"Mamma Mia" is a song by the Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

, written by

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...

and

Stig Anderson Stig Erik Leopold "Stikkan" Anderson (25 January 1931 – 12 September 1997) was a Swedish music manager, lyricist and music publisher. He was the co-founder of Polar Music and is best known for managing the Swedish pop band ABBA. Early l ...

, with the lead vocals shared by

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse "Agnetha" Fältskog (; born 5 April 1950) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and a former member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 Agnetha Fältskog (album), self-titled debut alb ...

and

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), also known simply as Frida, is a Swedish singer who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the pop band ABBA. Courtesy titles ''Principality of Reuss-Gera, Princess Re ...

. It is the opening track on the group's third album, the self-titled ''

'' (1975). The song was released in September 1975 as its sixth single. It tells the story of the narrator's on-again, off-again relationship with a lover who is repeatedly unfaithful to her. The song's name is derived from

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and literally translates as "my mother", but is used as an

interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...

(''Mamma mia!'') in situations of surprise, anguish, or excitement. The song was ABBA's first number one in the UK since "

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

" in 1974.

History and impact

The distinctive sound at the start of the song is the

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

. According to biographer Carl Magnus Palm, the instrument was incorporated at the last minute, added after

found it in the studio and decided its "tick tock" rhythm was perfect for the track. "Mamma Mia" was written at the home of

and

, and was the last track recorded for the album ''

''. It was one of four songs from the album to have a music video made to promote the album. Initially, however, "Mamma Mia" was never intended for release as a single. Around this time, many artists were recording ABBA songs (such as "

Honey, Honey "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 w ...

" and " Bang a Boomerang"). ABBA offered "Mamma Mia" to British pop group

Brotherhood of Man Brotherhood of Man were a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s with three number one hits in the UK. They won the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with " Save Your Kisses for Me". Created in 1969 by songwriter and record producer ...

, who turned it down. "

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was the third single to be released from their third studio album, ''ABBA'' (1975). The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and their manager Stig Anderson, a ...

" topped the Australian charts for three weeks; however, the promo clip for "Mamma Mia" proved the more popular after repeat screenings on Australian television, notably on the show ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

''. ABBA's Australian record company, RCA, asked that "Mamma Mia" be released as a single but Polar Music refused, preferring them to release "

SOS SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, originally established for maritime use. In formal notation SOS is written with an overscore line (), to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" a ...

" first. However,

agreed to this; "Mamma Mia" was released in Australia in August 1975, where it spent 10 weeks at number one. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said the single was "an example of BBA'sexcellent musical taste," stating that the "tune is upbeat, with characteristically varied textures." After this success in Australia,

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

in the United Kingdom took notice of ABBA for the first time since their

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

winner "

". From then on, Epic began to heavily promote ABBA's singles with the immediate result of "SOS" reaching the Top 10 in the British market, their first hit since "Waterloo". "Mamma Mia" soon followed, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart in January 1976, the second of ABBA's 18 consecutive Top 10 singles there. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "the reason he song is a worldwide smashshould be self-explanatory after just one listen." The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

for the Australian release of "Mamma Mia" was "Hey, Hey Helen". In most other countries the B-side was the instrumental "Intermezzo Number 1". ABBA's British label Epic selected "Tropical Loveland" as the B-side for the UK release, believing another vocal track, especially one showcasing ABBA in a different musical style, would better promote the parent album. In 2017, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' ranked "Mamma Mia" number seven on their list of the 15 greatest ABBA songs, and in 2021, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked the song number five on their list of the 25 greatest ABBA songs. As of September 2021, it is ABBA's seventh-biggest song in the UK with 860,000 chart sales (pure sales and digital streams).

Track listings

International single

UK single

Personnel

–

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

– lead and backing vocals *

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

and backing vocals *

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

and backing vocals *

Janne Schaffer Jan Erik Tage "Janne" Schaffer (born 24 September 1945) is a Swedish songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his work as a session guitarist for ABBA but he has also recorded with artists such as Bob Marley, Johnny Nash, Art Farmer and To ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

* Mike Watson –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Roger Palm –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

A-Teens version

Swedish pop group

A-Teens A-Teens (stylized as A*Teens) is a Swedish pop music group from Stockholm. The group was formed by Niklas Berg in 1998 as an ABBA tribute group called ABBA-Teens, which was later renamed A-Teens. The band members are Marie Serneholt, Amit Seba ...

released their version of "Mamma Mia" as their debut single on 30 April 1999 through

Stockholm Records Stockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group, founded in 1992, and known for signing musicians such as Army of Lovers and E-Type. Overview The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record compa ...

. It is from their debut album, ''

The ABBA Generation ''The ABBA Generation'' is the debut studio album by Swedish pop group A-Teens. It was released on 25 August 1999 by Stockholm Records. The album is composed of cover versions of well-known ABBA songs. The album spawned four singles, " Mamma Mia", ...

'' (1999). Upon its release, it became a smash hit in Sweden, where it peaked at number one and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks, earning a quadruple platinum

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

. On initial pressings of the single, the name of the group appeared as ABBA-Teens, but Stockholm Records thought it would be better to change the name of the band to A-Teens, so new pressings of the single were made.

Commercial performance

The single reached the top 20 in several European countries, reaching number three in Norway, number nine in Switzerland and the Netherlands, number 10 in Germany, number 12 in the United Kingdom, and number 14 in Austria and Finland. A

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

version of the song was recorded for promotion in Latin America and Spain. Despite the worldwide success, the song failed to attract the Australian public, peaking at 72 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, although it did reach number 13 in New Zealand. In the United States, the single peaked at 63 on the ''

'' Hot Single Sales Chart, becoming the band's first single to chart in the country.

Music video

The accompanying music video was directed by Henrik Sylvén and was filmed in Sweden. It shows the A-Teens as waiters at an art exposition, and they are suppressed by the manager; but soon they discover that one of the paintings transports them to a party where the manager and patrons he is helping also join in on the fun.

Track listings

* European CD single # "Mamma Mia" (radio version) – 3:43 # "Mamma Mia" (extended version) – 5:48 * European maxi-CD single and Australian CD single # "Mamma Mia" (radio version) – 3:43 # "Mamma Mia" (Giuseppe remix) – 5:35 # "Mamma Mia" (Jam Lab remix) – 3:56 # "Mamma Mia" (extended version) – 5:48 * UK CD1 # "Mamma Mia" (radio version) – 3:45 # "

Lay All Your Love on Me "Lay All Your Love on Me" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA for their seventh studio album, '' Super Trouper'' (1980). The song was not intended to be a single but after a remixed version gained popularity in nightclubs, it was relea ...

" – 4:04 # "Mamma Mia" (karaoke version) – 3:45 # "Mamma Mia" (CD-ROM video) * UK CD2 # "Mamma Mia" (extended version) – 5:48 # "Mamma Mia" (The Bold & The Beautiful Glamourmix edit) – 3:46 # "Mamma Mia" (Trouser Enthusiasts' Undying dub) – 9:20 * UK cassette single # "Mamma Mia" (radio version) – 3:45 # "Mamma Mia" (karaoke version) – 3:45 * US CD and cassette single # "Mamma Mia" (album version) – 3:43 # "Mamma Mia" (extended version) – 5:48

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

''Mamma Mia!'' version

"Mamma Mia" was recorded by

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

for the soundtrack of ''

Mamma Mia! Mamma mia (; an Italian interjection, literally "mommy mine"), Mammamia, Mamamia or Mumma Mia may refer to: Music Works associated with ABBA * "Mamma Mia" (ABBA song), a 1975 ABBA song * ''Mamma Mia!'' (musical), a stage play based on ABBA s ...

''. Her version was released on 8 July 2008 alongside the rest of the soundtrack, by

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

and

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

. It was produced by Benny Andersson.

Charts

Certifications

''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' version

Lily James Lily Chloe Ninette Thomson (born 5 April 1989), known professionally as Lily James, is an English actress. She studied acting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and began her career in the British television series '' Just Wi ...

Jessica Keenan Wynn Jessica Keenan Wynn (born Jessica Keenan Armstrong; June 12, 1986) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Heather Chandler in the off-Broadway production of '' Heathers: The Musical'' and Young Tanya in ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ...

and

Alexa Davies Alexa Davies is a Welsh actress best known for her roles as Aretha in '' Raised by Wolves'', Kate in ''Detectorists'', Yvonne in ''Cradle to Grave'', young Rosie in ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'', and Meg in ''Dead Pixels''. She grew up in Rh ...

recorded "Mamma Mia" for the soundtrack of ''

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' is a 2018 jukebox musical romantic comedy film written and directed by Ol Parker, from a story by Parker, Catherine Johnson (playwright), Catherine Johnson, and Richard Curtis. It is the sequel and prequel to t ...

''. Their version was released on 13 July 2018 alongside the rest of the soundtrack, by

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

and

. It was produced by Benny Andersson.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1975 songs 1975 singles 1976 singles 1999 debut singles ABBA songs A-Teens songs Atlantic Records singles Epic Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Music videos directed by Lasse Hallström Music videos shot in Sweden MCA Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Polar Music singles Polydor Records singles RCA Records singles Songs about infidelity Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus Stockholm Records singles UK singles chart number-one singles