Honey, Honey

Last updated
"Honey, Honey"
Honey-honey ring-ring.jpeg
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)
ReleasedApril 1974
RecordedJanuary 1974
Genre Europop
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

"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.

Contents

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.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

Personnel

ABBA

Additional personnel and production staff

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [22] Silver200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateTitleLabelFormatCatalogReference
Denmark, Norway14 Apr 1974"Honey Honey" / "King Kong Song" Polar 7-inch vinyl POS 1192
Austria, Germany, SwitzerlandMay 1974"Ring Ring" [a] / "Honey Honey" [b] Polydor 2040 120
BelgiumJuly 1974"Honey Honey" / "King Kong Song"Vogue45V. 3137
AustraliaSep 1974"Honey Honey" / "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)" RCA Victor 102514
Canada, USA1 Sep 1974 Atlantic 45-3209 [23]
USA"Honey Honey" / "Honey Honey" 7-inch vinyl, promo
SpainSep 1974"Honey Honey" / "Hasta Mañana"Carnaby 7-inch vinyl MO 1428
NetherlandsNov 1974 Polydor 2040 124
New Zealand"Ring Ring" [a] / "Honey Honey" [c] Family LabelFAY 1093
Dec 1974"Honey Honey" / "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)" RCA Victor 102514
Brazil1974101.8019
Yugoslavia"Honey Honey" / "Ring Ring" [a] PGP RTBS 53795
Poland1975"Honey Honey" / "My Mama Said"Polskie Nagrania MuzaS-606
Worldwide6 April 2024"Honey Honey" / "King Kong Song"Polar 7-inch vinyl, picture disc00602455882219

Cover versions

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 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. 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. 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.