She is a singer born in Jonkoping, Sweden and originally known as Agneta, adding the “h” later.
Prior to joining ABBA she was a successful artist and composer in her own right with several chart hits and best selling albums in Sweden. In 1966 she joined the Swedish dansband Bengt Engharts and in 1967 wrote the Swedish No.1 hit “I Was So in Love”. She was criticized for “Gypsy Song” for which she wrote the music and met with racist remarks. She was then accused of plagiarism in 1968 by the Danish composer Per Hviid who claimed she had copied one of his tunes for her song “If Tears Were Gold” but the lawsuit he had taken out was dropped when his accusations were found to be groundless.
She first met Bjorn Ulvaeus when they did a pop TV show in 1969. They were married in 1971 and had two children, Linda and Christian, but divorced 8 years later. She briefly married for a second time and was also the victim of an ex-boyfriend stalker. In 1972 she appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar as Mary Magdalene.
In 1982 she won the the Swedish music award,Rockbjornen, for Best Female Artist. After ABBA ceased working together she has continued with a solo career with her singles and albums making it onto the UK and US charts. She released her memoir book called As I Am in 1996.
In 2010 she was at the opening of the musical Mamma Mia with Benny Ulvaeus and in 2013 she released her album A. In 2016 the biography Agnetha Fältskog – The Girl With The Golden Hair had its UK publication.
Abba Recordings
Take A Chance on Me (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Andersson )
I’m A Marionette (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Andersson )
The Winner Takes It All (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Andersson )
Elaine (Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Andersson )
Here she is singing “The Heat Is On”…
Sources:
- http://www.agnetha.com/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnetha_Faltskog
- www.abbaannual.com/
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/149038-Agnetha-F%C3%A4ltskog
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/agnetha-f%C3%A4ltskog-mn0000600920/biography