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American music has several roots.
The two biggest are European Folk Music and African Music.
The merging of the two over the last century is what gave us our modern pop music which has spread worldwide.
While our melodic pop music style has spread worldwide, our style of Afro-European melodies HAVE NOT replaced the original roots of music where it has become part of the scene. It has only added to what's already there.
ABBA's songs are a classic example of "pure" European melodies being turned into modern pop songs of that era.
Though millenia old, Europeans have NOT tired of the melodies they created in the forgotten past.
ABBA is/was so popular in Europe, because so much of ABBA's music consists of the ancient European Folk Melodies reiterated as modern pop songs of a certain era.
Most fans of world music from Europe would be loathe to realize that in the music they think so "different and original" is laced with ABBA like melodies. Arranged though differently it's not easy to spot.
To our American ears, more familiar with the Afro-European melodic fusion, the rather unadulterated European melodies of ABBA sound cheesy.
MOST IRONICALLY....
We also often find the pure African melodies just as cheesy.
While most people have heard the fantastic, catchy song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" few know it is a rather pure example of an African Folk Melody.
And just like ABBA, most people find that song cheesy, and JUST as overwhelmingly appealing as ABBA. It was #1 more than once on the billboard top 100.
It's rare that we hear pure African melodies though. Most of what we hear is a fusion between the two with the occassional European pop song here and there. (Even Delta Blues is a fusion.)
In truth ABBA is NOT cheesy from the historical perspective, something we Americans are blind too, nor is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as an example of an African Folk Melody, cheesy.
They are classic examples of the musical soul of the people..
Though I guess if one sees our American musical foundation as the offspring of European and African musical "parents" it makes sense to think of them as "cheesy."
Children often think of their parents that way. ;-)
