Agnetha Faltskog
b. 5 April 1950, Jonkoping, Sweden. Faltskog started her musical career in 1965 at the age of 15, when she sang for a Swedish dance band. In 1968 she released her debut single—Jag Var Sa Kar (I Was So In Love). It was a smash in Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia, and she successfully followed it up with further hits. In 1969 she appeared on a television show where she met Bjorn Ulvaeus, a former member of the Hootenanny Singers, and a songwriting partner of Hep Star Benny Anderson. Agnetha (who was normally known as Anna) and Bjorn married on 7 July 1971. By this time Ulvaeus and Anderson were recording together and Anna and Anderson's girlfriend Anni Fred Lyngstad were singing backing vocals for the boys. Eventually a permanent group was formed and in 1974 they became Abba who first conquered Sweden then took the UK by storm when they won the Eurovision Song Contest. Faltskog's relationship with Ulvaeus ended with divorce in 1979 and by 1982 the group had worked together for the last time. Neither Lyngstad nor Faltskog wasted anytime in launching their solo careers. Faltskog opened with an album—WRAP YOUR ARMS AROUND ME—produced by famed pop producer Mike Chapman and hit the singles chart three times in 1983 with The Heat Is On, Wrap Your Arms Around Me and Can't Shake Loose; the latter written by Russ Ballard. In 1988, Faltskog moved to WEA with ex- Chicago vocalist Peter Cetera as producer. However, the album and the single The Last Time made little impact and latterly Faltskog seems to have retired from the music business.