Music Diary – 16th December

Welcome to my Music Diary – 16th December!

Göran Bror Benny Andersson (ABBA)

Happy birthday to Göran Bror Benny Andersson, who was born on the 16th December 1946 in Vallingby, Stockholm (Sweden)! Benny is very well known as the co-founder of the legendary pop band ABBA (1972 – 1982).

At the age of ten, Benny Andersson began to play the piano. Five years later he left school and started to perform in several youth clubs in Sweden. In October 1964 Benny joined the group „Hep Stars“ as a keyboarder and with the hit „Cadillac“ the band became very famous in Sweden. In June 1966 Benny met musician and composer Björn Ulvaeus – and they started working together. Three years later Benny crossed the paths of singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Björn met vocalist Agnetha Fältskog. These two couples began recording songs and in 1972 they formed their band ABBA. On the 6th April 1974 the quartet won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden with „Waterloo„.

This marked the start of an outstanding and successful career. Eight studio albums followed, which were sold worldwide over 380 million times, until the band broke up in 1982.

After the time with ABBA, Benny Andersson worked on many different projects, like the stage musical „Chess“ or the famous musical „Mamma Mia!“ (featuring 24 hits of ABBA), which was also adopted for a movie and became a blockbuster.

 

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