Hep Stars - Notes On Songwriting

Notes On Songwriting

Songs written by Benny Andersson:

• 1. No Response (Benny Andersson)
• 2. Sunny Girl (Benny Andersson)
• 3. Consolation (Benny Andersson)
• 4. Sound of Eve (Benny Andersson)
• 5. Isn't It Easy To Say (Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus)
• 6. Lady Lady (Benny Andersson)
• 7. Wedding (Benny Andersson & Svenne Hedlund)
• 8. She Will Love You (Benny Andersson & Svenne Hedlund)
• 9. Like You Used to Do (Benny Andersson & Svenne Hedlund)
• 10. It's Nice To Be Back (Benny Andersson)
• 11. Sagan om lilla Sofi (Benny Andersson & Lars Berghagen)
• 12. Flower in My Garden (Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus)
• 13. Suddenly Tomorrow is Today (Benny Andersson & Lars Berghagen)
• 14. Songs We Sang (Benny Andersson & Lars Berghagen)
• 15. It's Been a Long Long Time (Lars Berghagen & Benny Andersson)
• 16. Speleman (Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus & Cornelis Wreeswijk)
• 17. Precis som alla andra (Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus)

The album The Hep Stars (1966) is probably the most ABBA related of the pre-ABBA period. It is a must-have for students of the songwriting of Andersson and Ulvaeus. It includes several songs written by Andersson and "Isn't It Easy To Say", the first joint composition by him and his new friend Ulvaeus, then a member of the acoustic group Hootenanny Singers, who mainly sang in the Swedish language. On the same album there was another song, "No Time", written by Ulvaeus alone. "No Time" was also recorded by the Hootenanny Singers in an acoustic version. Andersson and Ulvaeus also wrote two songs for the album Hep Stars På Svenska - "Speleman" and "Precis Som Alla Andra" - and "Flower in My Garden" which appeared on the album Songs We Sang 68.

Among the hits were "I natt jag drömde" (a Swedish version of "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream"), Mike Berry's "Tribute to Buddy Holly" (#4, Sweden), "Malaika" (with lyrics in Swahili), "Wedding", "Consolation", "Cadillac" (#1, Sweden), "Farmer John" (#2, Sweden), "No Response" and "Sunny Girl". The group's last hit in 1969 was a cover of "Speedy Gonzales".