The Name of the Game
ABBA | Artist Essentials
First released: 1977 (year verified)
Original full-length English-language studio version
MusicAtlas editorial note: Take time with the full arrangement: the winding bass and layered voices reward attention beyond the chorus.
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Release evidence and recording details
First released: 1977 (year verified)
The original single and The Album were released in 1977. This selects the full-length studio version; only the common supported year is asserted rather than a territory-specific single day.
Recording: Original full-length English-language studio version
Credit: ABBA
Role in this collection: Primary artist
Original single: The Name of the Game
ABBA - The Album: pushing boundaries
Original December 1977 Scandinavian album release, The Name of the Game as first single, Take a Chance on Me, Eagle and the released Thank You for the Music recording, distinct from the unused earlier take. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
The Album - official fortieth anniversary
First Scandinavian release in December 1977 and original album context for The Name of the Game, Take a Chance on Me and Eagle. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
Annual version match under review
The selected recording has release evidence, but its version has not been matched to the retained annual entry. It is omitted from Beyond the yearly lists until this match is resolved.
Essentials selects the full original studio version. A secondary version history identifies a shortened US promotional edit, while the retained annual row does not identify its version. The annual link remains provisional until the recording identity is reviewed; no distinct-recording conclusion is drawn from the annual year.
ABBA - The Album: pushing boundaries
Original December 1977 Scandinavian album release, The Name of the Game as first single, Take a Chance on Me, Eagle and the released Thank You for the Music recording, distinct from the unused earlier take. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
The Name of the Game - secondary version review lead
Secondary account distinguishes the full recording from a shortened US promotional edit. Used to flag an unresolved annual-catalog join, not as primary first-release evidence or proof of the retained row's version. | Reviewed 2026-10-17
About ABBA
ABBA brought together Swedish performers Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Andersson and Ulvaeus developed the group's songwriting and production partnership, while Fältskog and Lyngstad's voices became central to its recordings. The 1974 Eurovision victory with Waterloo introduced the quartet to a wider international audience. Its 1970s catalog ranges from closely arranged pop songs to dance music and ballads. The members' separate solo and duo recordings belong to different artist histories.
Artist background sources
ABBA - official history
Group members, songwriting partnership, Eurovision breakthrough and original group career; separate member careers. | Retrieved 2026-10-17
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-17. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
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