Bee Gees
The Bee Gees were an English-speaking pop group of the brothers Barry , Maurice and Robin Gibb , which began their musical career in 1958 as a children's band in Australia with beat music . The Gibb family returned to the UK in 1966 after the band signed a contract with Polydor . After that, the Bee Gees became known worldwide. With the 1977 soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever , the group celebrated its greatest commercial success.
In the “Millennium Edition” of the Guinness Book of Records , the Bee Gees are listed as “the most successful family band in the world”.
history
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First musical steps
Barry Gibb (* September 1, 1946) and twin brothers Robin (* December 22, 1949 - May 20, 2012) and Maurice (* December 22, 1949 - January 12, 2003) were born and spent on the Isle of Man there her childhood. In the early 1950s, the family first moved to Manchester and then to Australia in 1958 , where they became Australian citizens.
At the age of six, the twins Robin and Maurice and their three years older brother Barry Gibb were on stage under various names such as The Rattlesnakes , Wee Johnny Hayes & the Blue Cats or Barry & the Twins . They were influenced by the skiffle king Lonnie Donegan and the rock 'n' roller Tommy Steele . The group later appeared under the names BGs and Gibb Brothers .
The Gibb brothers received their first thirty minute television show on Australian regional television in 1960. In 1963 her first single, Three Kisses of Love, was released . They had their first top ten hit in Australia in 1965 with Wine and Women . In the same year, Barry Gibb, who had been writing songs for a variety of artists since the early 1960s, was named best songwriter (for I Was a Lover a Leader of Men ). When the Bee Gees - now teen stars - had their first number one hit in Australia in 1966 with Spicks and Specks , they were already on their way to Great Britain by ship , where Robert Stigwood signed them.
1967–1968: beginning of the transnational success
Strengthened by the guitarist Vince Melouney and the drummer Colin Petersen, they had their first worldwide success with millions in the spring of 1967 with the dark ballad New York Mining Disaster 1941 . Numerous other hits followed such as To Love Somebody , Massachusetts , World , Words , I've Gotta Get a Message to You .
The Bee Gees were seen as the Beatles' greatest competition within a very short time. The Bee Gees were particularly popular with the media, as they - unlike the Beatles or the Rolling Stones - had the image of well-behaved musicians away from drugs.
Initially highly praised by the critics in 1967, the more commercially successful they became, the Gibb brothers increasingly fell out of favor, especially with British music magazines. Her lyrics were described as surreal to nonsensical (for example "Now, I found, that the world is round and of course it rains everyday." World ) and the songs, which are often arranged with a large orchestra and choir, were criticized as kitschy .
1969–1975: dissolution and reunification
In late 1969, the group broke up after the brothers fell out. Vince Melouney left the group first, then Robin Gibb and finally Colin Petersen. After separating from Robin there was a television appearance in England in which the sister Lesley Gibb represented Robin; However, it stayed with this appearance. The brothers Barry and Maurice worked as a duo in the English TV film Cucumber Castle and released the album of the same name with the songs Don't Forget to Remember and IOIO , among others . After they split up, each of the Gibb brothers tried their own projects. As a solo artist only Robin Gibb (the singles Saved by the Bell , August, October , One Million Years and the album Robin's Reign ) was successful, although he was strongly supported by Maurice.
The dispute between the brothers was settled in mid-1970 and the band reunited. But it only consisted of Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb; Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen were no longer there. Immediately after their reunification, the Bee Gees had a number of hits, especially in the USA, two of them with gold status ( Lonely Days and How Can You Mend a Broken Heart ).
In Europe, the Bee Gees became increasingly insignificant in the early 1970s (only top ten hit in Germany until 1978: IOIO , 1970, in Great Britain until 1975 Run to Me , 1972). But success also waned in the USA ; Their records reached the top 100 with difficulty in 1973 and 1974. At that time, the Bee Gees could only land hits in Southeast Asia (number one in Hong Kong and Japan with Melody Fair , Wouldn't I Be Someone , Saw a New Morning ).
1975–1979: The first comeback and the disco wave
In 1975 they made a worldwide comeback when they presented a new sound with amplified R&B elements, falsetto singing and pulsating disco beats. With the LPs Main Course , Children of the World and Here at Last ... Bee Gees ... Live and the single hits extracted from them (including Jive Talkin ' , Nights on Broadway , You Should Be Dancing ) they were according to the US -Magazine Billboard in late 1977, the most successful band of the 1970s. The soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever with world hits like Stayin 'Alive , Night Fever and How Deep Is Your Love made them mega-stars, now also in Germany. The album is still the second best-selling soundtrack in the US - by a bodyguard of Whitney Houston . Saturday Night Fever has also been performed as a musical .
The three-part falsetto singing became a trademark for the Bee Gees and the entire disco era. The "Bee-Gee-Mania" was particularly rampant in the USA. For a few weeks in the summer of 1978, the first three positions in the US charts were firmly in the hands of the Gibb brothers. At the same time they were represented with two other hits in the top ten (places 5 and 7); with the Beatles they are the only group that could keep five songs in the top 10 at the same time. In 1978 and 1979 alone, they posted six consecutive number one hits in the United States. During this time, as part of their Spirits-Having-Flown tour, they had their only joint stage appearance with their younger brother Andy Gibb , for whom they (co) wrote and produced three albums.
1980–1987: The end of disco music
After the high came the deep fall of disco music. The 1981 released single He's a Liar only reached number 30 - the worst position since its low point in 1974. Between 1981 and 1987, in addition to the soundtrack to the film Staying Alive, some solo records by Barry ( Shine Shine reached number 37 in the USA) and Robin Gibb , who was particularly successful in Europe with hits like Another Lonely Night in New York (1983), Juliet (1983) or Boys Do Fall in Love (1984).
1987–2001: The second comeback
At the end of the 1980s, the Gibb brothers celebrated another comeback with the hit You Win Again (1987) and thus proved that they could make music again successfully without falsetto singing. In 1988 her youngest brother Andy Gibb , who was known as a solo artist until then, died of heart failure. This was just before the release of their album One (1989). With the single of the same name, they posted their first top ten hit in the USA for ten years.
On the last studio album of the three brothers (This Is Where I Came In) , which was released in 2001, they found their way back to their original style.
2003–2006: The end of the band
On January 12, 2003, Maurice Gibb died a few days after an intestinal operation. That didn't mean the end of the Bee Gees immediately, but there were no more joint projects. While Barry Gibb brought out the album Guilty Pleasures with Barbra Streisand and also collaborated with Cliff Richard , Robin Gibb went on some solo tours. The end of the Bee Gees was officially announced in September 2006. With the new contract that Barry and Robin Gibb signed with the Warner Media Group (WMG), it became clear that there would be no more Bee Gees album in the future. The brothers had signed the contract for all future joint projects not under the old name of the band, but as Brothers Gibb (2006) . In 2009 Barry and Robin got together again to perform live.
Barry Gibb has been living in Florida , USA for a long time , while Robin was based in Oxfordshire , England. In May 2004, Barry and Robin Gibb received honorary doctorates from the University of Manchester . Robin Gibb, who also accepted the posthumous honorary doctorate awarded to his deceased twin brother Maurice, died on May 20, 2012 as a result of longstanding cancer.
Collaboration with other artists
The Bee Gees often collaborated with other artists as producers and composers. The following should be mentioned in particular:
- Andy Gibb (Albums Flowing Rivers , Shadow Dancing , After Dark )
- Barbra Streisand (Albums Guilty , Guilty Pleasure , Singles Woman in Love , Guilty )
- Dionne Warwick (Album Heartbreaker , Singles Heartbreaker , All the Love in the World )
- Diana Ross and Michael Jackson (album Eaten Alive , Single Chain Reaction )
- Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (Album Eyes That See in the Dark , Single Islands in the Stream )
- Celine Dion (Immortality)
- The Marbles (Single Only one Woman , 1968, Singles The walls fell down and I can't see nobody , 1969)
- Esther & Abi Ofarim (Single Morning of My Life , 1967)
- Jimmy Ruffin (Album Sunrise , Single Hold on (to My Love) )
- Samantha Sang (Single Emotion , 1977)
The cooperation with these artists was partly very successful (several number one hits). With this, too, they proved that they are among the most successful songwriters in pop history. Even in the 2000s, performers achieved hit parades with cover versions of their songs.
Discography
Awards
- 1968 - Golden Bravo Otto
- 1968 - Grammy Massachusetts
- 1969 - Golden Bravo Otto
- 1971 - Silver Bravo Otto
- 1978 Grammy How Deep Is Your Love
- 1979 - Grammy Album of the Year
- 1980 - 2 Grammy Awards (for Saturday Night Fever and Producer of the year)
- 1996 - Platinum Otto at Bravo
- 1997 - Induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- 1997 - Induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame
- 1997 - Brit Award (Outstanding Contribution)
- 1997 - World Music Award (Lifetime Achievement Award)
- 1997 - American Music Award (International Achievement Award)
- 1997 - Bambi
- 2003 - Grammy Legend Award
- 2004 - Induction into the Dance Music Hall of Fame
- 2007 - Award “Icons of Pop” on May 15, 2007
- 2015 - # 95 of Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songwriters of All Time
The Bee Gees have long supported the work of charitable organizations (including UNICEF , Childline , Children in Need ).
Movie
- Keppel Road - The Bee Gees. Life and Music of the Bee Gees. (OT: Keppel Road: The Life and Music of the Bee Gees. ) Music documentary, USA, 1996, 93 min., Script and director: Tony Cash, production: Irish Screen Entertainment, The South Bank Show, Bravo, RM Arts, summary from arte
- This Is Where I Came In - The Official Story of the Bee Gees (2000)
- Bee Gees: In Our Own Time . (2010), broadcast on BBC One in April 2011
musical
In Massachusetts - The Bee Gees Musical , songs from 1967 to 2003 are brought into a frame story. Performers are The Italian Bee Gees and former Bee Gees members Vince Melouney, Blue Weaver and Dennis Bryon.
literature
- André Boße: Robin Gibb and the Bee Gees . Hannibal Verlag, Höfen 2010, ISBN 978-3-85445-333-8 .
- Andrew Môn Hughes, Melinda Bilyeu and Hector Cook, with assistance from Joseph Brennan and Mark Crohan: The Ultimate Biography of the Bee Gees - Stories of the Gibb Brothers . Star Cluster Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-925005-66-4 (German).
- Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Môn Hughes with assistance from Joseph Brennan and Mark Crohan: The Ultimate Biography of the Bee Gees: Tales of the Brothers Gibb. Omnibus Press, 2000, ISBN 0-7119-7917-0 (English).
- Michael Henkels: Bee Gees - The superstars of the 1970s . Taurus Press 1979, ISBN 3-9800079-5-2 (German).
- Paul Sahner: Bee Gees . Bastei-Lübbe 1979, ISBN 3-404-01237-2 (German).
- David Leaf: We - the Bee Gees. Original German edition by Bee Gees - The Authorized Biography . Rocky Book 1979.
- Poster Press Production: The fantastic story of Barry, Maurice, Robin - Bee Gees . IPV Inland Press Distribution 1979.
- Petra Seitz: Bee Gees. Moewig, Rastatt 1992, ISBN 3-8118-3098-8 .
Web links
- The Bee Gees in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Bee Gees at Discogs (English)
- Detailed discography (German)
- Own web presence (English)
- www.brothersgibb.org - Private site with lots of information (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bruce Eder: Allmusic: Bee Gees (Biography) . In: Allmusic . Retrieved December 15, 2011.
- ↑ a b c Joel Whitburn: The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits . 7th edition. Billboard Books, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8230-7690-3 , p. 56
- ^ Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit-Bilanz, Deutsche Chart Singles 1956-1980 . Taurus-Press, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 25
- ↑ everyhit.com, search mask: "Bee Gees"
- ↑ Top 100 Albums , RIAA
- ↑ Bee Gees :: Stayin 'Alive Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. In: Musykalnaja Gazeta . No. 35. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
- ^ Andy Gibb - Biography Chartsurfer.de accessed on April 9, 2015
- ^ Bee Gees to re-form for live comeback
- ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Bee Gees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- ^ ARIA Hall of Fame. Australian Recording Industry Association , accessed August 6, 2017 .
- ↑ "Bee Gees" are hailed as pop icons , 2007
- ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 7, 2017 .