Most people think the Bee Gees only song was "Stayin Alive" because thats the way the world is. Smart people though know better. I always loved the Bee Gees and their love ballads, but refused to listen to earlier stuff. I just wasn't ready for it for some reason.
Recently, I heard their earlier songs and fell so madly in love with them, that my love for new information and digging deep into their souls wanted to come out.
I saw a long documentary on them: The Official Story of the Bee Geesand I thought I would share what I found out about them. Its amazing!
Did you know that the Bee Gees sung as kids? They loved harmony and was always singing together. They lived in Manchester, England, and moved to Australia when they were 8 to 10 years old. They started singing at speedways and county fairs. Around this time they coined the name "Bee Gees" from people's suggestions because of the way they were called "The Brothers Gibb". They made their first original song: The Three Kisses of Love"
They get their influence from the Everly Brothers. They were confident singers right from the start. Their father Hugh, managed their band at that point because from 1960 through 1964 they were on Australian Tv a lot. They also had a song called "Wine and Women". Upon leaving Australia, they sung a cute song called "Spick and Specks" They went to London to make it big. They envied the Beatles who were exploding onto the scene at the time and they wanted to be like them.
The manager of the Beatles Robert Stigwood, would become the Bee Gees manager. So they got lucky right from the start with their confidence.
In the Spring of 1967 everything changed for them. New York Mining Disaster of 1941 was their first major international hit. That song is amazing. It sounds like a Simon and Garfunkel tune. They were so deep in the lyrics that they were popular at the time.
Their next song "To Love Somebody" came from their serious love of soul music. Which to me, back in the day, soul music was different than it is now. The song was written for Otis Redding, who died before he could record it, so they recorded it instead.
Barry Gibb married briefly for a year but famed killed it. Robin and Maurice both married as well in 1968. Their next song "Massachusettes" is a classic favorite. To them the song represented the way they felt about leaving Australia and how their careers were confirmed because of it.
"I started a Joke" displayed the most unusual, ethereal talent of Robin Gibb. The documentary said: "He could communicate a vulnerability and lots of personal intensity at the same time...Their was no other voice like his at the time....what could have been seen as a weakness, became an incredible strength in the band"Maurice and Barry both saw the amazing talent Robin had and let him sing songs on his own. Maurice said: "Its the voice that reaches your heart". And I have to agree. Robin can get to you in a way noone else can.
The Bee Gees next song was "Words", I love it. Then there is "World" which has some music that sounds hard core late sixties experimental. Robin and the other Bee Gees married during this time, Barry to Linda, Robin to Molly, and Maurice to Pop Star LuLu.
Fame was too much for them too fast too soon. The money, the women, the start of social drinking for Maurice and Barry, along with selfishness grew the band apart fast. Apparently, drugs were also involved with each one. Shockingly to me, Robin was also part of the drug factor, and you would never know it to look at him. Obviously, it wasn't an addiction that would ruin his life though. They were one of the few bands that didnt waste too much time on addictions, and felt their own music was an addiction and gave their all to it.
Barry says:"We stopped knowing each other, feeling each others feelings, we were very selfish". Robin was very jealous of the attention Barry recieved in his singing and felt all the focus was on him, so he wanted to leave. So he left the Bee Gees for awhile and wanted to make an album on his own. His 1st single alone "Saved by the Bell" went to #2 on the charts.
When they reunited after the funny, yet stupid short film "Cucumber Castle" things were fine again. They reunited with the Beatles-esque sounding song: Lonely Days.
"How do you Mend a Broken Heart" reflects the loss of Robin leaving the group and their feelings about it. Barry had his trademark shaggy hair
growing at this time and his voice was starting to take on the classic Gibb sound that only Barry can deliver.
"Run to Me"my absolute favorite song of theirs was released in the early seventies. Robin's voice on this song was incredible and so strong it could pull you out of your chair with its depth. Barry's breathy passionate voice makes this song perfect, yet the radio and CD version isnt as good as the live versions for some reason, its more restrained.
It was their 4th top hit since reuniting. By the mid seventies, they went with an R&B producer and started working at Criteria studios in Miami, Florida. On the Bridge leaving every day, the rivets made this sound. Barry thought about it and instantly turned it into a song. "Jive Talkin" They wrote the song in one night and with this one song their entire career changed over smoothly and cleanly into what some say was white soul, R&B and Dance Music. Nights On Broadway came out also, sealing their new sound. "Fanny Be Tender(With my Love)" was a beautiful harmonic song that came out next, so they had one hit after another. They went to work on "Children of the World" their next album which they had no idea would rock the entire world. The songs written in the album were soon to be famous hit songs that would appear in Saturday Night Fever the movie. They had already written them completely before the movie even decided to use them.
Saturday Night Fever came out in December of 1977 with 350 million sales at the box office. 30 million copies were sold and for the next 20 years the soundtrack would be on top of the charts.
Barry wrote the theme song to the hit movie/musical: "Grease", which was sung by Franki Valli of The Four Seasons. In the One Night Only Concert, the Bee Gees sung it live and you can tell Barry was not used to singing it, because even he couldnt reach the level that Franki Valli does. :)
How Deep is Your Love, and Too Much Heaven were beautiful, classic ballads that made hits also. The Bee Gees let Too Much Heaven donated all royalties of the song UNICEF. They also helped charities such as Diabetes Foundation and encouraged other artists to do the same.
Their next hit "Tragedy" was a mammoth hit. Bee Gees kept belting out one hit after another. They had six straight number one records, and by 1979 they had won Grammy Award and had a Star on Hollywood Blvd. Disco was dying and so they wrote songs for other singers such as Barbara Streisand, and Kenny Rogers-The famous Islands in the Stream is a Bee Gees original. In 1979 they had the most successful album- "Spirits Having Flown", which is the most amazing, beautiful song of their career.
It was a tough time for Robin Gibb, his marriage ended in 1980 and then he met Dwina, who would be the wife for the rest of his life. Robin is quite unconventional and he and Dwina share an open relationship. She supposedly is a bisexual, but yet they are very close and have a conservative relationship.
Maurice had already remarried as well and between all three Gibb brothers, they had 11 children.
They were taken by complete surprise by their success with their music and you can tell by watching them sing how addicted they are to singing. The passion, the intensity they propel in their songs keeps them going strong. They are the best transitional band ever in history, because they can adjust themselves to suit any decade and any style. Not many musicians can say that. They also prove blood is thicker than water in some ways. Maybe families that play together, stay together after all.
Robin and Wife Dwina with their Dogs
Andy Gibb who was their youngest brother, joined the bee gees for their tour in the late seventies. He died in 1988 of a rare heart infection. They started a new album five years later with a big british hit "You Win Again". I love this song very much, it is truly awesome.
"One" was their new album and they went on tour for the first time in a decade.
Maurice in the 1990's had full blown Alcoholism and went through a great recovery and renewed vows with his wife. In 1993, the Bee Gees made "Size Isn't Everything" a very strong album for them, just like the rest of their career. They were inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1994 and won a British Lifetime Achievement Award.
They wrote a song for Celine Dion"This is All I know" and was going to go on tour again when Barry's back stopped short the tour, and they decided on a unique idea. "One Night Only" was a concert, put on each Continent to celebrate their career. In the US it was in Las Vegas. Their songs were cut short a lot and stopped before the second verse, and then the more famous songs of disco were sung to entirety. They did however, sing some older songs, a few of them all the way through, and it was an incredible concert. They never lost their voice through the years, and remained stronger than ever.
In 2001 they came out with an awesome song and video "This is Where I came i" about how they felt about their career and the ride it took them on. Robin is very in-your-face in a good way in the video, very daring and open. Maurice is cool as a cucumber as usual and Barry looks remarkably young for his age at the time..50's.
Barry with his wife Linda and his daughter
In the winter of 2003, Maurice died of a twisted intestine. Robin said recently that he felt as if he never accepted his death, since they were twins from birth, and that its been hard on him all these years without him. In 2010, Robin suffered the same fate, yet managed to pull through, and then found out he had Colon Cancer that had spread to his liver also. So far his cancer treatment is over and he has recovered well, and he says he treasures life even more now.
The group is no longer the Bee Gees without Maurice. Watching "One Night Only" is very sad to me. Maurice Gibb was a great man. Funny, full of life, and even though he was the "Ringo Starr" of the group, the forgotten Gibb, he held the harmony together in the band. Watching Maurice now, makes me want to cry every time because I hate how things have to end in life.
Maurice and His Wife
Barry and Robin 2012
Robin continues to sing some solo albums and you just can't stop that incredible voice. He has suffered a tremendous blow with his Cancer and looks thin and gaunt. A second tumor was discovered right after his cancer supposedly went into remission. He got Pneumonia, then went into a coma for 12 days in April 2012. He woke up, his words heavy uttering: "Hello, R.J", his son. Barry and Robin's wife Dwina sang to him or played music for him. Its interesting that Barry serenaded him back to health by playing some of their songs, I imagine.
In April of this year Robin and his son made a new album "Titanic Requiem" celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the sinking with new songs they recorded as well as the Philharmonic Orchestra.
Dont Cry Alone is Robins song for the Titanic. Sadly, Robin missed the whole Titanic Memorial because he was laid up in a coma. Then on May 20, 2012 he died. Hearing this news has caused me to cry more for him than anyone I have ever known. Hearing "I started a Joke" sounds like a creepy premonition of his future and the sad powerful sound of his talent comes through to remind me what we have lost.
Barry Gibb performed in February 2012 at Hard Rock Cafe in Miami. Barry and his wife are now American citizens in 2010 and he now lives in Tennessee.
They are the best legendary band out there, and they love songwriting. Its hard for them to give up singing. Robin seemed to be lost without it, yet Barry seems to be calmer with age.
Researching them has really touched me and taught me a lot about this group. Their oldest stuff is so very good and I think no one hardly ever listens to it because they assume disco was all their was to them, but look deeper. They are now a thing of the past. Bee Gees died with Maurice. Robin and Barry said they would not go on as the Bee Gees without Maurice and would sing separately, although I think they talk about doing some concerts sometimes. It will be a sad day when the brothers Gibb are no longer around. True their sons and daughters have now took up singing to replace them, but their is no replacement to such an astonishing, talented band.
They have been completely flexible in reinventing themselves through the years, and rolling with the flow of fad music.
Their voices, intense, passionate should never die. Barry's high sopranic tone should live in forever, as well as Robin's rip-your-heart-out voice,which has now been silenced for good, and can hopefully be carried on through R.J. Gibb.
Robin Gibb: Born December 22, 1949 Died: May 20, 2012
Maurice Gibb: Born December 22 1949 – Died: January 12, 2003
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