Benny's Road To Abba

In the 1970s, Benny Andersson reached worldwide fame as the genius songwriter and keyboard player in ABBA, one of the all-time classic pop acts. However, his first taste of stardom came a decade earlier, when he was a member of The Hep Stars - Sweden's biggest pop band of the 1960s. In a marked contrast to ABBA's studio-based career, The Hep Stars swept through the country like a tidal wave, scoring hit after hit and playing hundreds of gigs each year in front of hordes of screaming teenagers.

Benny's Road To ABBA tells the amazing story of Benny's life, from his first discovery of music as a young child, through the whirlwind Hep Stars years, and up until the very first ABBA recording. Author Carl Magnus Palm describes how a fresh-faced teenager became one of Sweden's most celebrated pop stars, the life-changing discovery of his songwriting talent, the chaotic Hep Stars tours, and the inevitable crash after the mismanagement of the group's finances. Along the way, Benny met up with Björn Ulvaeus, forging a partnership that continues to this day - the book vividly relates the events that led up to the formation of ABBA.

Benny's story is told by the superstar himself, in an interview made especially for this project, and by eyewitnesses such as his fellow Hep Stars members and the group's many associates.

Benny's Road To ABBA is richly illustrated with photographs from these early years, many of which are previously unpublished.The book comes with a detailed Hep Stars discography, telling the story behind each and every song the group recorded. There is also an overview of the records released by the duo Björn & Benny.

Benny's Road To ABBA is a highly entertaining story of the ups and downs of a 1960s pop star - an essential read for anyone who wants to discover the life's journey of one of the most successful songwriters and performers of the rock and pop era.

(Premium Publishing)

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Carl Magnus Palm was born in Stockholm in 1965. His earlier books include From ABBA to Mamma Mia! and Bright Lights, Dark Shadows: the Real Story of ABBA. He has also written books about The Beatles and Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund, and contributed research and liner notes for several ABBA CDs and DVDs.

(Whitaker)