It’s considered one of ABBA’s signature songs, however the historical past of “Money, Money, Money” comprises a few shocking anomalies. One is that, though it topped the charts in lots of European nations in addition to in Australia, it wasn’t a No.1 within the U.Okay., regardless of being the follow-up to “Dancing Queen,” which was. The opposite is that the Andersson-Ulvaeus composition took a few yr to make the American chart, after which didn’t make the High 40 there.
After being a global smash within the autumn of 1976, “Money, Money, Money” entered the Billboard Scorching 100 of October 22, 1977. It was the successor there to “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” which had been a decent hit, peaking at No.14. Instantly earlier than that, “Dancing Queen” had additionally twirled its solution to the highest of the American bestsellers.
However ABBA’s chart historical past within the U.S. was at all times up and down. The one entered the survey at No.84, the second highest arrival of the week behind Toto’s rock-pop crossover “Hold The Line.” Queen’s “We Are The Champions” entered that very same chart at No.87, as did nation big Merle Haggard’s tribute to the recently-departed Elvis, “From Graceland To The Promised Land.”
“Money, Money, Money” was initially titled “Gypsy Girl,” and described her struggles to outlive in a wealthy man’s world. Billboard identified that it had “lots of good-natured gimmicks.” It climbed the chart falteringly for just a few weeks, generally with a bullet and generally with out, however peaked at No.56 in mid-November.
That was dramatically out of step with the one’s efficiency in lots of different nations. It went to No.1 in Germany, Austria, Holland and New Zealand, and No.3 within the U.Okay. In Australia, one of many group’s strongholds, it was the seventh largest single of the yr. Their fortunes have been considerably restored quickly, although, as “The Name Of The Game” arrived within the US countdown in Christmas week, 1977 and have become a High 20 hit within the new yr.
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