Honey, Honey

This article is about the ABBA song. For the song by Feist, see The Reminder. For the Japanese manga and anime series by Eiko Mizuno, see Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken.

"Honey, Honey"
Danish picture sleeve
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)
Released	April 1974
Recorded	January 1974
Genre	Europop
Length	2:56
Songwriter(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus Stig Anderson
Producer(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"Waterloo" (1974) "Honey, Honey" (1974) "Hasta Mañana" (1974)
Audio
"Honey, Honey" on YouTube

"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 and 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 first 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.	Title	Writer(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

• Agnetha Fältskog – lead and backing vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead and backing vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
• Benny Andersson – backing vocals, keyboards

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 Chart (1974) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report) [4] 30 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [5] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [6] 19 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [7] 22 Canada Adult Contemporary ( RPM ) [8] 8 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [9] 18 Denmark (IFPI) 10 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) [10] 14 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [11] 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [12] 17 Spain (PROMUSICAE) [13] 16 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [14] 4 US Billboard Hot 100 [15] 27 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [16] 27 US Cash Box Top 100 Singles [17] 37 West Germany (GfK) [18] 2 Chart (2008) Peak position Norway (VG-lista) [19] 16 Chart (2022) Peak position Hungary (Single Top 40) [20] 20

Year-end charts Chart (1974) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM) [21] 177 US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual) [21] 183

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [22]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Title	Label	Format	Catalog	Reference
Denmark, Norway	14 Apr 1974	"Honey Honey" / "King Kong Song"	Polar	7-inch vinyl	POS 1192
Austria, Germany, Switzerland	May 1974	"Ring Ring" [a] / "Honey Honey" [b]	Polydor		2040 120
Belgium	July 1974	"Honey Honey" / "King Kong Song"	Vogue		45V. 3137
Australia	Sep 1974	"Honey Honey" / "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)"	RCA Victor		102514
Canada, USA	1 Sep 1974		Atlantic		45-3209	[23]
USA		"Honey Honey" / "Honey Honey"		7-inch vinyl, promo
Spain	Sep 1974	"Honey Honey" / "Hasta Mañana"	Carnaby	7-inch vinyl	MO 1428
Netherlands	Nov 1974		Polydor		2040 124
New Zealand		"Ring Ring" [a] / "Honey Honey" [c]	Family Label		FAY 1093
	Dec 1974	"Honey Honey" / "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)"	RCA Victor		102514
Brazil	1974				101.8019
Yugoslavia		"Honey Honey" / "Ring Ring" [a]	PGP RTB		S 53795
Poland	1975	"Honey Honey" / "My Mama Said"	Polskie Nagrania Muza		S-606
Worldwide	6 April 2024	"Honey Honey" / "King Kong Song"	Polar	7-inch vinyl, picture disc	00602455882219

Cover versions

• In 1974, British band Sweet Dreams which reached No. 10 in the UK and No. 14 in Ireland. 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. ^[24] 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." ^[25]
• The 2008 film Mamma Mia! features the song being sung by Amanda Seyfried (as Sophie), with 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. ^[26] Released on download sales alone, it was credited to simply 'Original Cast Recording'. In 2023, the version was certified gold in the UK. ^[27]

Notes

1. 1974 Remix
2. B-side flipped over for charts.
3. Double A-side

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 (in Finnish). 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. 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. Cash Box (PDF). 7 Sep 1974. p. 19.
24. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1974-10-12. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
25. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. July 20, 1974. p. 298. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
26. "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.
27. "British single certifications – Original Cast Recording – Honey Honey". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 24 September 2023.