Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track

Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track
Soundtrack by Bee Gees / David Shire / Various Artists
Publication (s)	November 15, 1977
admission	1975-1977
Label (s)	RSO records
Format (s)	2LP, 2MC
Genre (s)	Pop , disco
Title (number)	17th
running time	74:06
production	Bill Oakes
Studio (s)	Criteria Recording Studios, Miami Le Chateau, Heronville Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles Burbank Studios, California The Mom & Pops Company Store, Studio City
chronology Here at Last ... Bee Gees ... Live (1977) Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track Spirits Having Flown (1979)

Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track is the soundtrack album for the film Saturday Night Fever , which was released as a double album in 1977 and topped the charts worldwide. In Germany , the album was number 1 in the album charts for two months from mid-May 1978 and was listed in the top 10 until December. In the US, the album remained at the top of the album charts for 24 weeks and only left the charts in March 1980, while in the UK it topped the album for 18 weeks. On both sides of the Atlantic, the album embodied the " disco phenomenon " due to its popularity .

production

Originally it was planned to use the song "Lowdown" by the American musician Boz Scaggs for the dance scenes in the film , but his record company did not release the rights to use it. So it was initially decided that David Shire , who was responsible for the film's score , would compose titles for the film's dance scenes in order to avoid further legal problems. But apparently these compositions did not meet the expectations of the producer team (none of these compositions are included on the soundtrack) and Robert Stigwood decided to use music from his own label RSO Records . His choice fell on "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees , from their album Children of the World . And when no suitable songs for the film could be found at the start of filming in March 1977, Stigwood commissioned the Bee Gees to write four songs, including a ballad for the love scene in the film.

Bee Gees

The Gibb brothers worked in February and March 1977 in the French studio Le Chateau , in Hérouville, near Paris , on the completion of their concert album Here at Last ... Bee Gees ... Live , and to begin work on a new album . In February they had already finished the track “ If I Can't Have You ” and there were demos for “ Night Fever ”, “ More Than a Woman ” and “ How Deep Is Your Love ” that met the producers' expectations. When Stigwood asked for another title, " Staying Alive " (working title: Saturday Night ) was created.

"How Deep is Your Love" was originally composed for Yvonne Elliman , who was also under contract with RSO Records, but Stigwood decided that the Bee Gees should interpret the title themselves. Eliman got the song "If I Can't Have You". "More Than a Woman" was given to the band Tavares . In April the tracks “Night Fever”, “How Deep is Your Love” and “Staying Alive” were completed in the Criteria Studios . The Bee Gees version of "More Than a Woman" wasn't finalized until September.

Since drummer Dennis Bryon was not present during the recording of “Staying Alive”, sound engineer Karl Richardson cut a piece of tape from the recording for “Night Fever” and stuck it together at the ends. The result was the first drum loop documented in music history , which was later also used in “More Than a Woman” and, two years later, in the production of Barbra Streisand's “ Woman in Love ”.

Contributors

• Producers : Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson
• Sound engineers : Karl Richardson, Michel Marie ( Le Chateau )
• Singing : Barry Gibb , Robin Gibb , Maurice Gibb
• Bass : Maurice Gibb
• Drums : Dennis Bryon
• Guitar : Alan Kendall, Barry Gibb
• Keyboards : Blue Weaver
• Percussion : Joe Lala (Staying Alive, More Than a Woman)

The recordings were made in the Le Chateau studios , Hérouville, in France, in the Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, and in the Cherokee Studios , Los Angeles.

David Shire

David Shire was the first musician to work on the soundtrack. He was responsible for the score and composed and produced the tracks “Manhattan Skyline” and “Salsation” for the album, as well as the adaptation of One Night on the Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky , “Night on Disco Mountain”. "Manhattan Skyline" was also released as a single.

Contributors

• Producers: David Shire, Bill Oakes
• Sound engineers: Danny Wallin, Jerry Crawford
• Arrangements: David Shire
• Concertmaster : Jimmy Getzoff
• Bass:
  • Scott Edwards (Salsation, Night on Disco Mountain)
  • Abraham Laboriel (Manhattan Skyline)
• Guitar:
  • Lee Ritenour
  • Dennis Budimir (Night on Disco Mountain)
  • Mitch Holder (Manhattan Skyline)
• Keyboards:
  • Sonny Burke (Salsation, Manhattan Skyline)
  • Ralph Grierson (Night on Disco Mountain)
• Synthesizer : Michael Boddicker (Night on Disco Mountain, Manhattan Skyline)
• Drums:
  • James Gadson (Manhattan Skyline)
  • Mike Baird (Night on Disco Mountain)
  • Mark Stevens (Salsation)
• Percussion:
  • Emil Richards (Salsation, Night on Disco Mountain)
  • Steve Forman
• Congas : Chino Valdez (Salsation)
• Timbales : Bob Zimmitti (Salsation)
• Trumpet Solo : Jerome Richardson (Salsation)
• Piano : Eddie Cano (salsation)

The recordings were made in Burbank Studios in California .

Yvonne Elliman, Tavares

Yvonne Elliman, wife of the American RSO chairman Bill Oakes, had a hit in 1976 with the Bee Gees composition "Love Me". The brothers originally composed “How Deep is Your Love” for them, but then recorded the title themselves. Elliman got the composition "If I Can't Have You", which is also included on her 1978 solo album "Night Flight". Elliman had previously worked with Freddie Perren , who was also the producer of Tavares and their hit single "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel".

Contributors

• Producer: Freddie Perren
• Sound engineers:
  • Larry Miles
  • Steve Pouliot
  • Jim Nau (If I Can't Have You)
  • Tyrone Williams (If I Can't Have You)
• Arrangements: Wade Marcus, Freddie Perren
• Bass: Scott Edwards
• Guitar: Bob Bowles
• Piano: Sonny Burke
• Drums: James Gadson
• Percussion: Bob Zimmitti, Paulinho Da'Costa
• Synthesizer: Freddie Perren (If I Can't Have You)
• Singing: Julia Tillman Waters, Marti McCall, Maxine Willard Waters (all: If I Can't Have You)

The recordings for this title found in The Mom & Pops Company Store in Studio City held

Compilation

Although the soundtrack is now considered part of the Bee Gees discography , the band's contribution is quite small with only four new tracks out of a total of 17 on the soundtrack. After the great success of their album "Children of the World", both the market and the fans were expecting a new album in autumn. An album parallel to the soundtrack would certainly have been a high risk. Even an album with only RSO artists (Bee Gees, Yvonne Elliman and David Shire) as the soundtrack could have harmed everyone involved if the film had failed. Possibly one reason why music from the Bee Gees was not automatically used for a film produced by RSO.

In September 1977 it was decided to make a double album out of the soundtrack. The Bee Gees' ballad "How Deep is Your Love" was released as a single and at the same time the band in Los Angeles went to the Cherokee Studio in Los Angeles, which they had never used before , to develop their own version of their composition "More Than a Woman" to finish. But "How Deep is Your Love" initially disappointed. In the US, it only reached the top position after more than two months when the feature film hit theaters. In Germany and Austria, the single didn't even hit the charts at first. Released in September 1977, it took until May or June 1978 (the film was released in German cinemas in April 1978) until it entered the sales charts for the first time. In England alone, the single reached its highest ranking (No. 3) in December 1977, one month before its theatrical release.

So you had nine titles produced for the soundtrack, all of which were used in the film. In addition, eight other older tracks were selected, representing a wide range of what was known to music listeners in the USA in 1977 under the terms soul, funk and disco:

1. "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy was already a number 1 hit in the USA in the summer of 1976 and was also on his album of the same name. But the title was also commercially convincing in Europe . It appeared on Larry Uttal's private stock label , for which the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson team was simultaneously producing the song "Emotion" by Samantha Sang , which was released in January 1978 at the same time.
2. "Boogie Shoes" by KC and the Sunshine Band had already appeared on the album "KC And The Sunshine Band" in early 1976 and was released by the Miami-based label TK Records , which was known for its typical Miami sound . "Boogie Shoes" was released as a single in the summer of 1978 and was a minor hit in the US.
3. Ralph MacDonald's “Calypso Breakdown” was also an example of the Miami Sound , released in 1976 on the Marlin label , a sub-label of TK Records . "Calypso Breakdown" originally appeared on Ralph MacDonald's album "Sound of a Drum". The title, composed by William Eaton , features Rick Marotta , Chuck Rainey , Eric Gale and Richard Tee , among others .
4. With “Open Sesame” by Kool & the Gang , which appeared on their album of the same name on De-Lite Records in 1976 , producer Bill Oakes was able to present a funk band that has been successful for years in the film and on the album.
5. "You Should Be Dancing" from the 1976 Bee Gees album "Children of the World" found its way onto the album because the new Bee Gees songs had not yet been completed when the film began and John Travolta was dancing to the title.
6. "Jive Talkin '" by the Bee Gees may have been added to the album as a tribute to their former producer Arif Mardin . In some new editions of the soundtrack in the USA, this title produced by Mardin was missing and was replaced by the live version of the album Here at Last ... Bee Gees ... Live .
7. With “K-Jee” from MFSB a typical representative of the Philly sound was found. MFSB had a 1974 number 1 hit in the USA with "TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)". The title originally appeared on the album "Universal Love" back in 1975 on Philly International Records .
8. "Disco Inferno" by The Trammps , which closes the album with just under 11 minutes, was a production by the team of Earl Young, Norman Harris and Ron Baker, which has appeared repeatedly in the US charts with the band since 1972 and with one strong The shortened version of "Disco Inferno" landed their biggest hit in the spring of 1978, after the single had originally been released two years earlier.

Track list

• A1. Stayin 'Alive (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Bee Gees - 4:45
• A2. How Deep Is Your Love (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Bee Gees - 4:05
• A3. Night Fever (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Bee Gees - 3:33
• A4. More Than a Woman (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Bee Gees - 3:17
• A5. If I Can't Have You (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Yvonne Elliman - 2:15
• B1. A Fifth of Beethoven ( Beethoven / Walter Murphy) by Walter Murphy - 3:03
• B2. More Than a Woman (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Tavares - 3:17
• B3. Manhattan Skyline (David Shire) by David Shire - 4:44
• B4. Calypso Breakdown (William Eaton) by Ralph MacDonald - 7:50
• C1. Night on Disco Mountain (Mussorgsky / David Shire) by David Shire - 5:12
• C2. Open Sesame ( Ronald Bell / Kool & The Gang) by Kool & the Gang - 4:01
• C3. Jive Talkin '(Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Bee Gees - 3:43
• C4. You Should Be Dancing (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) by Bee Gees - 4:14
• C5. Boogie Shoes (HW Casey / Richard Finch) by KC and the Sunshine Band - 2:17
• D1. Salsation (David Shire) by David Shire - 3:50
• D2. K-Jee (Charles Hearndon) from MFSB - 4:13
• D3. Disco Inferno (Leroy Green / Ron Kersey) by The Trammps - 10:51

expenditure

The album was released in 1977 by RSO, distributed worldwide by PolyGram . It was first released on compact disc in 1983 . In 1998 there was a version released by MFSL as a Gold Disc. It has also been available digitally in Europe since 2006.

• 1977: RSO 2658 123 (2LP)
• 1983: RSO 800 068-2 (2CD)
• 1984: Polydor 800 068-2 (2CD)
• 1985: Polydor 825 389-1 (2LP)
• 1995: Polydor 825 389-2 (CD)
• 1998: MFSL UDCD 716 (CD)
• 2006: digital download
• 2007: Warner / Rhino 8122-79983-3 (CD)
• 2014: Reprise 8122795951 (2LP)
• 2017: Capitol 0602557393149 (2LP)
• 2017: Capitol 0602557837773 (2CD)
• 2017: Capitol 0602557837681 (Box Set: 2LP, 2CD, Blu Ray)

Charts

album

year	title	Chart placements
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1977	Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track	1	1	/	1	1

Singles

year	title	Chart placements
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1975	Jive talkin	23	/	/	5	1
1976	You should be dancing	16	/	/	5	1
1976	A Fifth of Beethoven	37	15th	8th	28	1
1976	Disco Inferno	/	/	/	16	11
1977	How Deep Is Your Love	21st	13	/	3	1
1977	More Than a Woman (Tavares)	/	/	/	7th	32
1977	Stayin 'Alive	2	2	2	4th	1
1978	Boogie Shoes	/	/	/	34	35
1978	If I Can't Have You	/	/	/	4th	1
1978	Night fever	2	4th	3	1	1
1978	Manhattan skyline	/	/	/	/	/

Sales figures and awards

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Germany (BVMI)	3 × platinum	1,500,000
France (SNEP)	gold	100,000
Italy (FIMI)	gold	50,000
Canada (MC)	diamond	1,000,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	platinum	100,000
United States (RIAA)	16 × platinum	16,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	7 × platinum	2,100,000
All in all	2 × gold, 17 × platinum, 2 × diamond	20,850,000

Main article: Bee Gees / Music Sales Awards

reception

In 1978, the album quickly became the best-selling album in music history. Fleetwood Macs Rumors and Hotel California from the Eagles alone were able to achieve similar sales figures at the time. In Germany alone, the album was sold over a million times by August 1978. As the best-selling soundtrack, "Saturday Night Fever" was only surpassed 15 years later by Whitney Houston's soundtrack album for the film "Bodyguard" . To date, it's the only soundtrack album to produce four number 1 hits in the U.S.

For the Bee Gees, who composed just a handful of disco songs in their career (out of an estimated 200 or so), involvement in this soundtrack in later years was sometimes a flaw . From then on they were the ultimate disco band, although the only crime the Bee Gees had committed was to popularize disco , wrote David M. Meyer in his book The Bee Gees: The Biography in 2013 . On the other hand, there was the enormous commercial success, which, however, was preceded by a radical change in style by the band, without which this, perhaps also the whole project, would never have come about. Even Robert Stigwood's undisputed talent for successfully marketing music and film / TV with cross media marketing strategies would hardly have made this success alone. David M. Meyer on this: The soundtrack hit first and fueled the movie, then the movie hit and refueled the soundtrack. He made the Bee Gees superstars of the 70s (Michael Henkels, Bee Gees: The Superstars of the 70s).

In the US, the film and soundtrack brought the spotlight to a subculture that had once opposed the white and heterosexual mainstream . The Bee Gees [...] were white and handsome - all of which made them more marketable to new audiences than their black, female, or homosexual peers. Stephen M. Deusner wrote on pitchfork.com . In Germany, however, there was no such political counterculture . Here the effects were more of a cultural nature. Disco became a mass phenomenon, discos, which had existed since the end of the 1960s, were upgraded to event temples where music is just one offer among many. The music genre disco emerged, which was initially assigned as a subgenre of rock music , but in the course of the decades shifted more and more into the field of electronic music .

In 1979 the album won a Grammy in the Album Of The Year category.

In 2003 the album reached number 131 in Rolling Stones 500 best albums of all time .

See also

• List of the best-selling music albums certified by BVMI in Germany
• List of best-selling music albums in the United States
• Robert Stigwood
• RSO records
• RSO Records discography
• Saturday Night Fever the movie

bibliography

• Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Môn Hughes, Joseph Brennan, Mark Crohan: The Ultimate Biography of the Bee Gees: Stories of the Gibb Brothers. Starcluster Verlag, Balve 2007, ISBN 978-3-925005-66-4 .
• Dennis Bryon: You Should Be Dancing - My Life With The Bee Gees. ECW Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-77041-242-2 .
• David Leaf: We - the Bee Gees. (= Rocky book ). German by Peter March. Reiff, Offenburg 1979, ISBN 0-903443-35-X .
• Michael Henkels: Bee Gees: The superstars of the 70s. Taurus Press, Hamburg 1979, ISBN 3-9800079-5-2 .
• Paul Sahner : Bee Gees. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1979, ISBN 3-404-01237-2 .
• Sven Kreienhoop: The effects of "Saturday Night Fever" on the Bee Gees and youth culture in Germany. GRIN Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-656-95568-9 .
• David English: Mad Dogs & Englishman: Confessions of a Loon. Virgin Publishing, London 2002, ISBN 1-85227-944-3 .
• David N. Meyer: The Bee Gees: The Biography. Da Capo Press, Boston 2013, ISBN 978-0-306-82025-0 .
• Jeff Apter: Tragedy: The Ballad Of The Bee Gees. Jawbone Press, London 2016, ISBN 978-1-911036-00-5 .
• Simon Spence: Staying Alive: The Disco Inferno Of The Bee Gees. Jawbone Press, London 2017, ISBN 978-1-911036-27-2 .
• Klaus Dieter Tilch: Rock LPs 1-5: 40,000 long-playing records. Taurus Press, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-922542-25-5 .
• Martin C. Strong: The Essential Rock Discography. Canongate Books, 2006, ISBN 1-84195-985-5 .

Web links

• Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track at Allmusic (English)
• Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track at Discogs
• The album in the Spicks & Specks archive
• Gibb Songs 1977
• On the Watchtower: Albhy Galuten Interview (2002)
• ChartMasters: Music Industry - One Step Closer To Being Accurate. Independent chart analyzes sorted by musicians and countries

Individual evidence

1. ↑ sfgate.com
2. ↑ songfacts.com
3. ↑ berklee.edu
4. ↑ Der Spiegel 35/1978, p. 146.
5. ↑ ew.com
6. ↑ billboard.com
7. ↑ pitchfork.com
8. ↑ bpb.de
9. ↑ Album Of The Year (grammy.com)