The Best Pop Band of All Time

Being the youngest of five children, I grew up in a house that always had a radio on. I won't give away my age, but I barely remember The Beatles when they were still together. I grew up in a golden era of popular rock music - The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Billy Joel, etc. The 70s and 80s were full of very good and very bad music.

Although I am not trained in musical theory, I think I understand music pretty well. From the time I was very young, I had a good sense of what was good popular music and bad popular music. I also understood that there could be a huge demand for a bad song and little demand for a good song.

My experience growing up led me to study piano and, eventually, the organ (thanks to memories of "A Whiter Shade or Pale" while growing up). I have performed music in public for well over 20 years.

So, here it is. A gun is pointed at my head. If I don't reveal what I feel is the best pop/rock band of all time, the trigger will be pulled. I don't have to think for more than a millisecond. Quite obviously, the best pop/rock band of all time is ABBA. All four of the members were very good musicians prior to forming the group. Benny, the keyboard player, remains a musical genius as evidenced by his many musical successes after ABBA broke up. Bjorn, the guitar player, was and is a very good musician. Anni-frid, the brunette singer, was a well-known opera and stage vocalist in Sweden. Agnetha, the blonde singer, had a tremendous stage presence and wrote many songs.

Although each member of ABBA was a very good musician prior to forming the group, their collaboration produced an experience that was far greater than the sum of their parts. When you hear an ABBA song, you know it is ABBA. Part of the allure of ABBA is that we watched the group professionally and personally disintegrate. The progressive disintegration was reflected in some of their music. What started with "Waterloo" ended with "Should I Laugh or Cry" seven years and two divorces later. Over twenty years later, one doesn't listen to an ABBA song - one experiences an ABBA song.

The Beatles come close, but nobody compares to ABBA.