The Name of the Game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Name of the Game" | ||
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| Single by ABBA | ||
| from the album The Album | ||
| Released | October 17, 1977 (Sweden) October 22, 1977 (UK) December 24, 1977 (US) |
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| Format | 7" Single | |
| Genre | Pop/Europop | |
| Length | 4:51 | |
| Writer(s) | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Stig Anderson |
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| Producer(s) | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson |
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| Certification | N/A | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| ABBA singles chronology | ||
| "King Kong Song" (1977) |
"The Name of the Game" (1977) |
"Take a Chance on Me" (1978) |
"The Name of the Game" is the first single from ABBA's album The Album, their fifth for Polar, and their fourth for Epic and Atlantic.
[edit] The song
"The Name of the Game," which carried the working title "A Bit of Myself," was the first song to be recorded for ABBA's fifth studio album. It was their most complex composition yet, and contained the influences of the laid-back California sound of the day.
A preliminary version of the song was worked into the 1977 feature film ABBA: The Movie. The song had not yet reached its complete version. When the song was eventually finished, it was released as the lead single from The Album, in October 1977. Originally, another track entitled "Hole in Your Soul" was intended for release, but "The Name of the Game" was chosen instead. The single was released with "I Wonder (Departure)" as the B-side. The B-side was one of several songs that were planned for a mini-musical written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, but plans for the musical were put on hold.
[edit] Chart success
"The Name of the Game" was not as successful as ABBA's previous singles since 1975. The only countries it reached number one in were in Britain and Ireland, while in Australia the single peaked at number six.
In most other European countries, the song reached the top ten. It reached number two in Belgium, the Netherlands and ABBA's native Sweden, while peaking at number three and number five in neighbouring Norway and Finland. The single also hit number three in South Africa, number four in Zimbabwe and New Zealand, number six in Switzerland, number seven in West Germany, and number ten in France and Mexico. In the United States "The Name of the Game" reached a peak of number twelve. Although it was not ABBA's most successful single, it was certainly one of their strongest tracks, and it proved that the light-hearted atmospheres of "Waterloo" and "Mamma Mia", were certainly over.
"The Name of the Game" was sampled in 1996 by the Fugees for their hit "Rumble in the Jungle," the first time that an ABBA song had been sampled by another act.
| Preceded by "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie" by Baccara |
UK number one single November 5, 1977 |
Succeeded by "Mull of Kintyre" by Wings |
