Happy birthday, Frida!

Nathaniel Christopher
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Today marks the sixtieth birthday of one of the most recognized voices on Earth. Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad is a passionate humanitarian, environmentalist and singer who is best known as the brunette from ABBA. Her distinctly sublime voice is forever endears itself to all who hear it in such ABBA classics as Super Trouper, Waterloo and of course Dancing Queen. For ten glorious years ABBA tirelessly roused the world with their ethereal brand of popular music. Although ABBA disbanded in 1982 their legacy lives on and so too do the members of quartet who have all been active in their own pursuits.

After the split Frida went on to record three albums and several special singles. Her most recent recording, The Sun Will Shine Again, was produced last year in conjunction with Jon Lord of Deep Purple. It is arguably one of her best performances to date. The spirit and the title of the song speak to the heart of a survivor, scarred from a turbulent past but alight by the hope of a future future.

“Uncried tears,
they will only fuel my fears -
Now it seems they're falling
And I feel release . . . an inner peace
And realize
The sun will shine again”

Frida was born in Norway to a Norwegian mother and German father. Her mother died before she was two and she would not meet her father until she was in her thirties. Her father was a German soldier who met Frida’s mother during the Nazi occupation. Scorned by the community Frida and her family left Norway to begin a new life in Sweden and after the death of her mother she was brought up by her grandmother. She began her singing career at the age of thirteen and was well known in Sweden before the formation of ABBA in the early seventies.

She has led a highly successful life that has been marked from time to by tragedy and strife. In 1997 her daughter was killed in a car accident and in 1999 her husband was killed. Still, she perseveres with dignity and poise. She has a high level of respect for her fans and regularly appears at openings of the musical Mamma Mia!

Frida is an incredible person who has so tirelessly shared her work and talent to make this world a better place. I wish her and her family all the best for health and happiness on this special day.

I am a resident of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada who has blogged here for 20 years. I like to share my thoughts and feelings on my own online space. From 1998 until 2017 I worked as a journalist and I hope to use this website as an archive for all of my stories.

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