"Honey, Honey"
Single by ABBA
from the album Waterloo
A-side"Ring Ring" (Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland)>
B-side
  • "King Kong Song" (Sweden, Denmark, Belgium)
  • "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)" (Australia, Canada, US)
  • "Hasta Mañana" (Netherlands, Spain)
ReleasedApril 1974
RecordedJanuary 1974
Genre
Length2:56
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Benny Andersson
  • Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"Waterloo"
(1974)		 "Honey, Honey"
(1974)		 "Hasta Mañana"
(1974)
Audio
"Honey, Honey" on YouTube
Audio sample
"Honey, Honey (English version)"
  • file
  • help

"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]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Honey Honey"
  • Andersson
  • Anderson
  • Ulvaeus
2:56
2."Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)"
  • Ulvaeus
  • Andersson
3:05

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

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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.[23] 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."[24]
  • In 2001, a eurodance cover was recorded by the group Housecream.[25]
  • The song was covered as a duet by music artist John Klass[26] and Singaporean actress Jamie Yeo.[26]
  • 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.[27] Released on download sales alone, it was credited to simply 'Original Cast Recording'. In 2023, the version was certified gold in the UK.[28]

Appearances in other media

References

  1. ↑ Scott, Robert (2002) 'ABBA: Thank You for the Music – The Stories Behind Every Song', Carlton Books Limited: Great Britain, p.51
  2. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 31, 1974. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  3. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. August 31, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  4. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ "ABBA – Honey Honey" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "ABBA – Honey Honey" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "ABBA – Honey Honey" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6160." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3875a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  10. ↑ Timo (13 August 2015). "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit A - AFR". Sisältää hitin. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  11. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – ABBA" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "ABBA – Honey Honey" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  13. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  14. ↑ "ABBA – Honey Honey". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "ABBA Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "ABBA Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  17. ↑ Downey, Pat; Albert, George; Hoffmann, Frank W (1994). Cash Box pop singles charts, 1950–1993. Libraries Unlimited. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-56308-316-7.
  18. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – ABBA – Honey Honey" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  19. ↑ "ABBA – Honey Honey". VG-lista. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  20. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  21. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  22. ↑ "British single certifications – ABBA – Honey Honey". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  23. ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1974-10-12. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
  24. ↑ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. July 20, 1974. p. 298. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  25. ↑ Karine Sanche. "Housecream, biography discography, recent releases, news, featurings of eurodance group – The Eurodance Encyclopædia". Eurokdj.free.fr. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  26. 1 2 "John Klass Page – iPOP". Ipoplive.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
  27. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart| Australia's Official Top 50 Songs". ARIA Charts. Archived from the original on 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  28. ↑ "British single certifications – Original Cast Recording – Honey Honey". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
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