It was originally released in Scandinavia on 17 November 1975[4] and in other parts of the world in 1976, notably the UK on 10 April, and on 18 September in the US and Canada.

[citation needed] ABBA had won the Eurovision Song Contest in April 1974 with "Waterloo", which became a major hit across Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Since the follow-up singles did not achieve similar success, the interest in the band was reignited a year later when "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do", "SOS" and "Mamma Mia" became worldwide hits.

To capitalize on this resurgence of interest, several labels around the world released their own licensed compilations of ABBA's singles up to and including "Mamma Mia".

Among these were a similarly-titled Greatest Hits by France's Disques Vogue, and The Best of ABBA, released by West Germany's division of Polydor Records and by RCA Victor in Australia and New Zealand.

[citation needed] Greatest Hits reached number one in Sweden and in Norway,[5][6] but lost out in sales in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand due to the already released rival compilations.

[citation needed] "Dancing Queen" was not included on Greatest Hits, but it was the lead single from the new studio album Arrival and it had generated interest in ABBA's back catalogue.

[8] The release of Greatest Hits coincided with the start of ABBA's huge popularity in the UK during the latter half of the 1970s, becoming the first of eight consecutive number-one albums for the group.

[citation needed] Rolling Stone declared of the album: "Anyone who could listen to this record five times and not wind up humming half the songs is an android".

[citation needed] In the UK, North America and some other territories, the cover features a photograph, taken by Bengt H. Malmqvist, of the group sitting on a park bench during an autumn day.