The Sign – Ace Of Base | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 6 weeks); 1994
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
The American success story of Swedish quartet Ace Of Base began when All That She Wants peaked at #2 in 1993. The Sign – written at the same time as All That She Wants – remained unrecorded until the A&R exec for AOB’s American label, Arista, heard member Jonas “Joker” Berggren sing it on a bus in Stockholm.
Jonas had slated Sign as the lead-off single for their second European album, yet, Arista wanted it right away, so AOB added it to their debut Happy Nation album for release stateside.
When The Sign caught fire, the album’s title was changed to boost sales. In the spring of 1994, both single and LP hit #1, making Ace Of Base the first Swedish act to top the album chart.
Remarkably, Sign – the single – spent an astonishing eight months in America’s Top 40 while Sign – the album – went on to sell over nine million copies.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Berggren
- Denniz Pop
- Douglas Carr
Lyrics Written by:
- Jonas Berggren
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).