The Bee Gees are a very successful music group which was formed in 1958 by the brothers; Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb.
The Bee Gees shot to fame in the early 1960’s with their recognizable three-part tight harmonies, with Robin’s clear vibrato lead vocals as a hallmark of their earlier hits while Barry’s R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s.
The Bee Gees wrote all of their hits as well as that of other artistes and so, it is of little surprise that they were known by music critics and lovers as the “Kings of Disco”.
The Bee Gees were born during the 1940’s on the Isle of Man and moved to their father’s hometown, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Greater Manchester in the1950s. In 1955, the Bee Gees formed its first rock and roll group, known as the Rattlesnakes which consisted of Barry on guitar and vocals, Robin and Maurice on vocals and friends Paul Frost on drums and Kenny Horrocks on tea-chest bass. It was not until December 1957 that the Bee Gees began to sing in harmony. In May 1958, the Rattlesnakes disbanded when Frost and Horrocks left, so the Gibb brothers formed Wee Johnny Hayes and the Blue Cats, with Barry as “Johnny Hayes”.
In 1958, the Gibb family moved to Australia, settling in Redcliffe, Queensland where the Gibb brothers began performing to raise money. The Gibb brothers were noticed by a promoter, Bill Goode who then introduced them to a radio presenter and jockey, Bill Gates. By 1960, the Bee Gees began to feature on TV shows and in the next few years, they began working regularly at resorts. Barry Gibb’s songwriting skills caught the attention of Col Joye who then ensured that the Bee Gees got its first recording deal in 1963 with Festival Records’, subsidiary, Leedon Records.
In 1965, Bee Gees released its first LP, The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs. In 1965, when Festival Records was contemplating on dropping the Bee Gees due to low financial success, the Bee Gees met Nat Kipner, who had just been appointed the A&R manager of a new independent label, Spin Records. Nat Kipner briefly took over as Bee Gee’s manager and successfully negotiated their transfer to Spin Records, in exchange for granting Festival Records the Australian distribution-rights to the group’s recordings.
Through Nat Kipner the Bee Gees met engineer-producer, Ossie Bryne, who co-produced many of the earlier Spin recordings, most of which were done at his Clair Studio in the Sydney suburb of Hurtsville.
The Bee Gees later acknowledged that their time at Ossie Bryne’s Clair Studio enabled them to greatly improve their skills as recording artists. It was during their time at the Clair Studio that the Bee Gees came up with their first major hit, “Spicks and Specks”.
Frustrated by their lack of success, the Bee Gees embarked on a return journey to England on 4 January 1967, with Ossie Bryne travelling with them. While at sea in January 1967, the Gibbs learned that Go-Set, Australia’s most popular and influential music newspaper, had declared “Spicks and Specks” the “Best Single of the Year”.
Bee Gees Songs And Albums
Before recording its first album, the Bee Gees expanded to include Colin Petersen and Vince Melouney and released New York Mining Disaster, which featured in the top 20 in both the UK and US. The Bee Gees’ next single, “To Love Somebody” was one of their greatest hits and it readily found its way into the US Top 20.
The Bee Gees then released their first international album, The Parent Album, which peaked at No. 7 in the US and No. 8 in the UK.
In 1968, the Bee Gees released their second album, The Horizontal which repeated the success of their first album, The Parent Album. The Horizontal album reached No. 12 in the US and No. 16 in the UK.
The Bee Gees released two more singles in 1968; the ballad “Words” (No. 8 UK, No. 15 US) and the double A-sided single “Jumbo”. “Jumbo” reached No. 25 in the UK and No. 57 in the US. The singles, “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” and “I started a joke” followed. Both songs were culled from the Bee Gees’ third album, Idea. The Idea Album reached No. 4 in the UK and was another top 20 album in the US (No. 17).
The Bee Gees then released a double-album, called Odessa. After the release of Odessa, Robin Gibb decided to pursue a solo career and as a result, Barry, Maurice and Petersen continued on as the Bee Gees and recorded their next album, Cucumber Castle.
Following the release of Odessa, The Bee Gees split. However, in the mid 1970’s, the Bee Gees came together again. Earlier, in June 1970, Robin and Maurice recorded a dozen songs before Barry joined and included two songs that were on their reunion album. 2 Years On was released in October in the US and November in the UK, with the lead single “Lonely Days”, reaching No. 3 in the United States.
The Bee Gees’ ninth album, Trafalgar, was released in late 1971. The single “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”, was their first to hit No. 1 on the US charts.
In 1972, the Bee Gees hit No. 16 in the US with the non-album single “My World”. Again, in 1972, the Bee Gees released a single, “Run to Me” from the LP To Whom It May Concern, which saw them return to the UK top 10.
The Bee Gees’ 1973 album, Life In A Tin Can, released on Robert Stigwood’s newly formed RSO Records and its lead-off single, “Saw A New Morning”, sold poorly with the single peaking at No. 94. This was followed by an unreleased album, A Kick In The Head Is Worth Eight In The Pants. In 1973, a second compilation album, Best of Bee Gees Volume 2. The Bee Gees also released the album, Mr. Natural which was largely unsuccessful.
In 1975, the Bee Gees released Main Course, which became very successful. The next Bee Gees’ album, Children of the World was released in 1976. The first single from the album was “You should be dancing”, which pushed the Bee Gees to a level of stardom they had not previously achieved in the US. Children of the World peaked at No. 8 in the US.
Three Bee Gees singles; “How Deep Is Your Love” “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” charted high in many countries around the world. In March 1978, the Bee Gees held the top two positions on the US charts with “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive”.
After releasing ‘Night Fever’, the Bee Gees released Spirits Having Flown, which produced three exclusive hits; “Too Much Heaven” (US No. 1, UK No. 3), “Tragedy” (US No. 1, UK No. 1), and “Love You Inside Out” (US No. 1, UK No. 13).
In 1987, the Bee Gees released the album, E.S.P which solved over 3 million copies. After the death of Andy Gibb, the Bee Gees released the album, High Civilization in 1991.
In 2001, the Bee Gees released their final album, “This Is Where I Came In”.