''Gracias Por La Música'' is a

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Am ...

album by Swedish

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''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 grou ...

, released in Spain on 5 April 1980 and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

on May 10. ''Gracias Por La Música'' was originally released due to the unexpected surge in popularity for the group in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Argentina after the release of the Spanish-language versions of "Chiquitita" and "I Have a Dream" in 1979. These tracks were both released as singles and went on to become big hits. Encouraged by this success, the band therefore decided to record another eight tracks in Spanish and release a full-length album especially for the Latin American market. The album was also released in ABBA's native Sweden on June 23, and in Japan on July 21 after ABBA played eleven successful concerts earlier in March.

Background and production

The album's title is the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

translation of the title of one of ABBA's hits, " Thank You for the Music". The couple Buddy and Mary McCluskey, both working at

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

in Argentina at the time, were again called in to translate the lyrics. During the recording sessions which took place in January 1980 in the Polar Music studios the lead vocalists

Agnetha Fältskog Agneta Åse Fältskog (born 5 April 1950), known as Agnetha Fältskog (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and musician. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 self-titled debut album. She later achieved internatio ...

and

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

were helped with the pronunciation by Swedish/Spanish journalist Ana Martinez. Neither

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 ...

nor

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 ...

played an active role in the creation of the eight new Spanish tracks, leaving the production in the hands of the group's sound engineer Michael B. Tretow, who recorded the new Spanish vocal overdubs onto existing backing tracks at his home studio. The absence of Andersson and Ulvaeus is most apparent on "Al Andar" (the Spanish version of " Move On") where the original opening speech from Ulvaeus was replaced by a more conventional opening verse sung by Agnetha. Meanwhile, some of Tretow's new Spanish mixes were significantly different from their English counterparts, reflecting his own personal preferences regarding the handling of drum sounds as well as the significant time gap between the two versions, with some tracks being revisited up to six years after their original completion. ''Gracias Por La Música'' was certified Platinum in Spain, and stayed on the charts for twenty-one weeks. ''Gracias Por La Música'' saw numerous CD issues in the 1980s including releases in Japan in 1986 (on

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United State ...

), Spain in 1989 (on

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

), and a rare CBS issue of an unknown date. The album was deleted in most territories after the compilation CD '' ABBA Oro: Grandes Exitos'', which contained the ten tracks of ''Gracias Por La Música'', was released in 1992, rendering this album obsolete. However, the original version of the album continued to be available in Japan and Argentina until the late 1990s. A CD/DVD 'Deluxe Edition' release of the album was released worldwide on 10 November 2014, it peaked #47 in Spain, and #106 in Belgium.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by

with Spanish lyrics by Buddy & Mary McCluskey except where noted. 2014 re-release bonus tracks ;2014 re-release bonus DVD #

"Chiquitita" (''

300 millones ''300 millones'' is a weekly Spanish musical and cultural television variety show produced by Televisión Española (TVE), aired between 1977 and 1983 on TVE-1 in Spain and transmitted via satellite to all member stations of the Organización de ...

'',

TVE TVE may stand for: Television * Televisión Española, a Spanish state-owned public-service television broadcaster ** TVE HD, a high-definition channel run by Televisión Española * Televisão Educativa, a defunct Brazilian TV network * TV Eduk ...

) #"Chiquitita" (''Aplauso'', TVE) #"Estoy Soñando" (Promo Clip) #ABBA on Spanish TV (''Especial Aplauso 100'', TVE) ##"Conociéndome, Conociéndote" (Promo Clip) ##"Gracias por la Música" (Promo Clip) ##"¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!" #"Felicidad" (Promo Clip) #"No Hay a Quien Culpar" (Promo Clip) #International Sleeve Gallery *All songs in Spanish translation by Buddy and Mary McCluskey, except where noted. *The Spanish version of "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvae ...

" was originally titled "Reina Danzante", but was retitled "La Reina del Baile" for the 1993 '' ABBA Oro'' CD release.

Charts

Sales and certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gracias Por La Musica 1980 compilation albums ABBA compilation albums Spanish-language compilation albums Polar Music compilation albums Polydor Records compilation albums CBS Records compilation albums RCA Records compilation albums Albums recorded at Polar Studios Albums produced by Björn Ulvaeus Albums produced by Benny Andersson