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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.[3] The song was on the group's first album, Ring Ring, released in 1973. "People Need Love" first charted in Sweden at number 20 in late July 1972,[4] then in August it peaked at number 17 for two weeks on the Kvällstoppen chart, staying on the chart for four weeks in total.[5] CompositionAs with the majority of ABBA songs, "People Need Love" was written and composed by the two male band members, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.[6] It was engineered by Michael Tretow who aimed to create a Phil Spector-like wall of sound on the recording.[7] The song begins in the key of B major and modulates up to C♯ major for the final chorus. Although their debut album did not bring them to global attention, it follows some standards of ABBA's style.[6] The ballad is about what people can give each other to make their lives easier and create a better world.[6] ReceptionThe basic aim of the "People Need Love" single was not to promote the quartet, since all four individuals had other commitments and did not have the time to form a permanent group (an example of this is the crediting; the single in most of the territories is credited to "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid"), but to promote the "Björn & Benny" duo, which was the singing and songwriting partnership of the two men. The women were simply guesting on the new "Björn & Benny" single. However, the very positive audience reaction was unexpected. "People Need Love" made the top 20 of the combined Swedish singles and albums chart. It was the foursome's first charting record in the United States, where it peaked at No. 114 on the Cashbox singles chart[8] and No. 117 on the Record World singles chart.[9] The Playboy Records U.S. release was credited to "Bjorn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka)", and according to ABBA's manager Stig Anderson, could have been a much bigger American hit, if not for the limited distribution resources of the label that was unable to meet the demand from retailers and radio programmers. At the time of the single's release, the Ring Ring album had not been planned, since there was no intention to form a permanent group. However, the song was included on the album the following year. Although recorded earlier than most of the album, it can retroactively be considered the lead single from Ring Ring. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the single had its release in August 1973 as the follow-up to the highly successful single "Ring Ring". However, it performed rather badly, reaching only No. 47 on the Radio Noordzee Top 50 from the Dutch service of Radio North Sea International.[10] Record World magazine noted the "pleasant sound" and suggested that this could be the "label's first major hit".[1] Track listing
Personnel
Additional musicians
Charts
References
External links
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