Strong Songs

📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

🎨 SHOW ART:
Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics

"Mamma Mia" by ABBA

June 18, 2026

It's time for a second helping of ABBA, and how could we resist "Mamma Mia"? Kirk peels back the layers of one of the band's most beloved songs, revealing a carefully crafted concoction of melodies, countermelodies, stealthy synthesizers, and marimbas.

Written by: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson

Album:ABBA, 1975

Listen/Buy via Album.Link

ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED:

A Listener's Guide To Strong Songs Live
“Mamma Mia” by ABBA from featuring Siobahn McCarthy from the Mammia Mia! original cast recording 1999, and featuring Meryl Streep from the film adaptation, 2008
The Real Story of ABBA: Bright Lights, Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm, 2001
Abba’s winning performance of "Waterloo" at 1974 Eurovision at the Brighton Drome (they beat Olivia Newton John!)
"Waterloo" by ABBA from Waterloo, 1974
"Dancing Queen" by ABBA from Arrival, 1976
“Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens from Illinoise, 2005
“The Bird Women of Golden Gate Park” by Kirk Hamilton from The Exited Door, 2009
A clip from Muriel’s Wedding, 1994

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JUNE 2026 WHOLE NOTE PATRONS
Dave Florey - AccessViolation - Jeremy Dawson - Sami Samhuri - Paul Delaney - Jenness Gardner - Melanie Andrich - Ken Hirsh - Joe Laska - David Mascetti - Christopher McConnell - Jamie White - Christopher Miller - Daniel Hannon-Barry - Jay Swartz - Damon White - Catherine Warner - Ben Barron - Corpus Frisky - Cesar - Robyn Metcalfe - Scott Lystig Fritchie - Lisa Crotty - Andy - Melissa Lucas - Greg - Julie Rowe - Rich Fish - Greer Bevel - Butch Vig - Greg - Matt R

JUNE 2026 HALF NOTE PATRONS
Colin Hodo - Paul De Surra - James Johnson - Arjun Sharma - Justin McElroy - Alexander Polson - Richard Toller - Melanie Stivers - Matt Betzel - Jeffrey Olson - Brett Douville - Brian Amoebas - Bill Thornton - Andrew Fair - Andrew Baker - Amanda Furlotti - Brad Callahan - Jennifer Bush - AJ Schuster - Tanner Morton - Gavin Doig - Chris K - Alexander - David - Naomi - Dave Sharpe - Caro Field - Jonathan Daniels - Eric Helm - Melmaniac - Dhu Wik - Tom Coleman - Diane Turner - Clare H - Randy Souza - Pascal Rueger - Joshua Hill - Stephen Tsoneff - Michael Casner - Diane Hughes - Angela Livingstone - cbalmain - Eric Prestemon - Lauren Reay - Nathan Gouwens - Nell Morse - Karma Jay - Dallas Hockley - M Shane Borders - Kevin Potter - Eoin de Burca - Bonnie Prinsen - Ryan Rairigh - Achint Srivastava - Doug Belew - Abbie Berg - Jason Pratt - Geraldine Butler - Bernard Khoo - David Joske - Donald Mackie - Steve Paquin - Mino Capossela - Kelli Brockington - Adam W - Josh Singer - Rob Tsuk - Ailie Fraser - JRRJ - Jeffrey Bean - Rishi Sahay - Zak Remer - Adam Stofsky - Kenneth Jung - Bruno Gaeta - Paul Wayper - Lisa Turner - Wendy Gilchrist - Doreen Carlson - Janice Berry - Christian Hessmann - Richard Sneddon - Portland Eye Care - Deebs - Michael Shain - Jamie - David Futter - Jeff Ulm - Aaron Wade - Greg Henion - KenIsWearingAHat - Ethan Bauman - Catherine Clause - Charles McGee - Tim Sheehan - E Margaret Warton - Matt Baxter - Dr Arthur A Gray - Steve Martino - Stu Baker - Martín Salías - Peter Harding - John Halpin - Douglas H Frazer - Heather J - Alan Maass - Dave Malloy - Robert Granat - Kaya Woodall - Kellen Steffen - Sean Murphy - Jim Sellers - Ben Stein - Bla Blupp - Dick Morgan - Lee R. - Misty Haisfield - Carlos Lerner - Dent Earl - Aaron Wilson - Chris Remo - Brian Johan Peter - Ethan Laser - James McMurry - Anthony Mentz - Thomas - Matthew Jones - Eric Sp - Max - Rand LeShay - Stephen Wolkwitz - Paul Bigelman - Monica St. Angelo - Henry Mindlin - Dave Kolas - Lauren Knotts - Joe Gallo - Merv Adrian - Michael Singer - Inmar Givoni - Mordok’s Vape Pen - Clint McElroy - Dan Cutter - Michael - James - Kevin Marcelo - Seattle Trans And Nonbinary Choral Ensemble - Ashley - Melissa Kuhns - Jordan Gatenby - Andrew Hofer - Ian Pidd - Irritable - Meryl Allison - Sy Jacobs - Lawrence - Kevin Stafford - Daniel Nervo - Philip Kelly - Bea - Julie Kellman - Daniel Kaberon - TB - Aruni Jayatilleke - Kym Griffith - PhantomMare - Alison Dugan - Margaret McReynolds - HiddenJester - Brian Rinckenberger - RsP - Lottie Aron - Steve B - Ian Karmel - Zach Putnam - Stephen - Adam Clark - Freddy Freeman - Erik - Mathias Schmidt - Cheryl Wilke - Tucker Ped - Sarah Vetters - Aaron Cain - Daniel Markoff - Alexis - Alex - Eric Stone - Alan Kress - R J Helow - Max Barnes - Michael Martin - John Domina - James - Andrew Knutson - Doug - Sam Grogan - EwokEater42 - MT - Linda Lange - James Hicks - Michael Adamski - Mark MacIntosh - Jeff Stormer - Michael Sumner - Edward Reisert - Klodrik - Aron - Kevin Davis - Matt - Louise Clarke - Richard Randall - AlanB - Will King - PJ and Ethan - TheShirtRipper - Rebecca - Ned Rosen - Simon Hellman - Jim M - Ben Buddy Slack - Néa - Karl Dube - Frank - Robin Ling - M

----LINKS-----

💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!
Patreon | One-Time Donation

🏠 HOMEPAGE

👚 MERCH

📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

🎨 SHOW ART:
Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics

The Best Way To Listen To Strong Songs (Spotify PSA)

June 14, 2026

Find the Strong Songs podcast feed here: https://feeds.strongsongspodcast.com/main

Instructions for manually adding a feed to most major podcast apps HERE

For more on Fair Use and other similar topics, check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation - they are the best.

----LINKS-----

💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!
Patreon | One-Time Donation

🏠 HOMEPAGE

👚 MERCH

📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

🎨 SHOW ART:
Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics

Return to Kind of Blue

May 14, 2026

Kirk returns to Kind of Blue, taking a closer look at two more tunes off of the 1959 jazz classic. First, he digs into the modified 12-bar blues "Freddie Freeloader," with a focus on Wynton Kelly's much-emulated opening piano solo. He then compares and contrasts how John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley approached the closing track, "Flamenco Sketches" on tenor and alto sax, respectively.

Music by: Miles Davis and Bill Evans

The Musicians:

Miles Davis, Trumpet
Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, Alto Sax
John Coltrane, Tenor Sax
Wynton Kelly & Bill Evans, Piano
Paul Chambers, Bass
Jimmy Cobb, Drums

Produced by Irving Townsend; Engineered by Fred Plaud

Album: Kind of Blue, 1959

Listen/Buy via Album.Link

ALSO REFERENCED/DISCUSSED:

The 2021 episode of Strong Songs about the album's opening track, "So What"
Adam Maness and Peter Martin’s excellent music podcast “You’ll Hear It”
Kirk’s 2025 “You’ll Hear It” guest appearance discussing Tower of Power’s 1973 self-titled album
Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece by Ashley Kahn, 2000
“Cold Sweat” by James Brown, 1967
“Everybody Wants to Rule The World” by Tears For Fears from Songs From The Big Chair, 1985
“Some Other Time” by Leonard Bernstein by Bill Evans and Tony Bennett from The Tony Bennett Bill Evans Album, 1975
“A Love Supreme, Pt. 2: Resolution” - by John Coltrane from A Love Supreme, 1965

--------------------
MAY 2026 WHOLE NOTE PATRONS
Dave Florey - AccessViolation - Jeremy Dawson - Sami Samhuri - Paul Delaney - Jenness Gardner - Melanie Andrich - Ken Hirsh - Joe Laska - David Mascetti - Christopher McConnell - Jamie White - Christopher Miller - Daniel Hannon-Barry - Jay Swartz - Damon White - Catherine Warner - Ben Barron - Corpus Frisky - Cesar - Robyn Metcalfe - Scott Lystig Fritchie - Lisa Crotty - Andy - Melissa Lucas - Greg - Julie Rowe - Rich Fish - Butch Vig - Greg - Matt R

MAY 2026 HALF NOTE PATRONS
Colin Hodo - Paul De Surra - James Johnson - Arjun Sharma - Justin McElroy - Alexander Polson - Richard Toller - Melanie Stivers - Matt Betzel - Jeffrey Olson - Brett Douville - Brian Amoebas - Bill Thornton - Andrew Fair - Andrew Baker - Amanda Furlotti - Brad Callahan - Jennifer Bush - AJ Schuster - Tanner Morton - Gavin Doig - Chris K - Alexander - David - Naomi - Dave Sharpe - Caro Field - Jonathan Daniels - Eric Helm - Melmaniac - Dhu Wik - Tom Coleman - Diane Turner - Clare Holberton - Randy Souza - Pascal Rueger - Joshua Hill - Stephen Tsoneff - Michael Casner - Diane Hughes - Angela Livingstone - cbalmain - Eric Prestemon - Lauren Reay - Nathan Gouwens - Nell Morse - Karma Jay - Dallas Hockley - M Shane Borders - Kevin Potter - Eoin de Burca - Bonnie Prinsen - Linda Duffy - Ryan Rairigh - Achint Srivastava - Doug Belew - Abbie Berg - Jason Pratt - Geraldine Butler - Bernard Khoo - David Joske - Donald Mackie - Steve Paquin - Mino Capossela - Kelli Brockington - Adam W - Josh Singer - Rob Tsuk - Ailie Fraser - JRRJ - Jeffrey Bean - Rishi Sahay - Zak Remer - Adam Stofsky - Kenneth Jung - Bruno Gaeta - Paul Wayper - Lisa Turner - Wendy Gilchrist - Doreen Carlson - Janice Berry - Christian Hessmann - Richard Sneddon - Portland Eye Care - Deebs - Michael Shain - Jamie - David Futter - Jeff Ulm - Aaron Wade - Greg Henion - KenIsWearingAHat - Ethan Bauman - Catherine Clause - Charles McGee - Tim Sheehan - E Margaret Warton - Matt Baxter - Dr Arthur A Gray - Steve Martino - Stu Baker - Martín Salías - Peter Harding - John Halpin - Douglas H Frazer - Heather J - Alan Maass - Dave Malloy - Robert Granat - Kaya Woodall - Kellen Steffen - Sean Murphy - Jim Sellers - Ben Stein - Bla Blupp - Dick Morgan - Lee R. - Misty Haisfield - Carlos Lerner - Dent Earl - Aaron Wilson - Chris Remo - Brian Johan Peter - Ethan Laser - James McMurry - Anthony Mentz - Thomas - Matthew Jones - Eric Sp - Max - Rand LeShay - Stephen Wolkwitz - Paul Bigelman - Monica St. Angelo - Henry Mindlin - Dave Kolas - Lauren Knotts - Joe Gallo - Merv Adrian - Michael Singer - Inmar Givoni - Mordok’s Vape Pen - Clint McElroy - Ol Parker - Dan Cutter - Jeff - Michael - James - Kevin Marcelo - Seattle Trans And Nonbinary Choral Ensemble - Ashley - Melissa Kuhns - Jordan Gatenby - Andrew Hofer - Ian Pidd - Irritable - Meryl Allison - Sy Jacobs - Lawrence - Praline - Kevin Stafford - Daniel Nervo - Philip Kelly - Bea - Julie Kellman - Daniel Kaberon - TB - Aruni Jayatilleke - Rachel - Kym Griffith - PhantomMare - Alison Dugan - Margaret McReynolds - HiddenJester - Brian Rinckenberger - RsP - Lottie Aron - Alex Miller - Steve B - Ian Karmel - Zach Putnam - Stephen - Adam Clark - Freddy Freeman - Erik - Mathias Schmidt - Cheryl Wilke - Tucker Ped - Sarah Vetters - Aaron Cain - Daniel Markoff - Alexis - Alex - Eric Stone - Alan Kress - R J Helow - Max Barnes - Michael Martin - John Domina - James - Andrew Knutson - Doug - Sam Grogan - EwokEater42 - MT - Linda Lange - James Hicks - Michael Adamski - Mark MacIntosh - Jeff Stormer - Michael Sumner - Edward Reisert - Klodrik - Aron - Kevin Davis - Matt - Louise Clarke - Richard Randall - AlanB - Will King - PJ and Ethan - TheShirtRipper - Rebecca Kline - Ned Rosen - Simon Hellman - Jim M - Ben Buddy Slack - Néa

----LINKS-----

💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!
Patreon | One-Time Donation

🏠 HOMEPAGE

👚 MERCH

📷 KIRK’S SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

🎧 EVERY STRONG SONG:
Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music

🎨 SHOW ART:
Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics