ABBA’s song “Mamma Mia” was also the title of their third album. It was first released in 1975 as a single in Australia where it spent 10 weeks at number one. Then it was released in 1976 to the rest of the world. In most countries in Europe it was in the top 10 of their charts. Not so in the US. On the Cash Box chart it only got up to #36 for the week of July 4 – 10. It only did slightly better on the Billboard chart where it was at #32 for two weeks (June 27 – July 10).

The song was written by Bjorn and Bennie with credit also given to Stig Anderson who was the group’s manager and music producer.

Even though the video shows a piano playing the opening notes, that is actually a marimba that was found sitting in the recording studio. Benny is playing the marimba. He also is playing a piano and an organ on the song. Agnetha and Frida are singing the leads and are also doing back-ups as well as Benny and Bjorn.

Mamma Mia!, the musical, opened in London in 1999. Then it opened on Broadway in 2001. It uses many songs from the ABBA catalog. The musical has played in more than sixty countries. Then there was the movie in 2008 and a sequel in 2018.