On and On and On

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“On and On and On”
“On and On and On” cover
Single by ABBA
from the album Super Trouper
Released 1980
Format Single
Genre Disco, Pop
Length 3:40
Label Polar Music
Writer(s) Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
Producer Benny Andersson
Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"The Winner Takes It All"
(1980)
"On and On and On"
(1980)
"Andante, Andante"
(1980)

"On and On and On" was a rock-oriented song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA in 1980 for their Super Trouper album. The track - which had working titles "Esses Vad Det Svänger När Man Spelar Jazz" (roughly translated as "God Almighty how it swings when you're playing Jazz") and "'Til The Night Is Gone" - was released as a single in a few countries, namely the United States, Japan, Argentina, France and Australia. The B-side was "The Piper", also taken from the Super Trouper album.

The single reached the top 10 in Australia, where it peaked at #9. Although the song only managed to reach #90 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S., it's inclusion on a 12" single with the songs "Super Trouper" and "Lay All Your Love on Me" merits all three songs as having reached #1 on the American dance chart in May of 1981.

An early mix of the song was used in the accompanying video, and it features an extra verse:-

Standing up is scary if you think you're gonna fall / Like a Humpty-Dumpty 'fraid of falling off your wall / I say if you ever wanna know what's going on / Gotta keep on rocking baby, 'till the night is gone...


Contents

[edit] Chart placings

  • #9 (AUS), #18 (FRA), #52 (JPN), #90 (USA)

[edit] Cover versions

  • The song's chorus has a backing vocals arrangement clearly influenced by one of Benny Andersson's favorite bands, The Beach Boys, and in particular their 1968 hit "Do It Again". In 1981, Beach Boys member Mike Love returned the compliment by covering "On and On and On" on his solo album Looking Back with Love.
  • A dance version by Abbacadabra was released through Almighty Records in the late 1990s.
  • The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus recorded a cover of the song for their 1997 album ExtrABBAganza!.
  • The New Zealand compilation ABBAsalutely contains a cover by Tall Dwarfs.

[edit] See also

List of number-one dance hits (United States)

[edit] References

Languages