Bee Gees

From New World Encyclopedia
Bee Gees
L-R Maurice, Barry and Robin Gibb performing in Los Angeles, c. 1996
L-R Maurice, Barry and Robin Gibb performing in Los Angeles, c. 1996
Background information
Genre(s) Pop
Soft Rock
Blue-eyed soul
Disco
Years active 1958–2003
Label(s) Festival, Polydor, Atco, RSO, Warner Bros., Rhino
Website Official Bee Gees.com
Former members
Barry Gibb
Maurice Gibb (deceased)
Robin Gibb

The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers—Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. They were born on the Isle of Man to English parents, lived in Chorlton, Manchester, England and moved to Brisbane, Australia during their childhood years, where they began their musical careers. Their worldwide success came when they returned to England and signed with producer Robert Stigwood.

The multiple award-winning group was successful for most of its 40 years of recording music, but it had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a harmonic "soft rock" act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as the foremost stars of the disco music era in the late 1970s.

No matter the style, the Bee Gees sang tight three-part harmonies that were instantly recognizable; as brothers, their voices blended perfectly, in the same way that The Everly Brothers and Beach Boys did. Barry sang lead on many songs, and an R&B falsetto introduced in the disco years; Robin provided the clear vibrato lead that was a hallmark of their pre-disco music; Maurice sang high and low harmonies throughout their career. The three brothers co-wrote most of their hits, and they said that they felt like they became "one person" when they were writing. The group's name was retired after Maurice died in January 2003.

The Bee Gees were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; fittingly, the presenter of the award to "Britain's first family of harmony"[1] was Brian Wilson, leader of the Beach Boys, America's first family of rock harmony.

History

Early years

The elder Gibb brothers were born on the Isle of Man, but the family returned to father Hugh Gibb's home town of Chorlton cum Hardy, Manchester, England, in the early 1950s where the boys began to sing in harmony. On one occasion, the boys were going to lip sync to a record in the local Gaumont cinema (as other children had done on previous weeks), but as they were running to get there Maurice dropped the record and it broke. Now having no record, the brothers sung live and received such a positive response from the audience that they decided to pursue a singing career.

In 1958, the Gibb family, including infant brother Andy (born 5 March 1958 in Manchester, England), emigrated to Redcliffe in Queensland, Australia. The still very young brothers began performing where they could to raise pocket change. First called the Rattlesnakes, later Wee Johnny Hayes & the Bluecats, they were introduced to radio DJ Bill Gates by racetrack promoter Bill Goode (who saw them perform at Brisbane's Speedway Circuit). Gates renamed them the "Bee Gees" after his and Goode's initials – thus the name was not specifically a reference to "Brothers Gibb," despite popular belief.

By 1960, the Bee Gees were featured on television shows, and in the next few years began working regularly at resorts on the Queensland coast. Barry drew the attention of Australian star Col Joye for his songwriting, and Joye helped the boys get a record deal with Festival Records in 1963 under the name "Bee Gees." The three released two or three singles a year, while Barry supplied additional songs to other Australian artists.

A minor hit in 1965, "Wine and Women," led to the group's first LP The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs. By late 1966, the family decided to return to England, and seek their musical fortunes there. They were not confident, however, of success in England as Barry told a friend, Steven Spence, later of Lloyds World, that they would be back next year. While at sea in January, 1967, they heard that "Spicks and Specks," a song they had recorded in 1966, had gone to #1 in Australia.

Late 1960s - first international fame

Before their departure from Australia to their native England, Hugh Gibb sent demos to Brian Epstein who managed The Beatles and was director of NEMS, a British music store and promoter. Brian Epstein had given the demo tapes to Robert Stigwood who recently joined NEMS. After an audition with Stigwood in February 1967, the Bee Gees were signed to a five-year contract where Polydor Records would be the Bee Gees' record label in the UK and ATCO Records would be the U.S. distributor. Work quickly began on their first international LP and Robert Stigwood launched a huge promotion to coincide with their first album.

Stigwood proclaimed that the Bee Gees were "The Most Significant New Talent Of 1967" and thus began the immediate comparison to The Beatles. Their first British single, "New York Mining Disaster 1941," was issued to radio station DJs with a blank white label with only the song title. Many DJs immediately assumed this was a new Beatles single and started playing the song in heavy rotation. This helped the song climb into the Top 20 in both the UK and the U.S. Only later did they realize that it was not The Beatles but in fact the Bee Gees, when their second single was released, "To Love Somebody" and again climbed into the Top 20 in the U.S.

Following the success of Bee Gees 1st, the band, (which now consisted of Barry on rhythm guitar, Maurice on bass, Vince Melouney on lead guitar and Colin Petersen on drums) began work on their second album. Released in late 1967, Horizontal repeated the success of their first album, which contained the #1 UK (#11 U.S.) single "Massachusetts" and the #7 UK single "World." The sound of the album Horizontal had a more rock sound than their previous release, though ballads like "And The Sun Will Shine" and "Really And Sincerely" are standouts. Horizontal made the Top 20 on both sides of the Atlantic, peaking at #12 in the U.S. and #16 in the UK. To promote the album, the Bee Gees made their first appearances in America playing live concerts and television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show and Laugh In.

Two more singles followed in early 1968, the ballad Words (#15 U.S., #8 UK) and the double A-sided single Jumbo b/w The Singer Sang His Song. "Jumbo" was the Bee Gees least successful single to date only reaching #57 in the U.S., but managing to climb to #25 in the UK. The Bee Gees felt that "The Singer Sang His Song" was the stronger of the two and in fact reached #3 in The Netherlands. The year 1968 saw the Bee Gees reach the American Top Ten with the singles I've Gotta Get a Message to You (#8 U.S., #1 UK) and I Started A Joke (#6 U.S.) which were culled from the band's third album Idea, which was another Top 20 album in the U.S. (#17) and the UK (#4).

By 1969, the cracks began to show within the group as Robin began to feel that Stigwood had been favoring Barry as the leader of the group. They began to record their next album, which was to be a concept album called "Masterpeace," which evolved into the double-album Odessa.

Early 1970s

The three brothers reunited in the later part of 1970, with many songs about heartache and loneliness. Although they had lost traction on the British charts, the Bee Gees hit #3 in America with "Lonely Days" (from the reunion LP 2 Years On) and had their first U.S. #1 with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" (from Trafalgar). The trio's talents were included in the soundtrack for the 1971 film Melody as they performed several songs for the title. In 1972, they hit #16 with "Run to Me" from the LP To Whom It May Concern; the single also returned them to the British top ten for the first time in three years.

By 1973, however, the Bee Gees were in a rut. The album, Life in a Tin Can, and its lead-off single, "Saw a New Morning," sold poorly with the single peaking at #94. This was followed by an unreleased album (known as A Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants). A second compilation album, Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2 was released in 1973, though it did not repeat the success of Volume 1.

On the advice of Ahmet Ertegün of their U.S. label Atlantic Records, Stigwood arranged for the group to record with famed soul music producer Arif Mardin. The resulting LP, Mr. Natural, included few ballads and foreshadowed the R&B direction of the rest of their career. But when it too failed to attract much interest, Mardin encouraged them to work with the soul music style.

The brothers attempted to assemble a live stage band that could replicate their studio sound. Lead guitarist Alan Kendall had come on board in 1971, but did not have much to do until Mr. Natural. For that album, they added drummer Dennis Bryon, and they later added ex-Strawbs keyboard player Blue Weaver, completing the late 1970s "Bee Gees band." Maurice, who had previously performed on piano, guitar, organ, mellotron, and bass guitar, as well as exotica like mandolin and Moog, now confined himself to bass onstage.

At Eric Clapton's suggestion, the brothers relocated to Miami, Florida, early in 1975 to record. After starting off with ballads, they eventually heeded the urging of Mardin and Stigwood and crafted more rhythmic disco songs like "Jive Talkin'" and "Nights on Broadway." The latter featured Barry Gibb's first attempts at singing falsetto, in the backing vocals toward the end. The band liked the resulting new sound, and this time the public agreed, sending the LP Main Course, which became their first R&B album, up the charts. Barry Gibb's falsetto would become a staple of subsequent recordings. Mardin was unable to work with the group afterwards, but the Bee Gees enlisted Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson who had worked with Mardin during the Main Course sessions. This production team would carry the Bee Gees through the rest of the 1970s.

The next album, Children of the World, was drenched in Barry's newfound falsetto and Blue's synthesizer disco licks. Led off by the single "You Should Be Dancing," it pushed the Bee Gees to a level of stardom they had not previously achieved in the U.S., though their new R&B/disco sound was not as popular with some die hard fans from the 1960s. The Bee Gees' band was now closer to a rock act, with rhythm guitar and real drums behind the falsetto.

Late 1970s: Saturday Night Fever

File:TheBeeGeesSaturdayNightFeveralbumcover.jpg
"Saturday Night Fever," became the number one best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling over 40 million copies.

Following a successful live album, Here at Last… The Bee Gees… Live, the Bee Gees agreed to participate in the creation of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It would be the turning point of their career. The cultural impact of both the film and the soundtrack was tremendous not only in the United States but also in the rest of the world, bringing the nascent disco scene into the mainstream.

The band's involvement in the film did not begin until post-production. As John Travolta asserted, "The Bee Gees weren't even involved in the movie in the beginning... I was dancing to Stevie Wonder and Boz Scaggs."[2]

Producer Robert Stigwood commissioned the Bee Gees to create the songs for the film. They wrote the songs "virtually in a single weekend" at the Chateau D'Heuroville studio, in France.[3]

Robert Oakes, who supervised the soundtrack, asserts that Saturday Night Fever did not begin the disco craze; rather, it prolonged it. "Disco had run its course. These days, Fever is credited with kicking off the whole disco thing–-it really didn't. Truth is, it breathed new life into a genre that was actually dying."[4]

Three Bee Gees singles ("How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," and "Night Fever") reached #1 in the United States and most countries around the world, launching the most popular period of the disco era. They also penned the song "If I Can't Have You" which became a #1 hit for Yvonne Elliman, while the Bee Gees own version was the B-Side of Stayin' Alive. Such was the popularity of Saturday Night Fever that two different versions of the song "More Than a Woman" received airplay, one by the Bee Gees, which was relegated as an album track, and another by Tavares, which was the hit. The Gibb sound was inescapable. During an eight-month period beginning in the Christmas season of 1977, the brothers wrote six songs that held the #1 position on the U.S. charts for 25 of 32 consecutive weeks—three under their own name, two for brother Andy Gibb, and the Yvonne Elliman single.

Fueled by the movie's success, the album broke multiple records, becoming the highest-selling album in recording history to that point. Saturday Night Fever has since sold circa 40 million copies worldwide, making it the best selling soundtrack album of all time.

During this era, Barry and Robin wrote "Emotion" for Samantha Sang, who made it a Top Ten hit (the Bee Gees sang back-up vocals). A year later, Barry wrote the title song to the movie version of the Broadway musical Grease for Frankie Valli to perform, which went to #1. At one time, five songs written by the brothers Gibb were in the U.S. top ten at the same time. It was the first time this kind of chart dominance had been seen since April 1964, when the Beatles had all five of the top-five American singles.

During this period, the Bee Gees' younger brother Andy followed his older siblings into a music career, and enjoyed considerable success. Produced by Barry, Andy Gibb's first three singles all topped the U.S. charts.

In 1978, Barry Gibb became the only songwriter to have four straight number one hits in the U.S.A, breaking the John Lennon and Paul McCartney 1964 record. These songs were "Stayin' Alive," "Love Is Thicker Than Water," "Night Fever," and "If I Can't Have You."

File:BeeGeesSpiritsHavingFlown.jpg
"Spirits Having Flown," released in 1979, was the Bee Gees' best-selling album, selling more than 20 million copies.

The Bee Gees' follow-up to Saturday Night Fever was the Spirits Having Flown album. It yielded three more #1 hits: "Too Much Heaven," "Tragedy," and "Love You Inside Out." This gave the act six consecutive #1 singles in America within a year and a half (a record surpassed only by Whitney Houston).

The Bee Gees' overwhelming success rose and fell with the disco bubble. By the end of 1979, disco was rapidly declining in popularity, and the backlash against disco put the Bee Gees' American career in a tailspin. Radio stations around America began famously promoting "Bee Gee Free Weekends." Following their remarkable run from 1975–79, the act would have only one more top ten single in the U.S., and that not until 1989. The Bee Gees' international popularity sustained somewhat less damage.

1980s and 1990s

In 1981, the Bee Gees released the album Living Eyes, but with the disco backlash still running strong, the album failed to make the US top 40. In 1983, the Bee Gees had greater success with the soundtrack to Staying Alive, the sequel to Saturday Night Fever. The soundtrack was certified platinum in the U.S., and included their Top 30 hit "Woman In You."

Robin and Barry Gibb released various solo albums in the 1980s but only with sporadic and moderate chart success. However, the brothers had continuing success behind the scenes, writing and producing for artists such as Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, and Kenny Rogers, including Rogers' multi-million seller and U.S. #1 hit with Dolly Parton, "Islands in the Stream."

The Bee Gees released the album E.S.P. in 1987, which sold over 3 million copies. The single "You Win Again" went to #1 in numerous countries, including Britain, but was a disappointment in the US, charting at #75.

On March 10, 1988, younger brother Andy died at the age 30 as a result of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle due to a recent viral infection. His brothers acknowledge that Andy's past drug and alcohol use probably made his heart more susceptible to the ailment. Just before Andy's death, it was decided by the group that Andy would join them, which would have made the group a four piece. The Bee Gees' following album, One (1989), featured a song dedicated to Andy, "Wish You Were Here." The album also contained their first U.S. Top-Ten hit (#7) in a decade, "One." After the album's release, they embarked on their first world tour in 10 years.

In late 1997, the Bee Gees performed a live concert in Las Vegas called One Night Only. The CD of the performance sold over 5 million copies. This led to a world tour of "One Night Only" concerts. The tour included playing to 56,000 people at London's Wembley Stadium on September 5, 1998 and concluded in the newly built Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia in March 1999.

In 1998, the group's score for Saturday Night Fever was incorporated into a stage production produced first in the West End and then on Broadway. They wrote three new songs for the adaptation.

The Bee Gees closed the decade with what turned out to be their last full-sized concert, known as BG2K, on December 31, 1999.

Maurice's death

In 2001, they released what turned out to be their final album of new material as a group, This Is Where I Came In. The album gave each member a chance to write in his own way, as well as composing songs together. Maurice, who had been the musical director of the Bee Gees during their final years as a group, died suddenly on January 12, 2003, from a strangulated intestine. Initially, his surviving brothers announced that they intended to carry on the name "Bee Gees" in his memory. But as time passed they decided to retire the group name, leaving it to represent the three brothers together. The same week that Maurice died, Robin's solo album Magnet was released.

After the Bee Gees

In late 2004, Robin embarked on a solo tour of Germany, Russia, and Asia. During January 2005, Barry, Robin, and several legendary rock artists recorded "Grief Never Grows Old," the official tsunami relief record for the Disasters Emergency Committee. Later that year, Barry reunited with Barbra Streisand for her top-selling album Guilty Pleasures, released as Guilty Too in the UK as a sequel album to the previous Guilty. Robin continued touring in Europe.

In February 2006, Barry and Robin reunited on stage for a Miami charity concert to benefit the Diabetes Research Institute. It was their first public performance together since the death of brother Maurice. Barry and Robin also played at the 30th annual Prince's Trust Concert in the UK on May 20, 2006.

Legacy

The Bee Gees have been incredibly successful, selling in excess of 220 million records and singles worldwide. "How Deep Is Your Love" is their most popular composition, with over 400 versions by other artists in existence. It has been estimated that the Bee Gees' record sales easily make them one of the best-selling music artists of all-time. Their 1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame citation says "Only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks, and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees".

Songs written by the Gibbs but better known through versions by other artists include the following titles: "Immortality" by Celine Dion, "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman, "Chain Reaction" by Diana Ross, "Spicks and Specks" by Status Quo, "Emotion" by Samantha Sang and by Destiny's Child, "Come On Over" by Olivia Newton-John, "Warm Ride" by Graham Bonnet and by Rare Earth, "Guilty" and "Woman in Love" by Barbra Streisand, "Heartbreaker" by Dionne Warwick, "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, "Grease" by Frankie Valli, and "Only One Woman" by The Marbles.

Discography

Studio album chart performance

Title Highest US
Chart position
Year Highest UK
Chart position
The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs - 1965 -
Spicks and Specks - 1966 -
Bee Gees 1st #7 1967 #8
Horizontal #12 1968 #16
Idea #17 1968 #4
Odessa #20 1969 #10
Cucumber Castle #94 1970 #57
2 Years On #32 1970 -
Trafalgar #34 1971 -
To Whom It May Concern #35 1972 -
Life in a Tin Can #68 1973 -
Mr. Natural #178 1974 -
Main Course #14 1975 -
Children of the World #8 1976 -
Saturday Night Fever #1 1977 #1
Spirits Having Flown #1 1979 #1
Living Eyes #41 1981 #73
E.S.P. #96 1987 #5
One #68 1989 #29
High Civilization - 1991 #24
Size Isn't Everything #153 1993 #23
Still Waters #11 1997 #2
This Is Where I Came In #16 2001 #6


References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Notes

  1. R&RHofF citation
  2. Sam Kashner, "Fever Pitch," Movies Rock (Supplement to The New Yorker), Fall 2007, unnumbered page.
  3. Kashner, unnumbered page.
  4. Kashner, unnumbered page.

External links

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