Honey, Honey Explained
| Honey, Honey |
| Cover: | Honey-honey ring-ring.jpeg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | ABBA |
| Album: | Waterloo |
| A-Side: | "Ring Ring" (Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland)> |
| Released: | April 1974 |
| Recorded: | January 1974 |
| Genre: |
|
| Length: | 2:56 |
| Producer: | - Benny Andersson
- Björn Ulvaeus
|
| Prev Title: | Waterloo |
| Prev Year: | 1974 |
| Next Title: | Hasta Mañana |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
"Honey, Honey" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Waterloo, after the success of the title track at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.
History
"Honey, Honey" was written by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Stig Anderson, with shared vocals by Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Ulvaeus. Along with the English version, ABBA also recorded "Honey, Honey" in Swedish on January 30, 1974, at Metronome Studio, Stockholm.
This was the last official recording by the group in their own language, and was released as the B-side of the Swedish "Waterloo" single. In its English format, "Honey, Honey" was released with "King Kong Song" as the B-side.
Reception
"Honey, Honey" was released in several European countries, the United States, Australia & New Zealand, but not in the UK. ABBA's British record label, Epic Records, decided to release a remixed version of "Ring Ring" instead of "Honey, Honey". However, this single only reached No.32, and a cover version of "Honey, Honey" recorded by the act Sweet Dreams, featuring vocalist Polly Brown, hit the UK top 10.
"Honey, Honey" spent 4 months in the top 5 in West Germany and also reached the top 5 in Austria, Spain and Switzerland.[1] In the United States, "Honey, Honey" was moderately successful compared to the group's later singles. It reached No.27 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts; the 1st ABBA single to reach the AC chart.
Cash Box called it "a sweet pop rocker, featuring tight harmonies and excellent production."[2] Record World said that "the Scandinavian rockers take on a gentle, caloric, self-penned side."[3]
Official versions
- "Honey, Honey" (English version)
- "Honey, Honey" (Swedish version)
Personnel
ABBA
- Additional personnel and production staff
- Janne Schaffer – lead guitar
- Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
- Ola Brunkert – drums
- Martin Bylund, Anders Dahl, Gunnar Michols, Claes Nilsson, Åke Jelving, Inge Lindstedt, Alfred Pisuke, Sixten Strömvall, Harry Teike, Kryztof Zdrzalka – violins
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Cover versions
- In 1974, British band Sweet Dreams which reached No. 10 in the UK and No. 14 in Ireland in 1974. In the U.S. the Sweet Dreams version debuted on the Hot 100 in Billboard two weeks prior to the ABBA original but ultimately lost out to the latter, the peak of the Sweet Dreams version being No. 68. In Canada, the song reached No. 59.[9] Both the Sweet Dreams and ABBA versions of "Honey, Honey" also charted concurrently in Germany, with Sweet Dreams being the less successful with a No. 42 peak. Record World said of this version that the song "gets a spirited British reading from a group combining the old Supremes sound with very contemporary well -tempered synthesizer."[10]
- In 2001, a eurodance cover was recorded by the group Housecream.[11]
- The song was covered as a duet by music artist John Klass[12] and Singaporean actress Jamie Yeo.[12]
- The movie adaptation of Mamma Mia! features the song being sung by actress Amanda Seyfried (as Sophie), with actresses Ashley Lilley (as Ali) and Rachel McDowall (as Lisa) on backup vocals. As in the stage musical itself, the vocals in the bridge are replaced with an instrumental version. This recording made no. 61 in the UK singles chart dated 2 August 2008, and no. 50 on the Australian singles charts.[13] Released on download sales alone, it was credited to simply 'Original Cast Recording'. In 2023, the version was certified gold in the UK.[14]
Appearances in other media
Notes and References
- Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p.51
- News: CashBox Record Reviews. August 31, 1974. 18. 2021-12-11. Cash Box.
- Record World. August 31, 1974. 2023-03-15. Hits of the Week. 1.
- Book: Kent, David . . David Kent (historian) . Australian Chart Book . . 1993 . 0-646-11917-6.
- Web site: Timo. 13 August 2015. Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit A - AFR. 2021-06-23. Sisältää hitin.
- Book: Salaverri, Fernando. Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002. September 2005. Fundación Autor-SGAE. 84-8048-639-2. 1st. Spain. es.
- Book: Cash Box pop singles charts, 1950–1993. 1994. Libraries Unlimited. Downey. Pat. Albert. George. Hoffmann. Frank W. 1. 978-1-56308-316-7. registration.
- Book: Whitburn, Joel . 1999 . Pop Annual . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin . Record Research Inc. . 0-89820-142-X.
- Web site: Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 1974-10-12 . 2018-07-09.
- Record World. July 20, 1974. 2023-03-15. Single Picks. 298.
- Web site: Karine Sanche . Housecream, biography discography, recent releases, news, featurings of eurodance group – The Eurodance Encyclopædia . Eurokdj.free.fr . 2012-02-22.
- Web site: John Klass Page – iPOP . https://web.archive.org/web/20080920090137/http://www.ipoplive.com/ipop.web/index.aspx?page=john-klass&artistid=1 . dead . 2008-09-20 . Ipoplive.com . 2012-02-22 .
- Web site: ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart| Australia's Official Top 50 Songs . ARIA Charts . 2016-05-19 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100208082123/http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_singles.asp?chart=1U50 . 2010-02-08 .
- United Kingdom . single . Original Cast Recording . Honey Honey . 8954-3408-1. 24 September 2023.
