Written by Peter Himmelstrand.
Agnetha
Six years ago the hit "Jag Var Så Kär" entered the third place on Svensktoppen. It was the 17 year old Agnetha Fältskog's first record. She had written the song herself.
During the days she was working in an office. In the evenings she sang with a dance orchestra. Her first song become number 1 on Kvällstoppen and she got the opportunity to make records in Germany.
"Jag Var Så Kär" wasn't a one off success for Agnetha Fältskog. She continued to write and perform her own songs.
Her career took off and she went on folkpark tours and made record after record, many of them ended up on Svensktoppen.
Her songs, most of the very sentimental, went through the listeners' hearts to the hit lists. For example "Om Tårar Vore Guld".
When she was 19 she met Björn Ulvaeus. They got married with hundreds of fans watching, they moved to their own house and had a child.
She also played Mary Magdalene in the Swedish version of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar.
But the most important thing was the thing with Björn Ulvaeus. Because together they made up half of ABBA.
Björn
First Björn Ulvaeus was a Hootenanny Singers, then he became Björn Ulvaeus, then Björn in Björn & Benny and finally one of the B's of ABBA.
It was eleven years ago when Hootenanny Singers started. Four guys from Västervik who entered a radio contest.
Hootenanny Singers was quickly signed to Stikkan Anderson's record company and made hit after hit.
It didn't take long until Björn became the lead singer of the group, the girls' favourite and the one who had the most charming voice.
He started making solo recordings. He moved to Stockholm and went to university. And no, he didn't plan to make the music a full time career. But then he met Benny Andersson.
Benny
When Benny Anersson was 19 he had written three songs; "Wedding", "Sunny Girl" and "No Response". All three of them had been on the chart Tio I Topp. With Hep Stars, where Benny was the cute, longhaired pianist.
Benny, now 27, was a member of Hep Stars from the beginning until the end. During that time he evolved from a naturally talented musician to a professional.
He was the musical base of Hep Stars. He quickly surpassed the other members. With Hep Stars he started playing dance music, then pop concerts with fainting girls and screaming and then he went on to make Swedish dinner/entertainment shows.
At first he wrote songs in English, then he started to write Swedish songs with Lasse Berghagen for a while.
But when he late one night in 1965 sat down in an empty office with Björn Ulvaeus and wrote a song he had found his right partner.
The couple started a successfull collaboration, with the support of Stikkan Anderson.
And then he met he singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad - and there was the seed of the other half of ABBA.
Anni-Frid
Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 28, is one of the many Hyland discoveries. She came to his show an evening in 1967 after winning a Barnens Dag competition. That time on TV she won many hearts by saying that her job was to be a wife with two children back home in Eskilstuna.
She had her own band, Anni-Frid Four, and they toured around Sörmland for six years.
Hylands's show and the folkpark circuit gave her the opportunity to go on tour with Lasse Lönndahl, make her first recording, participate in Melodifestivalen in 1969 and singing in restaurants with Charlie Norman.
She made several recordings that the reviewers loved but that the big audiences ignored. Her rumour as a fine singer grew. But this reputation was added with people saying that she wasn't 'broad' enough for a bigger audience.
Eventually she got her Svensktoppen hit "Min Egen Stad".
Who wrote that song? Benny Andersson, who at that time was her boyfriend and producer.
