Carrie – Europe | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#3) and Mainstream Rock (#35); 1987
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Sweden’s memorable musical exports have included ABBA, Ace Of Base, and the hard-rockin’ Europe. In the beginning, vocalist Joakim “Joey Tempest” Larsson and bassist John Leven played together in Force, whose progressive rock sound won them a national talent contest (they’d been entered by Tempest’s girlfriend) followed by a record deal. A name change to Europe, two Swedish albums, and three new members later, the group was poised to conquer the world. For The Final Countdown album Europe fused prog and hard rock elements into a radio-friendly mix, which prominently featured Gunner “Mic” Michaeli’s keyboards. Countdown, the single, ran up the chart, peaking at #8, while Countdown, the album, racked up triple platinum sales on the strength of the title single and Carrie, written by Tempest and Michaeli. After the anemic chart performance of Cherokee closed out Countdown‘s run, Europe returned in 1988 with its final Stateside hit single, Superstitious.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2023 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Kevin Elson
Lyrics Written by:
- Mic Michaeli
- Joey Tempest
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).