This week I’ll highlight the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees from the Class of 2010 as part of my ongoing Hall of Fame series.
2010 boasted a relatively modest lineup, size-wise, with only five acts entering the Hall. Six non-performers received the Ahmet Ertegun Award that year for behind-the-scenes contributions (including Otis Blackwell, who wrote Elvis Presley’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ and ‘All Shook Up,’ among other 50s classics).
‘The Name of the Game’ is the first single from ABBA’s fifth studio album, titled ABBA: The Album. It spent a month at the top spot of the UK charts, and made it to #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
The song’s opening riff was apparently inspired by the Stevie Wonder song ‘I Wish,’ which appeared on Songs in the Key of Life a year earlier. It was sampled by The Fugees, quite effectively, on their 1996 track ‘Rumble in the Jungle,’ the first time ABBA allowed another act to sample their music.
