Honey, Honey

otheruses4|the ABBA song|the Japanese manga and anime series by Eiko Mizuno|Honey Honey no Suteki na BoukenInfobox Single
Name = Honey, Honey


Artist = ABBA
from Album = Waterloo
B-side = King Kong Song
Released = April, 1974
Format = 7" Single
Genre = Pop/Europop
Length = 2:54
Producer = Polar (Sweden)
Writer = Björn Ulvaeus,
Stig Anderson,
Benny Andersson
Producer = Björn Ulvaeus,
Benny Andersson
Director = No video made
Certification = N/A
Chart position = * #2 (GER)
* #27 (USA)
* #30 (AUS)
Last single = "Waterloo"
(1974)
This single = "Honey, Honey"
(1974)
Next single = "Hasta Mañana"
(1974)
Misc =

"Honey, Honey" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA and included on their "Waterloo" album. It was the 2nd single to be released from the album after the success of the title track winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest.

History

"Honey, Honey" was written by Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Stig Anderson, with shared vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. As well as the English version, ABBA also recorded "Honey, Honey" in Swedish, 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", but this single only reached No.32, so instead, a cover version of "Honey, Honey" was recorded by the act Sweet Dreams, promptly hitting the UK Top 10.

"Honey, Honey" spent four months in the top five in West Germany, and also reached the top five in Austria & Switzerland. 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 first ABBA single to reach the AC chart.

Chart positions

Cover versions, appearances in other media etc.

* British disco singer Polly Brown, formerly fronting Pickettywitch, recorded a cover of the song together with singer Tony Jackson as a duo called Sweet Dreams. Their cover reached #10 on the UK charts in 1974. Interestingly, ABBA's original "Honey, Honey" had to compete with Sweet Dreams' cover version in the U.S. market. Although the Sweet Dreams single only reached No.68, it may have somewhat hindered the performance of ABBA's version on the American charts.
* A hi-NRG/eurodance cover by Abbacadabra was released in the late 1990s through Almighty Records. It was most recently available on the 2005 compilation "Mamma Mia: The Platinum Collection". The song is often mistaken on various P2P sharing sites as being performed by the Swedish teen pop group A*Teens.
* Another eurodance cover was recorded by the group Housecream.
* The song was covered on the 1995 New Zealand compilation "Abbasalutely" by indie band Loves Ugly Children.
* The 1999 compilation "ABBA: A Tribute - The 25th Anniversary Celebration" features a cover by Michael B. Tretow and his daughter Sofia. Michael Tretow was a recording engineer for ABBA during the group's career. This cover of the song is unique in that it features musical references to thirteen other ABBA songs interspersed within the melody.
* The song was covered as a duet by music artist John Klass and Singaporean actress Jamie Yeo.
* The song is sung in the first act of the "Mamma Mia!" musical by Sophie and her friends. Most of the lyrics are sung when Sophie is reading her mother's diary. Therefore, it is as if her mother wrote the lyrics in her diary. Also, the end of song reflects on how much Sophie wants to meet her father.
*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. This recording made no. 61 in the UK singles chart dated 2 August 2008, and no. 50 on the Australian singles charts [ [http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display_singles.asp?chart=1U50 Australian Charts 28/07/2008] ] . Released on download sales alone, it was credited to simply 'Original Cast Recording'.

References