ABBA - The Movie

Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the... musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!. As of 2011 he is active with his own band Benny Anderssons Orkester , and was executive producer for the film version of the musical Mamma Mia!. Andersson was born to 34-year-old construction engineer Gösta Andersson and his 26-year-old wife Laila. His sister Eva-Lis Andersson followed in 1948. Andersson's musical background comes from his father and grandfather; they both enjoyed playing the accordion, and at six, Benny got his own. Father Gösta and grandfather Efraim taught him Swedish folk music, traditional music, and the odd schlager. Benny recalls the first records he bought were "Du Bist Musik" by Italian schlager singer Caterina Valente and Elvis Presley's rendition of "Jailhouse Rock"; this smörgåsbord of different kinds of music was to influence and follow him through the years. When Andersson was ten he got his own piano, and taught himself to play. He left school aged 15 and began to perform at youth clubs.
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Stig 'Stikkan' Erik Leopold Anderson was born in Hova, Sweden, and is best known as the manager of the pop group ABBA. Anderson was the founder of... the Polar Music record label in 1963. Initially beginning his career as a chemistry and mathematics teacher after leaving school at the age of 15, Anderson soon entered the Swedish popular music scene, becoming a music producer, manager and also occasional performer. Anderson had begun writing songs as early as 1951, and in 1959 he got his breakthrough with the song "Är du kär i mig ännu, Klas-Göran?" , written for Swedish singer Lill-Babs. During the 1960s he was one of Sweden's most prolific songwriters, producing more than 3,000 published titles. Anderson also founded Sweden Music in 1960, as well as several other companies. By the late 1960s, he was the manager and producer of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, who would become the two main songwriters of ABBA. He joined the careers of these two after previously managing the Hootenanny Singers, of which Ulvaeus was a member.
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