several instruments at an early age. By the age of fifteen, he was playing in clubs and meeting his first partner, Christina Gronvall, with whom he soon had his first son, Peter.

The following year, after spending a few months with his wife in the band "Elverkets Spelmanslag," Benny founded the group Hep Stars and, a few months later, replaced their keyboardist.

The group had just released their first single, “A Tribute To Buddy Holly,” in June 1964, and would have their first big hit with “Cadillac” in March 1965.

They only recorded covers of American hits until Benny arrived and wrote songs like “Sunny Girl” and “Wedding” for them, which would also be hits and which Benny would promote as the leader of the band with Svenne Hedlund as its creator.

To continue with the Hep Stars, Benny will abandon his wife and two children, who will be left in the care of his mother.

Hep Stars - A Tribute To Buddy Holly

Hep Stars - Cadillac

Hep Stars - Sunny Girl

Hep Stars - Wedding

Björn y Benny

On June 6, 1966, the Hep Stars and the Hootenanny Singers met in Linköping. Björn and Benny, who were only known by their stage name, discovered a shared image as musicians. That same day, they composed what was their first song as a duo: "Isn't It Easy To Say." This song would be recorded by the Hep Stars.

Soon, the two would collaborate occasionally while remaining in their respective groups.

In 1969, with the help of Stig, they had their first hit with "Ljuva Sextital," which they wrote for Brita Borg.

Hep Stars - Isn't It Easy To Say

Hep Stars - A Flower In My Garden

BritaBorg - Ljuva Sextital

Hootenanny Singers - La Mamma

Agnetha Fältskog

Agneta Åse Fältskog was born on April 5, 1950, in Jonkoping, Sweden.

At the age of fifteen, she joined the Bengt Enghart Orkestra dance orchestra. After two years with the band, her manager, Bengt Enghart, sent a demo to Cupol Records, where Karl Gerhard Lundkvist was interested, but only in Agneta. So, she signed a contract with the label and recorded her first single, "Jag Var Så Kär," a composition written by the young woman after her first breakup. The song took her to number three on the Svensktoppen.

In 1968, Agnetha released her first album and became involved with German producer and songwriter Dieter Zimmermann, who promised her a successful career in his home country. After several unsuccessful German singles, that country finally ran out of patience with Agnetha and her romance, and she returned to Sweden alone.

In May 1969, Swedish television invited Agnetha to participate in the program "Räkna De Lyckliga Stunderna Blott" about Jules Sylvain, a Swedish composer, screenwriter, and musician. When Agnetha discovered that Björn Ulvaeus was also on the cast, she was delighted, having met him several times in the folk parks and even requested his latest single, "Raring," because she liked it so much. Against this backdrop, love blossomed between them during the filming of the program.

Agnetha- Jag Var Så Kär

Agnetha - En Sommar Med Dej

Agnetha- Robinson Crusoe

Agnetha & Björn - Nu Ska Vi Vara Snälla (Live Räkna De Lyckliga Stunderna Blott)

Anni-Frid Lyngstad

Anni-Frid Lyngstad was born in Ballangen, Norway, on November 15, 1945, to a Norwegian mother and a married German sergeant. The family moved to Sweden, but Frida's mother died of illness in 1947, and it was ultimately her grandmother who took care of Frida in the town of Torshälla.

In 1958, Frida joined the Evald Ek Orkesta and in 1963 she was the vocalist for the Gunnar Sandervarn Trio before forming her own band, The Anni-Frid Four. Both were with Ragnar Fredriksson, her first husband and the father of her two children, born in 1963 and 1967.

Gunnar Sandevärn Trio+Anni Frid Lyngstad - Mysty & All Of Me (Live Inspelat 1964)

Gunnar Sandevärn Trio+Anni Frid Lyngstad - Mr Wonderful (Live Inspelat 1964)

Gunnar Sandevärn Trio+Anni Frid Lyngstad - Stars Fell On Alabama (Live Inspelat 1964)

In 1967, he won a national competition with the song “En Ledig Dag” and as a prize, he had to present the song on television that same day.

EMI, the television show's producer, offered her a contract, and with them, Frida recorded several singles that didn't achieve the success she had hoped for.

In 1969, she participated in the Melodifestivalen (a competition that selects the song that will represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest) with "Härlig Är Vår Jord" (The Great White Horse), where she met Benny Andersson, who was accompanied by Jan Malmsjö, the composer of the song "Hej Clown," which she also entered into the competition.