It became ABBA's only number one hit in the United States, and topped the charts in Australia, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, West Germany and Zimbabwe.
Musically, "Dancing Queen" is a Europop version of American disco music.
The track was the fourth biggest single of 1976 in the UK.
In August 2012, listeners to the 1970s-themed UK radio station "Smooth 70s" voted "Dancing Queen" as their favorite hit of the decade.
It saw its first live and domestic performance on 18 June 1976, televised on Swedish TV during an all-star gala staged by Kjerstin Dellert at the Royal Swedish Opera in honor of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and his bride-to-be, Silvia Sommerlath, who were married the next day.