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Björn Ulvaeus

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Björn Ulvaeus was born in 1945 in Gothenburg and grew up in Västervik. As a boy he listened to blues musicians such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker. In the 1960s he became known as a member of the Hootenanny Singers, a Swedish group that sang folk music and schlager and had many fans in Scandinavia. In 1966 he met Benny Andersson, the keyboard player of The Hep Stars, while on the road. They discovered a shared love of songwriting and became a regular duo.

Music and breakthrough

Björn and Benny worked as producers at Stig Anderson's label Polar and wrote hits for others. In 1969 Björn met the singer Agnetha Fältskog, whom he married in 1971. Benny by then had a relationship with Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ABBA grew out of the collaboration of the two couples. Björn played guitar, sometimes sang lead himself, as in Does Your Mother Know and Summer Night City, and wrote most of the lyrics. Together with Benny he wrote and produced all the ABBA albums, with a sound finished down to the smallest detail.

Influence

After ABBA the duo continued working together. With Tim Rice they made the musical Chess (1984), then the Swedish musical Kristina från Duvemåla and Mamma Mia!, built on the ABBA hits, which also spawned two films. Björn Ulvaeus is an example of a songwriter who turned Swedish schlager into a worldwide successful pop factory.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Does Your Mother Know by ABBA, on which Björn Ulvaeus sings lead. Notice the rocking guitars and the fast rhythm, and the backing vocals of Agnetha and Frida answering his singing.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsSwedish pop (ABBA)