"He Is Your Brother" is a song recorded in 1972 by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

pop group

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

, at the time known as "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid". The song continued on the lyrical theme from "

People Need Love "People Need Love" is the debut single recorded in March 1972 by Swedish pop group ABBA, at the time known as 'Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid'. The song was on the group's first album, '' Ring Ring'', released in 1973. Track listing # A. "P ...

" about reaching out to your fellow man. It was issued as a single in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

, and was taken from the group's debut album '' Ring Ring'', which was released in 1973 in

and a few

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

countries, excluding the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The catalogue number for Scandinavian releases on the Polar label is: POS 1168. The catalogue number in New Zealand is FAY 1054 on the Family label, the previous issue on this label being "

". The catalogue number in the United States is P 50037 on Playboy Records label.

Track listings

Sweden

A. "He Is Your Brother" B. "Santa Rosa"

USA

A. "He Is Your Brother" B. "I Saw It In The Mirror" USA (Mono / Stereo) A. "He Is Your Brother" B. "He Is Your Brother"

History

The song was written and composed by

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

Björn Ulvaeus Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films ...

. All four ABBA members share lead-vocals on this recording. The song was one of the early favourites among the group's members, and was the only song from the group's first album which was performed during the group's 1977 tour of Europe and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was performed by artists (along with ABBA), during the

Music for UNICEF Concert The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song was a benefit concert of popular music held in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on January 9, 1979. It was intended to raise money for UNICEF world hunger programs and to mark the b ...

in January 1979.

Reception

Due to its limited release, and the fact that ABBA had not achieved a great following outside of their native Sweden at the time, the song only charted in Scandinavian countries. In Sweden, it did not reach the Swedish sales chart but was a big radio hit reaching #1 on the ''

Tio i Topp ''Tio i Topp'' (English: ''Ten At The Top'') was a Swedish record chart and radio program broadcast by Sveriges Radio P3 between the years of 1961 and 1974. It was launched to combat pirate radio charts and was the first official Swedish record cha ...

'' singles chart. The single was also released in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on the local Family Label. "He is Your Brother" was released as a single in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1973 on the Playboy label, catalogue number Playboy Records – P 50037, with "I Saw It In The Mirror" on the B-side.

In popular culture

* ABBA performed the song live in the film '' ABBA: The Movie'' (1977).

Cover versions

The song was covered by ABBA tribute pop group Arrival on their 1999 album ''First Flight''.

Svenne & Lotta Svenne & Lotta (in some countries Sven & Charlotte) was a pop duo of Svenne Hedlund and Lotta Hedlund. They met in 1967, when (along with ABBA's Benny Andersson) Svenne Hedlund was the vocalist in the band Hep Stars. Charlotte Walker, which w ...

, Swedish duo with connections to ABBA, recorded the song as a b-side to their cover of ABBA's "Dance (While the Music Still Goes On)".

Santa Rosa

The B-side of the single, "Santa Rosa" had the working title "Grandpa's Banjo" and was originally recorded in 1972 with the intention of releasing it as single in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It was considered a "Bjorn And Benny" track. The writers have explained their dislike of the song, saying that the lyrics were clumsy due to the fact they only put the name "Santa Rosa" in because it fit the song; they actually came from

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

References

{{Authority control 1972 singles ABBA songs Polar Music singles Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus 1972 songs