The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...

, Robin, and

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician. He achieved fame as a member of the pop group Bee Gees. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main le ...

. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music era in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies; Robin's clear

vibrato Vibrato (Italian language, Italian, from past participle of "wikt:vibrare, vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch (music), pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. ...

lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The group wrote all of their own original material, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists and have been regarded as one of the most important and influential acts in pop music history. They have been referred to in the media as The Disco Kings, Britain's First Family of Harmony, and The Kings of Dance Music. Born on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

to English parents, the Gibb brothers lived in

Chorlton, Manchester Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the city centre. Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the 2011 census, and Chorlton Park 15,147. By the 9th century, there was an Anglo-Saxon settlement h ...

, England, until the late 1950s. There, in 1955, they formed the

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

group the Rattlesnakes. The family then moved to Redcliffe, in the

Moreton Bay Region The Moreton Bay Region is a local government area in the north of the Brisbane metropolitan city in South East Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it replaced three established local government areas, the City of Redcliffe and the Shires ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, later to

Cribb Island Cribb Island was a former suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, which is now part of the site of Brisbane Airport and part of the suburb of Brisbane Airport. The suburb was the childhood home of the Gibb brothers, who later became famous ...

. After achieving their first chart success in Australia as the Bee Gees with " Spicks and Specks" (their twelfth single), they returned to the UK in January 1967, when producer

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream (band), Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions ...

began promoting them to a worldwide audience. The Bee Gees' ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack (1977) was the turning point of their career, with both the film and soundtrack having a cultural impact throughout the world, enhancing the disco scene's mainstream appeal. They won five

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s for ''Saturday Night Fever'', including Album of the Year. The Bee Gees have sold over 120 million records worldwide (with estimates as high as over 225 million records sold worldwide), making them among the best-selling music artists of all time. They were inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

in 1997; the Hall's citation says, "Only

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

have outsold the Bee Gees." With nine number-one hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the Bee Gees are the third-most successful band in ''Billboard'' charts history behind only the Beatles and

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

. Following Maurice's sudden death in January 2003 at the age of 53, Barry and Robin retired the group's name after 45 years of activity. In 2009, Robin announced that he and Barry had agreed that the Bee Gees would re-form and perform again. Robin died in May 2012, aged 62, after a prolonged period of failing health, leaving Barry as the only surviving member of the group.

History

1955–1966: Music origins, Bee Gees formation and popularity in Australia

Bee Gees Plaque - Union Mills IOM - kingsley - 21-APR-09

Born on the

during the late 1940s, the Gibb brothers moved to their father

Hugh Gibb Hugh Leslie Gibb (15 January 1916 – 6 March 1992) was an English drummer, bandleader and the father of musicians Barry, Robin, Maurice and Andy Gibb. Barry, Robin and Maurice would go on to form the Bee Gees, one of the most successful music ...

's hometown of

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the city centre. Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the 2011 census, and Chorlton Park 15,147. By the 9th century, there was an Anglo-Saxon settlement her ...

, Manchester, England, in 1955. They formed a

/rock-and-roll group, 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 The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses hav ...

. In December 1957, the boys began to sing in harmony. The story is told that they were going to

lip-sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

to a record in the local Gaumont cinema (as other children had done on previous weeks), but as they were running to the theatre, the fragile shellac 78-RPM record broke. The brothers had to sing live, but received such a positive response from the audience that they decided to pursue a singing career. In May 1958, the Rattlesnakes disbanded when Frost and Horrocks left, so the Gibb brothers then formed Wee Johnny Hayes and the Blue Cats, with Barry as "Johnny Hayes". In August 1958, the Gibb family, including older sister Lesley and infant brother

Andy Andy may refer to: People * Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...

(born in March 1958), emigrated to Australia and settled in

Redcliffe, Queensland Redcliffe is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It also refers colloquially to the Redcliffe Peninsula as a whole, a peninsula jutting into Moreton Bay which contains several ...

, just north-east of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The young brothers began performing to raise pocket money.

Speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

promoter and driver Bill Goode, who had hired the brothers to entertain the crowd at the Redcliffe Speedway in 1960, introduced them to Brisbane radio-presenter jockey Bill Gates. The crowd at the speedway would throw money onto the track for the boys, who generally performed during the interval of meetings (usually on the back of a truck that drove around the track) and, in a deal with Goode, any money they collected from the crowd they were allowed to keep. Gates named the group the "BGs" (later changed to "Bee Gees") after his, Goode's and Barry Gibb's initials. The name was not specifically a reference to "Brothers Gibb", despite popular belief. During the next few years, they began working regularly at resorts on the Queensland coast. Through his songwriting, Barry sparked the interest of Australian star

Col Joye Colin Frederick Jacobsen (born 13 April 1937), better known by his stage name Col Joye, is an Australian pioneer rock singer-songwriter, musician and entrepreneur with a career spanning some sixty years. Joye was the first Australian rock and ...

, who helped the brothers get a recording deal in 1963 with

Festival Records Festival Records (later known as Festival Mushroom Records) was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a wholly owned subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to ...

subsidiary

Leedon Records Leedon Records was an Australian record label active from 1958 to 1969. It was founded by American Australian entrepreneur Lee Gordon in early 1958. Establishment and early releases In Australian in the 1950s and early 1960s, locally distrib ...

under the name "Bee Gees". The three released two or three singles a year, while Barry supplied additional songs to other Australian artists. In 1962 the Bee Gees were chosen as the supporting act for

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighte ...

's concert at the Sydney Stadium. From 1963 to 1966, the Gibb family lived at 171 Bunnerong Road, Maroubra, in Sydney. Just prior to his death, Robin Gibb recorded the song "Sydney" about the brothers' experience of living in that city. It was released on his posthumous album ''

50 St. Catherine's Drive ''50 St. Catherine's Drive'' is the seventh and final album by singer-songwriter Robin Gibb, released on 29 September 2014 in the United Kingdom and 30 September 2014 in the United States on Rhino Records. The album was named after the address o ...

''. The house was demolished in 2016. A minor hit in 1965, "

Wine and Women "Wine and Women" is a song written by Barry Gibb, and released by Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees in September 1965 on Leedon Records in Australia. The song's B-side was '' Follow the Wind''. The single reached #19 in Australia, marking the Bee Gees' ...

", led to the group's first LP, ''

The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs ''The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs'' is the debut studio album by the Bee Gees. Credited to Barry Gibb and the Bee Gees, it was released in November 1965 on the Australian Leedon label (1967's '' Bee Gees' 1st'' would be their ''in ...

''. By 1966 Festival Records was, however, on the verge of dropping them from the Leedon roster because of their perceived lack of commercial success. At this time the brothers met the American-born songwriter, producer and entrepreneur

Nat Kipner Nathan Kipner (October 2, 1924 – December 1, 2009) was an American songwriter and record producer with a considerable career in Australia. He is remembered as the producer of the Bee Gees' first hit " Spicks and Specks". He was the father of S ...

, who had just been appointed A&R manager of a new independent

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

, Spin Records. Kipner briefly took over as the group's manager and successfully negotiated their transfer to Spin in exchange for granting Festival the Australian distribution rights to the group's recordings. Through Kipner the Bee Gees met engineer-producer,

Ossie Byrne Oswald Russell "Ossie" Byrne (1926 – December 1983) was an Australian record producer, best known for producing the early recordings of The Bee Gees, including their first international hit, "New York Mining Disaster 1941". The youngest of ...

, who produced (or co-produced with Kipner) many of the earlier Spin recordings, most of which were cut at his own small, self-built St Clair Studio in the Sydney suburb of

Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...

. Byrne gave the Gibb brothers virtually unlimited access to St Clair Studio over a period of several months in mid-1966. The group later acknowledged that this enabled them to greatly improve their skills as recording artists. During this productive time they recorded a large batch of original material—including the song that became their first major hit, "Spicks and Specks" (on which Byrne played the trumpet coda)—as well as cover versions of current hits by overseas acts such as the Beatles. They regularly collaborated with other local musicians, including members of beat band Steve & The Board, led by

Steve Kipner Stephen Alan Kipner (born 1950) is an American-born Australian songwriter and record producer, with hits spanning a 40-year period, including chart-topping songs such as Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", Natasha Bedingfield's "These Words", an ...

, Nat's teenage son. Frustrated by their lack of success, the Gibbs began their return journey to England on 4 January 1967, with Ossie Byrne travelling with them. While at sea in January 1967, the Gibbs learned that ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'', Australia's most popular and influential music newspaper, had declared "Spicks and Specks" the "Best Single of the Year".

1967–1969: International fame and touring years

''Bee Gees' 1st'', ''Horizontal'' and ''Idea''

Before their departure from Australia to England, Hugh Gibb sent demos to

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

, who managed

and directed NEMS, a British music store. Epstein passed the demo tapes to

, who had recently joined NEMS. After an audition with Stigwood in February 1967, the Bee Gees signed a five-year contract whereby

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

would release their records in the UK, and

Atco Records ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the comp ...

would do so in the US. Work quickly began on the group's first international album, and Stigwood launched a promotional campaign to coincide with its release. Stigwood proclaimed that the Bee Gees were "The most significant new musical talent of 1967", thus initiating the comparison of the Bee Gees to the Beatles. Before recording the first album, the group expanded to include

Colin Petersen Frederick Colin Petersen (born 24 March 1946) is an Australian drummer, record producer and former child actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he wa ...

and

Vince Melouney Vincent Melouney (Maloney) (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian musician, singer and songwriter best known as an official member of The Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group’s initial period of worldwide success. Prior to joining Be ...

. "

New York Mining Disaster 1941 "New York Mining Disaster 1941" is the debut American single by the British-Australian pop group the Bee Gees, released on 14 April 1967. It was written by Barry Gibb, Barry and Robin Gibb. Aside from a moderately successful reissue of their Austr ...

", their second British single (their first-issued UK 45

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

was "Spicks and Specks"), was issued to radio stations with a blank white label listing only the song title. Some DJs immediately assumed this was a new single by the Beatles and started playing the song in

heavy rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely ...

. This helped the song climb into the top 20 in both the UK and US. No such chicanery was needed to boost the Bee Gees' next single, " To Love Somebody", into the US Top 20. Originally written for

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

, "To Love Somebody", a soulful ballad sung by Barry, has since become a pop standard covered by many artists. Another single, "

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

", released in the US, peaked at No. 16. The parent album, ''

Bee Gees 1st ''Bee Gees' 1st'' is the third studio album by English group Bee Gees, and their first international full-length recording after two albums distributed only in Australia and New Zealand. ''Bee Gees' 1st'' was the group's debut album for the UK P ...

'' (their first internationally), peaked at No. 7 in the US and No. 8 in the UK. Bill Shepherd was credited as the arranger. After recording that album, the group recorded their first BBC session at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt i ...

Northumberland Avenue Northumberland Avenue is a street in the City of Westminster, Central London, running from Trafalgar Square in the west to the Thames Embankment in the east. The road was built on the site of Northumberland House, the London home of the House ...

, in London, with Bill Bebb as the producer, and they performed three songs. That session is included on ''BBC Sessions: 1967–1973'' (2008). After the release of ''Bee Gees' 1st'', the group was first introduced in New York as "the English surprise". At that time, the band made their first British TV appearance on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. Maurice recalled: In late 1967, they began recording their second album. On 21 December 1967, in a live broadcast from

Liverpool Anglican Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...

for a Christmas television special called ''How On Earth?,'' they performed their own song, "Thank You For Christmas" which was written especially for the programme, as well as a medley of the traditional Christmas carols "

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

", "

The First Noel "The First Nowell", also known as "The First Noel (or Noël)", is a traditional English Christmas carol with Cornish origins, most likely from the early modern period, although possibly earlier.Mary's Boy Child" (the latter incorrectly noted as "

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection ''Hymns and Sacred Poems''. The carol, based on , tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God. As it is known in the modern era, it f ...

" on tape boxes and subsequent release). The songs were all pre-recorded on 1 December 1967 and the group lip-synched their performance. The recordings were eventually released on the "Horizontal" reissue bonus disc in 2008. The folk group

the Settlers ''The Settlers'' (german: Die Siedler) is a city-building and real-time strategy video game series created by Volker Wertich. The original game was released on the Commodore Amiga in 1993, with subsequent games released primarily on MS-DOS a ...

and Radio 1 disc-jockey,

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

, also performed on the programme, which was presented by the Reverend Edward H. Patey, dean of the cathedral. January 1968 began with a promotional trip to the US.

Los Angeles Police {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) Law enforcement in Los Angeles County is conducted by a variety of law enforcement agencies. State agencies *California Highway Patrol *University of California Police Department * California ...

were on alert in anticipation of a Beatles-type reception, and special security arrangements were being put in place. In February, '' Horizontal'' repeated the success of their first album, featuring the group's first UK No. 1 single "

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

" (a No. 11 US hit) and the No. 7 UK single "

World In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

"."Bee Gees: UK Charts History"
Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2014 The sound of the album ''Horizontal'' had a more "rock" sound than their previous release, although ballads like "

And the Sun Will Shine "And the Sun Will Shine" is a song by the British rock band Bee Gees, it was written by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb and released in February 1968 on the album '' Horizontal''. The song's opening chord was D7, consisting of the notes ...

" and "

Really and Sincerely "Really and Sincerely" is a song by the Bee Gees. Written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb in 1967 and released in 1968 on the album '' Horizontal'', it is also featured as the B-side of "And the Sun Will Shine" in France. It was issued in 1970 as ...

" were also prominent. The ''Horizontal'' album reached No. 12 in the US and No. 16 in the UK. With the release of ''Horizontal'', they also embarked on a Scandinavian tour with concerts in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Around the same time, the Bee Gees turned down an offer to write and perform the soundtrack for the film '' Wonderwall'', according to director

Joe Massot Joe Massot (1933 – April 4, 2002) was an American writer and film director who was known for the film '' Wonderwall'' (1968) which featured a soundtrack by George Harrison, and the Led Zeppelin concert film '' The Song Remains The Same'' (197 ...

. On 27 February 1968, the band, backed by the 17-piece Massachusetts String Orchestra, began their first tour of Germany with two concerts at Hamburg Musikhalle. In March 1968, the band was supported by

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...

(who had a well-known hit "

A Whiter Shade of Pale "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...

") on their German tour. As Robin's partner Molly Hullis recalls: "Germans were wilder than the fans in England at the heights of

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles in the 1960s. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom throughout 1963, propelled by the singles "Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and "She Loves You". By ...

." The tour schedule took them to 11 venues in as many days with 18 concerts played, finishing with a brace of shows at the Stadthalle,

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

. After that, the group was off to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. As Maurice described it: On 17 March, the band performed "Words" on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

''. The other artists who performed on that night's show were

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

, George Hamilton and

Fran Jeffries Fran Jeffries (born Frances Ann Makris; May 18, 1937 – December 15, 2016) was an American singer, dancer, actress, and model. Early life Jeffries was born Frances Ann Makris on May 18, 1937, in Palo Alto, California, the daughter of Esther A. ...

. On 27 March 1968, the band performed at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London. The Bee Gees

Two more singles followed in early 1968: the ballad "

Words A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...

" (No. 8 UK, No. 15 US) and the double A-sided single "

Jumbo Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...

" backed with " The Singer Sang His Song". "Jumbo" only reached No. 25 in the UK and No. 57 in the US. The Bee Gees felt "The Singer Sang His Song" was the stronger of the two sides, an opinion shared by listeners in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

who made it a No. 3 hit. Further Bee Gees chart singles followed: "

I've Gotta Get a Message to You "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" is a song by the Bee Gees. Released as a single on 1968, it was their second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, and their first US Top 10 hit. Barry Gibb re-recorded the song with Keith Urban for his 202 ...

", their second UK No. 1 (No. 8 US), and "

I Started a Joke "I Started a Joke" is a song by the Bee Gees from their 1968 album ''Idea'', which was released as a single in December of that year. It was not released as a single in the United Kingdom, where buyers who could not afford the album had to co ...

" (No. 6 US), both culled from the band's third album ''

Idea In common usage and in philosophy, ideas are the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophers have considered ideas to be a fundamental ontological category of being ...

''. ''Idea'' reached No. 4 in the UK and was another top 20 album in the US (No. 17). After the tour and TV special to promote the album, Vince Melouney left the group, desiring to play more of a blues style music than the Gibbs were writing. Melouney did achieve one feat while with the Bee Gees: his composition "

Such a Shame "Such a Shame" is a song written by Mark Hollis for the English band Talk Talk's second album '' It's My Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's second single and went on to become a top 10 hit across Europe. Overview "Such a Shame" was ...

" (from ''Idea'') is the only song on any Bee Gees album not written by a Gibb brother. The band were due to begin a seven-week tour of the US on 2 August 1968, but on 27 July, Robin collapsed and fell unconscious. He was admitted to a London nursing home for nervous exhaustion, and the American tour was postponed. The band began recording their sixth album, which resulted in their spending a week recording at

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios was the recording studio of Atlantic Records. Although this recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 West 56th Street fr ...

in New York. Robin, still feeling poorly, missed the New York sessions, but the rest of the band put away instrumental tracks and demos.

''Odessa'', ''Cucumber Castle'' and break-up

The Bee Gees - This is Tom Jones, Season 1, Episode 3 (1969)

By 1969, Robin began to feel that Stigwood had been favouring Barry as the frontman. The Bee Gees' performances in early 1969 on the ''

'' and ''

The Tom Jones Show ''Tom Jones'' was a syndicated television variety show, hosted by Tom Jones (singer), Tom Jones, that aired during the 1980-1981 television season. Twenty-four episodes of the show were produced. The show was produced in Vancouver, British Colum ...

'' performing "I Started a Joke" and "First of May" as a medley was one of the last live performances of the group with Robin. Their next album, which was to have been a concept album called ''Masterpeace'', evolved into the double-album ''

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

''. Most rock critics felt this was the best Bee Gees album of the 1960s with its progressive rock feel on the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

, the country-flavoured "

Marley Purt Drive "Marley Purt Drive" is a song recorded by the Bee Gees, It was written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb and released in March 1969 on the album '' Odessa''. It was released in stereo in the United States in January and its mono version was released ...

" and "

Give Your Best ''Odessa'' is the sixth studio album by the Bee Gees, a double vinyl LP released on 30 March 1969, initially in an opulent red flocked cover with gold lettering. Despite reaching the UK Top Ten and the US Top 20, the album was not particular ...

", and ballads such as "

Melody Fair A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

" and " First of May" (the last of which became the only single from the album and a UK # 6 hit). Feeling the flipside, "

Lamplight "Lamplight" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as the B-side of " First of May", but featured as the single's A-side in Germany. It also featured on their double album '' Odessa'' in March 1969. The song was written and composed by Barry, Robin ...

", should have been the A-side, Robin quit the group in mid-1969 and launched a solo career. The first of many Bee Gees compilations, ''

Best of Bee Gees ''Best of Bee Gees'' is a 1969 compilation album by the English-Australian rock band Bee Gees. It was their first international greatest hits album. It featured their singles from 1966-1969 with the exception of the band's 1968 single "Jumbo". ...

'', was released featuring the non-LP single "

" plus the Australian hit " Spicks and Specks". The single " Tomorrow Tomorrow" was also released and was a moderate hit in the UK, where it reached No. 23, but it was only No. 54 in the US. The compilation reached the top 10 in both the UK and the US. While Robin pursued his solo career, Barry, Maurice and Petersen continued on as the Bee Gees recording their next album, '' Cucumber Castle''. The band made their debut performance without Robin at Talk of the Town. They had recruited their sister, Lesley, into the group at this time. To accompany the album, they also filmed a

TV special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

with

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

and cameos from several other contemporary pop and rock stars, which aired on the BBC in December 1970. Petersen played drums on the tracks recorded for the album but was fired from the group after filming began (he went on to form the

Humpy Bong Humpy Bong was an English folk rock band formed in London in 1970, by former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen and Irish folk rock singer Jonathan Kelly. Beginnings Colin Petersen was a child actor in Australia and drummer with the Bee Gees. ...

with Jonathan Kelly). His parts were edited out of the final cut of the film and Pentangle drummer

Terry Cox Terence William Harvey 'Terry' Cox (born 13 March 1937, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) played drums in the British folk rock bands The Pentangle, Duffy's Nucleus and Humblebums. He also drummed with several other artists, most notably D ...

was recruited to complete the recording of songs for the album. After the album was released in early 1970, it seemed that the Bee Gees were finished. The leadoff single, "

Don't Forget to Remember "Don't Forget to Remember" also called "Don't Forget to Remember Me" is a country ballad recorded by the Bee Gees, from the album '' Cucumber Castle''. The song was written by Barry and Maurice Gibb. It was produced by the band with Robert Stig ...

", was a big hit in the UK, reaching No. 2, but only reached No. 73 in the US. The next two singles, "

I.O.I.O. "I.O.I.O." is a song by the Bee Gees, released on the album '' Cucumber Castle''. It was written by Barry and Maurice Gibb. The song was released as a single in March 1970, and was also one of the highlights of the album. The single was a relativ ...

" and " If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else", barely scraped the charts. On 1 December 1969, Barry and Maurice parted ways professionally. Maurice started to record his first solo album, '' The Loner'', which was not released. Meanwhile, he released the single "

Railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

" and starred in the West End musical ''Sing a Rude Song''. In February 1970, Barry recorded a solo album which never saw official release either, although "

I'll Kiss Your Memory "I'll Kiss Your Memory" is the first solo single written, performed and produced by Barry Gibb, released in May 1970. It peaked at number 16 in the Netherlands. The song was intended for Gibb's unreleased debut album ''The Kid's No Good''. Backgr ...

" was released as a single backed by "This Time" without much interest. Meanwhile, Robin saw success in Europe and Australia with his No. 2 hit "

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

" and the album '' Robin's Reign''.

1970–1974: Reformation

In mid 1970, according to Barry, "Robin rang me in Spain where I was on holiday aying'let's do it again'". By 21 August 1970, after they had reunited, Barry announced that the Bee Gees "are there and they will never, ever part again". Maurice said, "We just discussed it and re-formed. We want to apologise publicly to Robin for the things that have been said." Earlier, in June 1970, Robin and Maurice recorded a dozen songs before Barry joined and included two songs that were on their reunion album. Around the same time, Barry and Robin were about to publish the book ''On the Other Hand''. They also recruited Geoff Bridgford as the group's official drummer. Bridgford had previously worked with the Groove and Tin Tin and played drums on Maurice's unreleased first solo album. In 1970, '' 2 Years On'' was released in October in the US and November in the UK. The lead single "

Lonely Days "Lonely Days" is a ballad written and performed by the Bee Gees. It appeared on their album ''2 Years On'', and was released as a single, becoming their first Top Five hit in the US, peaking at number three in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reac ...

" reached No. 3 in the United States, promoted by appearances on ''

The Johnny Cash Show ''The Johnny Cash Show'' is an American television music variety show hosted by Johnny Cash. The Screen Gems 58-episode series ran from June 7, 1969, to March 31, 1971, on ABC; it was taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

'',

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

's ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'', ''

The Andy Williams Show ''The Andy Williams Show'' was an American television variety show that ran from 1962 to 1971 (alternating during the summer of 1970 with ''Andy Williams Presents Ray Stevens'')Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time N ...

'', ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968–January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesdays, We ...

'' and ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. Their ninth album, ''

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

'', was released in late 1971. The single "

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album '' Trafalgar''. It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in ...

" was their first to hit No. 1 on the US charts, while "

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

" reached No. 22 in the Netherlands. "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" also brought the Bee Gees their first

nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Later that year, the group's songs were included in the soundtrack for the film ''

Melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

''. In 1972, they hit No. 16 in the US with the non-album single " My World", backed by Maurice's composition " On Time". Another 1972 single, " Run to Me" from the LP ''

To Whom It May Concern To Whom It May Concern may refer to: *Salutation (greeting), used for opening a letter to an unknown recipient In music ; Albums * ''To Whom It May Concern'' (Bee Gees album), 1972 * ''To Whom It May Concern'', a Blacklite District album, 2016 ...

'', returned them to the UK top 10 for the first time in three years. Bridgford left the group partway through recording, and the band chose not to hire a new member to replace him. The resulting three-piece lineup of Barry, Robin and Maurice would remain unbroken for the remainder of the band's active years. On 24 November 1972, the band headlined the "Woodstock of the West" Festival at the

Los Angeles Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a me ...

(which was a West Coast answer to

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

in New York), which also featured

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

and the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

. Also in 1972, the group sang "

Hey Jude "Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release o ...

" with

Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett (March 18, 1941 – January 19, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter. A major figure in the development of soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, many of which crossed over to the ''Bill ...

. By 1973, however, the Bee Gees were in a rut. The album ''

Life in a Tin Can ''Life in a Tin Can'' is the Bee Gees' eleventh studio album (ninth worldwide), released in January 1973. Background The Bee Gees travelled to Los Angeles to record ''Life in a Tin Can''. However, it was unable to prevent a commercial decline ...

'', released on Robert Stigwood's newly formed

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

, and its lead-off single, "

Saw a New Morning "Saw a New Morning" is the 1973 single released by the Bee Gees. It was also the group's first single released on Robert Stigwood's newly created records label RSO Records. The Bee Gees moved to Los Angeles in 1972 to record the album ''Life in a ...

", sold poorly with the single peaking at No. 94. This was followed by an unreleased album (known as ''

A Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants ''A Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants'' is an unreleased studio album by the Bee Gees. Originally known as ''The Bee Gees Album'', recording began in late 1972 at The Record Plant in Los Angeles around the same time as tracks for ''L ...

''). A second compilation album, ''

Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2 ''Best of Bee Gees Vol. 2'' is a compilation album of hits by the Bee Gees released in 1973. The album, briefly revived on CD in the late 1980s, went out of print, but was reissued by Rhino in November 2008. Whereas the original '' Best of Bee ...

'', was released in 1973, although it did not repeat the success of Volume 1. On 6 April 1973 episode of '' The Midnight Special'' they performed "

Money (That's What I Want) "Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, ...

" with

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

. Also in 1973, they were invited by

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

to perform two songs with him onstage at ''The Midnight Special'': " Johnny B. Goode" and "

Reelin' and Rockin' "Reelin' and Rockin'" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry. It was originally recorded in 1957 and released as the B-side of "Sweet Little Sixteen". Recording The song was recorded on December 29-30, 1957 in Chicago, Illinois. * Chuck Be ...

". After a tour of the United States in early 1974 and a Canadian tour later in the year, the group ended up playing small clubs. As Barry joked, "We ended up in, have you ever heard of Batley's the variety club in (

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

) England?". On the advice of

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...

, head of their US label

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, Stigwood arranged for the group to record with

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

producer

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for o ...

. The resulting LP, '' Mr. Natural'', included fewer ballads and foreshadowed the R&B direction of the rest of their career. When it, too, failed to attract much interest, Mardin encouraged them to work within the soul music style. The brothers attempted to assemble a live stage band that could replicate their studio sound. Lead guitarist

Alan Kendall Alan Kendall (born 9 September 1944) is an English musician and was the lead guitarist for the Bee Gees, in an unofficial capacity from 1971 until 1980, and again from 1987 until 2001. Career His first recording was "Don't Play That Song (You ...

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 Bee Gees band that lasted through the late '70s. Maurice, who had previously performed on piano, guitar, harpsichord, electric piano, organ,

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

and bass guitar, as well as

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and

Moog synthesiser The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014 ...

, by then confined himself to bass onstage.

1975–1979: Turning to disco

''Main Course'' and ''Children of the World''

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

's suggestion, the brothers moved to

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, early in 1975 to record at

Criteria Studios Criteria Studios is a recording studio in North Miami, Florida, founded in 1958 by musician Mack Emerman. Hundreds of gold, platinum, and diamond singles and albums have been recorded, mixed or mastered at Criteria, for many notable artists and ...

. After starting off with ballads, they eventually heeded the urging of Mardin and Stigwood, and crafted more dance-oriented

songs, including their second US No. 1, "

Jive Talkin' "Jive Talkin" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as a single in May 1975 by RSO Records. This was the lead single from the album '' Main Course'' (as well as a song on the 1977 '' Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack) and hit number one on the ' ...

", along with US No. 7 "

Nights on Broadway "Nights on Broadway" is a song by the Bee Gees from the ''Main Course'' album released in 1975. The second single released from the album, it immediately followed their number-one hit "Jive Talkin'". This track was credited to Barry, Robin and ...

". The band liked the resulting new sound. This time the public agreed by sending the LP '' Main Course'' up the charts. This album included the first Bee Gees songs wherein Barry used

, something that became a trademark of the band. This was also the first Bee Gees album to have two US top-10 singles since 1968's ''Idea''. ''Main Course'' also became their first charting R&B album. On the Bee Gees' appearance on ''The Midnight Special'' in 1975, to promote ''Main Course'', they sang "To Love Somebody" with Helen Reddy. Around the same time, the Bee Gees recorded three Beatles covers—"

Golden Slumbers "Golden Slumbers" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the sixth song of the album's climactic B-side medley. The song is follow ...

Carry That Weight "Carry That Weight" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the seventh and penultimate song in the album's climactic side-two med ...

", "

She Came in Through the Bathroom Window "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it is the fifth song of the album's climactic B-side me ...

" with Barry providing lead vocals, and "

Sun King , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

" with Maurice providing lead vocals, for the unsuccessful musical/documentary ''

All This and World War II ''All This and World War II'' is a 1976 musical documentary directed by Susan Winslow. It juxtaposes Beatles songs covered by a variety of musicians with World War II newsreel footage and 20th Century Fox films, in a manner meant by the filmma ...

''. The next album, ''

Children of the World ''Children of the World'' is a 1976 album by the Bee Gees. The first single, " You Should Be Dancing", went to No. 1 in the US and Canada, and was a top ten hit in numerous other territories. It was the group's fourteenth album (twelfth interna ...

'', released in September 1976, was filled with Barry's new-found falsetto and Weaver's synthesizer disco licks. The first single from the album was "

You Should Be Dancing "You Should Be Dancing" is a song by the Bee Gees, from the album ''Children of the World'', released in 1976. It hit No. 1 for one week on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 for seven weeks on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, and in S ...

", which features percussion work by musician Stephen Stills. The song pushed the Bee Gees to a level of stardom they had not previously achieved in the US, though their new R&B/disco sound was not as popular with some diehard fans. The pop ballad "

Love So Right "Love So Right" is an R&B ballad recorded by the Bee Gees. It was the second single released on the album ''Children of the World''. Background It was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb early in 1976. Recording started on 18 January, ...

" reached No. 3 in the US, and "

Boogie Child "Boogie Child" is the third hit single from the Bee Gees' 1976 platinum album ''Children of the World'', released in the US in early 1977. The song peaked at no. 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as an A-side and was then used as the B-side of th ...

" reached US No. 12 in January 1977. The album peaked at No. 8 in the US.

''Saturday Night Fever'' and ''Spirits Having Flown''

Following a successful live album, '' Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live'', the Bee Gees agreed with Stigwood to participate in the creation of the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. It was the turning point of their career. The cultural impact of both the film and the soundtrack was significant throughout the world, epitomizing the

phenomenon on both sides of the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. 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

and

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...

."Sam Kashner, "Fever Pitch", ''Movies Rock'' (Supplement to ''The New Yorker''), Fall 2007, unnumbered page. Producer Robert Stigwood commissioned the Bee Gees to create the songs for the film. The brothers wrote the songs "virtually in a single weekend" at Château d'Hérouville studio in France. Barry Gibb remembered the reaction when Stigwood and music supervisor Bill Oakes arrived and listened to the demos: Bill Oakes, who supervised the soundtrack, asserts that '' Saturday Night Fever'' did not begin the disco craze but rather 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." Three Bee Gees singles—" How Deep Is Your Love" (US No. 1, UK No. 3), "

Stayin' Alive "Stayin' Alive" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack. The song was released in 1977 as the second single from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. The band co-produced ...

" (US No. 1, UK No. 4) and "

Night Fever "Night Fever" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to ''Saturday Night Fever'' on RSO Records. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film ''Saturday Night'', but singer Robin Gibb expressed ...

" (US No. 1, UK No. 1)—charted high in many 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 US No. 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 to an album track, and another by

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

, which was the hit. During a nine-month period beginning in the Christmas season of 1977, seven songs written by the brothers held the No. 1 position on the US charts for 27 of 37 consecutive weeks: three of their own releases, two for brother

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through th ...

, the Yvonne Elliman single, and " Grease", performed by Frankie Valli. Fuelled by the film's success, the soundtrack broke multiple industry records, becoming the highest-selling album in recording history to that point. With more than 40 million copies sold, ''Saturday Night Fever'' is among music's top five best selling soundtrack albums. , it is calculated as the fourth highest-selling album worldwide. In March 1978, the Bee Gees held the top two positions on the US charts with "Night Fever" and "Stayin' Alive", the first time this had happened since the Beatles. On the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for 25 March 1978, five songs written by the Gibbs were in the US top 10 at the same time: "Night Fever", "Stayin' Alive", "If I Can't Have You", "Emotion" and "Love Is Thicker Than Water". Such chart dominance had not been seen since April 1964, when the Beatles had all five of the top five American singles. Barry Gibb became the only songwriter to have four consecutive number-one hits in the US, breaking the

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

1964 record. These songs were "Stayin' Alive", "Love Is Thicker Than Water", "Night Fever" and "If I Can't Have You". The Bee Gees won five

s for ''Saturday Night Fever'' over two years: Album of the Year,

Producer of the Year The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is an honor presented to record producers for quality non- classical music at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...

(with Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson), two awards for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals (one in 1978 for "How Deep Is Your Love" and one in 1979 for "Stayin' Alive"), and Best Vocal Arrangement for Two or More Voices for "Stayin' Alive". During this era, Barry and Robin also wrote "

Emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

" for an old friend, Australian vocalist

Samantha Sang Cheryl Lau Sang (born 5 August 1951), known professionally as Samantha Sang, is an Australian singer. She had an earlier career as a teenage singer under the stage name Cheryl Gray, before adopting the stage name she is more widely known as in 1 ...

, who made it a top 10 hit, with the Bee Gees singing backing vocals. Barry also wrote the title song to the film version of the Broadway musical '' Grease'' for Frankie Valli to perform, which went to No. 1. The Bee Gees also co-starred with

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English musician and songwriter who was a member of the rock bands Humble Pie and the Herd. As a solo artist, he has released several albums, including his major breakthrough album, the live ...

in Robert Stigwood's film '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1978), loosely inspired by the classic 1967 album by the Beatles. The movie had been heavily promoted prior to release and was expected to enjoy great commercial success. However, it was savaged by film critics as a disjointed mess and ignored by the public. Though some of its tracks charted, the soundtrack too was a high-profile flop. The single "

Oh! Darling "Oh! Darling" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, appearing as the fourth song on the 1969 album ''Abbey Road''. It was composed by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney). Its working title was "Oh! Darling (I'll Never Do Y ...

", credited to Robin Gibb, reached No. 15 in the US. The Bee Gees' follow-up to ''Saturday Night Fever'' was the ''

Spirits Having Flown ''Spirits Having Flown'' is the fifteenth album released by the Bee Gees. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. The album's first three tracks were released as singles and all reach ...

'' album. It yielded three more hits: "

Too Much Heaven "Too Much Heaven" is a song by the Bee Gees, which was the band's contribution to the "Music for UNICEF" fund. They performed it at the Music for UNICEF Concert on 9 January 1979. The song later found its way to the group's thirteenth origina ...

" (US No. 1, UK No. 3), "

Tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

" (US No. 1, UK No. 1), and "

Love You Inside Out "Love You Inside Out" is a 1979 hit single by the Bee Gees from their album, '' Spirits Having Flown''. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for one week in June 1979, interrupting Donna Summer's " Hot Stuff", becoming the third si ...

" (US No. 1, UK No. 13). This gave the act six consecutive No. 1 singles in the US within a year and a half, equalling the Beatles and surpassed only by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

. In January 1979, the Bee Gees performed "Too Much Heaven" as their contribution to the

Music for UNICEF Concert The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song was a benefit concert of popular music held in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on January 9, 1979. It was intended to raise money for UNICEF world hunger programs and to mark the b ...

at the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. During the summer of 1979, the Bee Gees embarked on their largest concert tour covering the US and Canada. The

Spirits Having Flown tour Spirits Having Flown Tour (also known as the Spirits Tour and the North American Tour) is the eighth concert tour by the Bee Gees in support of their fifteenth studio album ''Spirits Having Flown'' (1979). The tour began on 28 June 1979 in Fort ...

capitalised on Bee Gees fever that was sweeping the nation, with sold-out concerts in 38 cities. The Bee Gees produced a video for the title track "

", directed by Miami-based filmmaker Martin Pitts and produced by Charles Allen. With this video, Pitts and Allen began a long association with the brothers. The Bee Gees even had a country hit in 1979 with "

Rest Your Love on Me "Rest Your Love on Me" is a country ballad performed by the Bee Gees written and sung by Barry Gibb. It was the B-side of the US No. 1 hit "Too Much Heaven". Andy Gibb recorded the song as a duet with Olivia Newton-John for his 1980 album '' Afte ...

", the flip side of their pop hit "Too Much Heaven", which made the top 40 on the country charts. It was also a 1981 hit for Conway Twitty, topping the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

charts. 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. Encouraged by

Steve Dahl Steven Robert Dahl (born November 20, 1954) is an American radio personality. He is the owner and operator of the Steve Dahl Network, a subscription-based podcasting network. Dahl gained a measure of national attention after organizing and hostin ...

Disco Demolition Night Disco Demolition Night was a Major League Baseball (MLB) promotion on Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, that ended in a riot. At the climax of the event, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field ...

Radio stations around the US began promoting "Bee Gee-Free Weekends". Following their remarkable run from 1975 to 1979, the act had only one more top 10 single in the US, and that did not come until the single "One" reached number 7 in 1989. Barry Gibb considered the success of the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack both a blessing and a curse:

1980–1986: Outside projects, band turmoil, solo efforts and decline

Robin co-produced

Jimmy Ruffin Jimmy Lee RuffinRibowsky, Mark (2010), ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations'', Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, p. 89. . (May 7, 1936 – November 17, 2014) was an American soul singer, and ...

's ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...

'' released in May 1980, but the songs were started in 1979; the album contains songs written by the Gibb brothers, including the single "Hold On To My Love". In March 1980, Barry Gibb worked with

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

on her album ''

Guilty Guilty or The Guilty may refer to: * Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard Law *Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction *Guilt (law) ...

''. He co-produced, and wrote or co-wrote all nine of the album's tracks (four of them written with Robin, and the title track with both Robin and Maurice). Barry also appeared on the album's cover with Streisand and duetted with her on two tracks. The album reached No. 1 in both the US and the UK, as did the single " Woman in Love" (written by Barry and Robin), becoming Streisand's most successful single and album to date. Both of the Streisand/Gibb duets, "

" and "

What Kind of Fool "What Kind of Fool" is a vocal duet from 1981 (see 1981 in music) by singers Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb. The song was written by Gibb and Albhy Galuten. Background The songs on the ''Guilty'' album were a collaboration between Streisand a ...

", also reached the US Top 10. In 1981, the Bee Gees released the album '' Living Eyes'', their last full-length album release on RSO. This album was the first CD ever played in public, when it was played to viewers of the BBC show ''

Tomorrow's World ''Tomorrow's World'' is a former British television series about contemporary developments in science and technology. First transmitted on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003. The ''Tomorro ...

''. With the disco backlash still running strong, the album failed to make the UK or US Top 40—breaking their streak of Top 40 hits, which started in 1975 with "

". Two singles from the album fared little better—" He's a Liar", which reached No. 30 in the US, and " Living Eyes", which reached No. 45. In 1982,

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

enjoyed a UK No. 2 and US Adult Contemporary No. 1 hit with her comeback single, "

Heartbreaker Heartbreaker(s) or The Heart Breaker(s) may refer to: Film and television *''The Heart Breakers'', a 1916 film starring Andrew Arbuckle *''The Heart Breaker'', a 1925 film directed by Benjamin Stoloff * ''Heartbreaker'' (1983 film), an American f ...

", taken from her eponymous album written largely by the Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry Gibb. The album reached No. 3 in the UK and the Top 30 in the US, where it was certified Gold. A year later,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

recorded the Bee Gees-penned track " Islands in the Stream", which became a US and Australian No. 1 hit and entered the Top 10 in the UK. Rogers' 1983 album, ''

Eyes That See in the Dark ''Eyes That See in the Dark'' is the 15th studio album by Kenny Rogers, first released by RCA Nashville in August 1983. Background ''Eyes That See in the Dark'' marks Barry Gibb's third production project of the 1980s outside of the Bee Gees. Gi ...

'', was written entirely by the Bee Gees and co-produced by Barry. The album was a Top 10 hit in the US and was certified Double Platinum. The Bee Gees had greater success with the soundtrack to '' Staying Alive'' in 1983, the sequel to '' Saturday Night Fever''. The soundtrack was certified platinum in the US, and included their Top 30 hit "

The Woman in You "The Woman in You" is one of five songs the Bee Gees contributed to the film, '' Staying Alive'', the sequel to ''Saturday Night Fever''. It was their most recent song on that time to reach the Top 40 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart until 1989's " ...

". Also in 1983, the band was sued by Chicago songwriter Ronald Selle, who claimed the brothers stole melodic material from one of his songs, "Let It End", and used it in "How Deep Is Your Love". At first, the Bee Gees lost the case; one juror said that a factor in the jury's decision was the Gibbs' failure to introduce expert testimony rebutting the plaintiff's expert testimony that it was "impossible" for the two songs to have been written independently. However, the verdict was overturned a few months later. In August 1983, Barry signed a solo deal with MCA Records and spent much of late 1983 and 1984 writing songs for this first solo effort, ''

Now Voyager ''Now Voyager'' is the debut solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, the member of the Bee Gees. It was released on 17 September 1984 by Polydor Records in the UK and MCA Records in the US. ''Now Voyager'' was recorded someti ...

''. Robin released three solo albums in the 1980s, '' How Old Are You?'', ''

Secret Agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

'' and ''

Walls Have Eyes ''Walls Have Eyes'' is the fourth solo album released by singer Robin Gibb. It was released in November 1985 on EMI America Records in the US and Polydor Records throughout the rest of the world, and produced by Maurice Gibb and Tom Dowd. The tw ...

''. Maurice released his second single to date, "

Hold Her in Your Hand "Hold Her in Your Hand" is a country ballad recorded by Maurice Gibb; it was his second and last single after "Railroad" in 1970. Samantha Gibb, the daughter of Maurice, recorded an acoustic version that was independently released on CD in 2013. ...

", the first one having been released in 1970. In 1985,

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

released the album ''

Eaten Alive ''Eaten Alive'' (known under various alternate titles, including ''Death Trap'', ''Horror Hotel'', and ''Starlight Slaughter'', and stylized on the poster as ''Eaten Alive!'') is a 1976 American horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, and written ...

'', written by the Bee Gees, with the title track co-written with

(who also performed on the track). The album was again co-produced by Barry Gibb, and the single "

Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that sys ...

" gave Ross a UK and Australian No. 1 hit.

1987–1999: Comeback, return to popularity and Andy's death

The Bee Gees released the album '' E.S.P.'' in 1987, which sold over 2 million copies. It was their first album in six years, and their first for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The single " You Win Again" went to No. 1 in numerous countries, including the UK, and made the Bee Gees the first group to score a UK No. 1 hit in each of three decades: the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The single was a disappointment in the US, charting at No. 75, and the Bee Gees voiced their frustration over American radio stations not playing their new European hit single, an omission which the group felt led to poor sales of their current album in the US. The song won the Bee Gees the 1987 British Academy's

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

for Best Song Musically and Lyrically, and in February 1988 the band received a

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

nomination for Best British Group. On 10 March 1988, younger brother

died, aged 30, as a result of

myocarditis Myocarditis, also known as inflammatory cardiomyopathy, is an acquired cardiomyopathy due to inflammation of the heart muscle. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, chest pain, decreased ability to exercise, and an irregular heartbeat. The ...

, an inflammation of the heart muscle due to a recent viral infection. The Bee Gees later got together with

to create a group called '

the Bunburys ''1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time'' (titled as just ''One Moment in Time'' for some releases) is a compilation album that was released to coincide with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The album was released on Augu ...

' to raise money for English charities. The group recorded three songs for ''The Bunbury Tails'': "We're the Bunburys" (which eventually became the opening theme to the 1992 animated series ''The Bunbury Tails''), "Bunbury Afternoon", and "Fight (No Matter How Long)". The last song reached No. 8 on the rock music chart and appeared on ''

The 1988 Summer Olympics Album ''1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time'' (titled as just ''One Moment in Time'' for some releases) is a compilation album that was released to coincide with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The album was released on Augu ...

''. The Bee Gees' next album, '' One'' (1989), featured a song dedicated to Andy, "Wish You Were Here". The album also contained their first US Top 10 hit (No. 7) in a decade, "One" (an Adult Contemporary No. 1). After the album's release, the band embarked on its first world tour in 10 years. In the UK, Polydor issued a single-disc hits collection from ''Tales'' called ''

The Very Best of the Bee Gees ''The Very Best of the Bee Gees'' is a greatest hits album by British/Australian pop group the Bee Gees. It was originally released in November 1990 by Polydor Records, around the time as the ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb'' box set. The album ...

'', which contained their biggest UK hits. The album became one of their best-selling albums in that country, and was eventually certified Triple Platinum. Following their next album, ''

High Civilization ''High Civilization'' is the nineteenth studio album by British pop group the Bee Gees, released on 25 March 1991 in the U.K., and 14 May 1991 in the U.S. It was their last album recorded for Warner Bros. Records, after a four-year contract (t ...

'' (1991), which contained the UK top five hit " Secret Love", the Bee Gees went on a European tour. After the tour, Barry Gibb began to battle a serious back problem, which required surgery. In addition, he had

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

which, at one point, was so severe that it was doubtful that he would be able to play guitar for much longer. Also, in the early 1990s, Maurice Gibb finally sought treatment for his alcoholism, which he had battled for many years with the help of

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...

. In 1993, the group returned to the Polydor label and released the album ''

Size Isn't Everything ''Size Isn't Everything'' is the twentieth studio album by the Bee Gees, released in the UK on 13 September 1993, and the US on 2 November of the same year. The brothers abandoned the contemporary dance feel of the previous album '' High Civili ...

'', which contained the UK top five hit "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Success still eluded them in the US, however, as the first single released, "

Paying the Price of Love "Paying the Price of Love" is the first single from the Bee Gees' 20th studio album, '' Size Isn't Everything'' (1993). The song reached the top 10 in Belgium and Portugal and the top 40 in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the ...

", only managed to reach No. 74 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while the parent album stalled at No. 153. In 1997, they released the album '' Still Waters'', which has reached No. 2 in the UK (their highest album chart position there since 1979) and No. 11 in the US. The album's first single, " Alone", gave them another UK Top 5 hit and a top 30 hit in the US. ''Still Waters'' was the band's most successful US release of their post-RSO era. At the 1997 BRIT Awards held in

Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

, London on 24 February, the Bee Gees received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. On 14 November 1997, the Bee Gees performed a live concert in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

called '' One Night Only''. The show included a performance of "Our Love (Don't Throw It All Away)" synchronised with a vocal by their deceased brother Andy and a cameo appearance by

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

singing "

Immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

". The "One Night Only" name grew out of the band's declaration that, due to Barry's health issues, the Las Vegas show was to be the final live performance of their career. After the immensely positive audience response to the Vegas concert, Barry decided to continue despite the pain, and the concert expanded into their last full-blown world tour of "One Night Only" concerts. The tour included playing to 56,000 people at London's

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 5 September 1998 and concluded in the newly built

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

in Sydney, Australia on 27 March 1999 to 72,000 people. In 1998, the group's soundtrack 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. Also in 1998, the brothers released " Ellan Vannin" for Manx charities, recorded the previous year. Known as the unofficial national anthem of the Isle of Man, the brothers performed the song during their world tour to reflect their pride in the place of their birth. The Bee Gees closed the century with what turned out to be their last full-sized concert, known as ''BG2K'', on 31 December 1999.

2000–2008: ''This Is Where I Came In'' and Maurice's death

In 2001, the group released what turned out to be their final album of new material, ''

This Is Where I Came In ''This Is Where I Came In'' is the twenty-second and final studio album by the pop group the Bee Gees. It was released on 24 April 2001 by Polydor in the UK and Universal in the US, less than two years before Maurice Gibb died from a cardiac ar ...

''. The album was another success, reaching the Top 10 in the UK (being certified Gold), and the Top 20 in the US. The title track was also a UK Top 20 hit single. The last concert of the Bee Gees as a trio was at the ''Love and Hope Ball'' in 2002. Maurice Gibb died unexpectedly on 12 January 2003, at age 53, from a heart attack while awaiting emergency surgery to repair 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's name, leaving it to represent the three brothers together. The same week that Maurice died, Robin's solo album ''

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

'' was released. On 23 February 2003, the Bee Gees received the

Grammy Legend Award The Grammy Legend Award, or the Grammy Living Legend Award, is a special award of merit given to recording artists by the Grammy Awards, a music awards ceremony that was established in 1958. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremo ...

, they also became the first recipients of that award in the 21st century. Barry and Robin accepted as well as Maurice's son, Adam, in a tearful ceremony. 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 The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella group of UK charities which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises aroun ...

. Later that year, Barry reunited with

for her top-selling album '' Guilty Pleasures'', released as '' Guilty Too'' in the UK as a sequel album to the previous ''

''. Also in 2004, Barry recorded his song "I Cannot Give You My Love" with

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, which became a UK top 20 hit single. 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 Maurice's death. The pair also played at the 30th annual

Prince's Trust The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...

Concert in the UK on 20 May 2006.

2009–2012: Return to performing and Robin's death

Barry and Robin performed on the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

's ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' on 31 October 2009 and appeared on ABC-TV's '' Dancing with the Stars'' on 17 November 2009. On 15 March 2010, Barry and Robin inducted the Swedish group

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

into the

. On 26 May 2010, the two made a surprise appearance on the ninth-season finale of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. On 20 November 2011 it was announced that Robin Gibb, at 61 years old, had been diagnosed with liver cancer, a condition he had become aware of several months earlier. He had become noticeably thinner in previous months and had to cancel several appearances due to severe abdominal pain. Robin joined British military trio

the Soldiers The Soldiers is a singing trio consisting of serving British Army soldiers, whose debut album, ''Coming Home'', was released on 26 October 2009, and who have since continued their singing career whilst remaining full-time army personnel. Signe ...

for the Coming Home charity concert on 13 February 2012 at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

, in support of injured servicemen. It was his first public appearance for almost five months and, as it turned out, his final one. On 14 April 2012, it was reported that Robin had contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in a

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

hospital and was in a coma. Although he came out of his coma on 20 April 2012, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on 20 May 2012 of liver and kidney failure.

2013–present: Looking back at a lifetime of music

In September and October 2013, Barry performed his first solo tour "in honour of his brothers and a lifetime of music". In addition to the Rhino collection, ''The Studio Albums: 1967–1968'', Warner Bros. released a box set in 2014 called ''The Warner Bros Years: 1987–1991'' that included the studio albums ''E.S.P.'', ''One'' and ''High Civilization'' as well as extended mixes and B-sides. It also included the band's entire 1989 concert in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, available only on video as ''All for One'' prior to this release. The documentary ''The Joy of the Bee Gees'' was aired on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

on 19 December 2014. On 23 March 2015, 13STAR Records released a box set ''1974–1979'' which included the studio albums ''Mr. Natural'', ''Main Course'', ''Children of the World'' and ''Spirits Having Flown''. A fifth disc called ''The Miami Years'' includes all the tracks from ''Saturday Night Fever'' as well as B-sides. No unreleased tracks from the era were included. After a hiatus from performing, Barry Gibb returned to solo and guest singing performances. He occasionally appears with his son,

Steve Gibb Stephen Thadeus Crompton Gibb (born 1 December 1973) is a British-American guitarist. He has been a member of numerous hard rock and metal bands including 58, Black Label Society, Crowbar, Kingdom of Sorrow, The Underbellys, SkilletHead, and ...

. In 2016, he released ''

In the Now ''In the Now'' is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, released on 7 October 2016 by Columbia Records. Although his second solo album (since 1984's '' Now Voyager''), it is the first of all new material since the Bee G ...

'', his first solo effort since 1984's ''Now Voyager''. It was the first release of new Bee Gees-related music since the posthumous release of Robin Gibb's ''

''. Also in 2016,

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

signed a new distribution deal with Barry and the estates of his brothers for the Bee Gees catalogue, bringing their music back to

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

. An as-yet-untitled biopic about the Bee Gees is in development at Paramount, with

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

directing and Barry Gibb serving as an executive producer.

Influences

The Bee Gees were influenced by

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

the Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies an ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, Roy Orbison,

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

and

. On the 2014 documentary ''The Joy of the Bee Gees'', Barry said that the Bee Gees were also influenced by

the Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

and

. Maurice noted that

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

was an early influence, and later the group was "very influenced" by

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 19 ...

songs for

the Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

Legacy

In his 1980 ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine interview,

praised the Bee Gees, "Try to tell the kids in the seventies who were screaming to the Bee Gees that their music was just the Beatles redone. There is nothing wrong with the Bee Gees. They do a damn good job. There was nothing else going on then." In a 2007 interview with Duane Hitchings, who co-wrote Rod Stewart's 1978 disco song "

Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?", also written "Da' Ya' Think I'm Sexy", is a song by British singer Rod Stewart from his ninth studio album, ''Blondes Have More Fun'' (1978). It was written by Stewart, Carmine Appice and Duane Hitchings, though it inc ...

", he noted that the song was: Kevin Parker of

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

has said that listening to the Bee Gees after taking

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the na ...

inspired him to change the sound of the music he was making on his album ''

Currents Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

''. The English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

the Cribs The Cribs are a British indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that formed in 2001. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths guit ...

was also influenced by the Bee Gees. Cribs member

Ryan Jarman Ryan James Jarman is a British musician who is the guitarist and vocalist with English lo-fi indie rock band the Cribs. The Cribs Jarman formed the Cribs in the early 2000s with his twin brother Gary and younger brother Ross. The band is kno ...

said: "It must have had quite a big influence on us – pop melodies is something we always revert to. I always want to get back to pop melodies and I'm sure that's due to that Bee Gees phase we went through." Following Robin's death on 20 May 2012,

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

remarked: "The Bee Gees were an early inspiration for me,

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl ...

and Michelle. We loved their songwriting and beautiful harmonies. Recording their classic song, 'Emotion' was a special time for Destiny's Child. Sadly we lost Robin Gibb this week. My heart goes out to his brother Barry and the rest of his family." Singer

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks-Thomas (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debu ...

remarked that her favourite Bee Gees songs are "Too Much Heaven", "Emotion" (although performed by Samantha Sang with Barry on the background vocals using his falsetto), and "Stayin' Alive".

Carrie Underwood Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American singer. She rose to prominence after winning the fourth season of ''American Idol'' in 2005. Her single "Inside Your Heaven" made her the only country artist to debut atop the ''Bill ...

said, about discovering the Bee Gees during her childhood, "My parents listened to the Bee Gees quite a bit when I was little, so I was definitely exposed to them at an early age. They just had a sound that was all their own, obviously,

t was T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

never duplicated."

Songwriting

At one point, in 1978, the Gibb brothers were responsible for writing and/or performing nine of the songs in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In all, the Gibbs placed 13 singles onto the Hot 100 in 1978, with 12 making the Top 40. The Gibb brothers are fellows of the

British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy exists to support, protect, and campaign for the interests ...

(BASCA). At least 2,500 artists have recorded their songs. Singer-songwriter

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album '' Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...

spoke about the Bee Gees' influence with their own music as well as their songwriting: In 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Bee Gees were announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for their role as "Influential Artists".

Accolades and achievements

In 1978, following the success of ''Saturday Night Fever'', and the single "Night Fever" in particular,

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an Politics of the United States, American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

, the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the US state of Florida, named the Bee Gees honorary citizens of the state, since they resided in Miami at the time. In 1979, the Bee Gees got their star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

. They were the subjects of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1991 when they were surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', ''This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

while being interviewed by disc jockey

Steve Wright (DJ) Stephen Richard Wright (born 26 August 1954) is an English radio personality and disc jockey, credited for introducing the zoo format on British radio, with its zany, multi-personality approach. He presented ''Steve Wright in the Afternoon'' ...

on his Radio 1 programme at

BBC Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The ma ...

. The Bee Gees were inducted in 1994 into the

Songwriters Hall of Fame The Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) is an American institution founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer, music publisher/songwriter Abe Olman, and publisher/executive Howie Richmond to honor those whose work, represent, and maintain, the her ...

, as well as Florida's Artists Hall of Fame in 1995 and the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997. Also in 1997, the group were inducted into the

; the presenter of the award to " Britain's First Family of Harmony" was

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

, historical leader of

, another "family act" featuring three harmonising brothers. In 2001, they were inducted into the

Vocal Group Hall of Fame The Vocal Group Hall of Fame (VGHF) is an American-based hall of fame that honors vocal groups throughout the world in every genre of music. Headquartered in the Columbia Theatre in Sharon, Pennsylvania, it includes a theater and a museum. It was ...

. After Maurice's death, the Bee Gees were also inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2001, London's Walk of Fame in 2006 and Musically Speaking Hall Of Fame in 2008. On 15 May 2007, the Bee Gees were named BMI Icons at the 55th annual BMI Pop Awards. Collectively, Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb have earned 109 BMI Pop, Country and Latin Awards. In October 1999, the Isle of Man Post Office unveiled a set of six stamps honouring the Bee Gees. In the 2002

New Year's Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

, announced on 31 December 2001, all three brothers were appointed as Commanders of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE). By the time of the investiture ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

on 27 May 2004 Maurice had died, and he was represented at the ceremony by his son Adam. On 10 July 2009, the Isle of Man's capital bestowed the Freedom of the Borough of Douglas honour on Barry and Robin, as well as posthumously on Maurice. On 20 November 2009, the Douglas Borough Council released a limited edition commemorative DVD to mark their naming as Freemen of the Borough. Bee Gees Way Redcliffe-5 (21251097474)

On 14 February 2013, Barry Gibb unveiled a statue of the Bee Gees as well as unveiling "Bee Gees Way" (a walkway filled with photos and videos of the Bee Gees) in honour of the Bee Gees in Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. On 27 June 2018, Barry Gibb, the last surviving member of the Bee Gees, was knighted by Prince Charles after being named on the Queen's New Year's Honours List. The statue of the Bee Gees in Douglas, Isle of Man, was installed in 2021. In 2022, the last surviving member of the group, Barry Gibb, was made an Honorary Companion of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

which is Australia's highest national honour. The Bee Gees have sold over 220 million records worldwide, making them one of the best selling artists of all time. The group are to date the most successful family and sibling band of all time, the most successful musical trio of all time, and the most successful musical act with ties to Australia.

Awards and nominations

Queensland Music Awards

The

Queensland Music Awards The Queensland Music Awards (commonly known as QMA and known as the Q Song Awards from 2006 to 2010) are annual awards celebrating Queensland's emerging artists. They commenced in 2006. Each year, the QMA Song of the Year is immortalised in a ...

(previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebrating

Queensland, Australia ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006. (wins only) , - , 2009 , themselves , Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement Award ,

Band members

Principal members *

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...

– vocals, rhythm guitar (1958–2003, 2006, 2009–2012) *

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his o ...

– vocals (1958–1969, 1970–2003, 2006, 2009–2012; his death) *

– bass, guitars, keyboards, vocals (1958–2003; his death) *

– drums (1967–1969) *

– lead guitar (1967–1968) * Geoff Bridgford – drums (1971–1972; touring 1970–1971) Touring musicians *

– lead guitar (1971–1981, 1989–2003) *

Chris Karan Chris Karan (born Chrisostomos Karanikis, 14 October 1939) is a Britain-based Australian jazz drummer and percussionist of Greek descent. Life and career Karan was born in 1939 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Karan played in The Three Out t ...

– drums (1972) *

Dennis Bryon Dennis Bryon (born 14 April 1949 in Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh rock drummer from Cardiff, best known for his work with the Bee Gees from 1974 to 1979. He also worked with Amen Corner and co-produced Robin Gibb's 1983 album, '' How Old Are You?' ...

– drums (1973–1981) * Geoff Westley – keyboards, piano (1973–1976) *

Blue Weaver Derek John "Blue" Weaver (born 11 March 1947) is a Welsh rock keyboardist, session musician, songwriter and record producer. Career Weaver's career as a musician began as a co-founding member of 1960s Welsh rock band Amen Corner and its succ ...

– keyboards, synthesizers (1975–1981) *

Joe Lala Joseph Anthony Lala (November 3, 1947 – March 18, 2014) was an American musician and actor. In 1966, he co-founded the rock band Blues Image. Life and career Lala was born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, to parents from Contessa Entellina (an ...

– percussion (1976, 1979) * Joey Murcia – rhythm guitar (1976, 1979) * Harold Cowart – bass (1979) * Tim Cansfield – lead guitar (1989) * Vic Martin – keyboard, synthesizer (1989) * Gary Moberly – keyboard, synthesizer (1989) * George Perry – bass (1989–1993) * Chester Thompson – drums (1989) *

Mike Murphy Michael James Murphy (born 20 October 1941) is an Irish broadcaster, actor and property developer. He is best known for his long broadcasting career with RTÉ, presenting many TV shows such as ''The Live Mike'', '' Winning Streak'' and '' The Bi ...

– drums (1989) * Trevor Murrell – drums (1991–1992) * Rudi Dobson – keyboards (1991–1992) * Scott F. Crago – drums * Ben Stivers – keyboard (1996–1999) * Matt Bonelli – bass (1993–2001) * Steve Rucker – drums (1993–1999) Guest musicians (studio and touring) *

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

– drums * Lenny Castro – percussion *

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...

– guitar * Timothy B. Schmit – bass guitar *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

– lead guitar *

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 until his termination from the band in 2001. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 with th ...

– lead guitar (1981) *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...

– drums *

Mike Porcaro Michael Joseph Porcaro (May 29, 1955 – March 15, 2015) was an American bass player known for his work with the rock band Toto. He retired from touring in 2007 as a result of being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was t ...

– bass guitar * Steve Porcaro – keyboards * Steve Lukather – guitar * David Hungate – bass guitar *

David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...

– keyboards *

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

– keyboards * Bobby Kimball – keyboards *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass guitar * Reb Beach – lead guitar *

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...

– drums *

Ricky Lawson William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Mich ...

– drums * Scott F. Crago – drums *

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the '' Modern ...

– drums * Steve Ferrone – drums * Steve Jordan – drums *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass guitar *

Steuart Smith Steuart Smith (born 24 June 1952) is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and producer from Arlington, Virginia, United States. He is a touring member of the American rock band Eagles, where he has performed as one of ...

– lead guitar *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Colai ...

– drums Timeline ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:90 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1958 till:20/05/2012 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1958 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1958 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Lead value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Percussion value:claret legend:Percussion id:lines value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars BarData = bar:Barry text:"Barry Gibb" bar:Robin text:"Robin Gibb" bar:Maurice text:"Maurice Gibb" bar:Vince text:"Vince Melouney" bar:Colin text:"Colin Petersen" bar:Geoff text:"Geoff Bridgford" PlotData= width:11 bar:Barry from:start till:12/01/2003 color:vocals bar:Barry from:start till:12/01/2003 color:guitar width:3 bar:Barry from:01/01/2009 till:end color:vocals bar:Barry from:01/01/2009 till:end color:guitar width:3 bar:Robin from:start till:01/05/1969 color:vocals bar:Robin from:21/08/1970 till:12/01/2003 color:vocals bar:Robin from:21/08/1970 till:01/01/1971 color:keys width:3 bar:Robin from:01/01/1964 till:01/05/1969 color:keys width:3 bar:Robin from:01/01/2009 till:end color:vocals bar:Maurice from:start till:01/01/1964 color:vocals bar:Maurice from:01/01/1964 till:12/01/2003 color:vocals width:3 bar:Maurice from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1965 color:guitar bar:Maurice from:01/01/1965 till:01/01/1966 color:lead bar:Maurice from:01/01/1966 till:01/01/1979 color:bass bar:Maurice from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/1986 color:bass width:7 bar:Maurice from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1981 color:guitar bar:Maurice from:01/01/1986 till:01/01/2003 color:guitar width:7 bar:Maurice from:01/01/1964 till:01/01/1975 color:keys width:7 bar:Maurice from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/2003 color:keys bar:Maurice from:01/01/1979 till:01/10/1980 color:guitar bar:Maurice from:01/10/1980 till:01/01/1981 color:bass bar:Colin from:01/01/1967 till:01/08/1969 color:drums bar:Vince from:01/01/1967 till:01/12/1968 color:lead bar:Geoff from:21/08/1970 till:01/01/1972 color:drums LineData = at:01/11/1965 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1966 color:black layer:back at:14/07/1967 color:black layer:back at:01/02/1968 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1968 color:black layer:back at:30/03/1969 color:black layer:back at:01/04/1970 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1970 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1971 color:black layer:back at:01/10/1972 color:black layer:back at:19/01/1973 color:black layer:back at:15/06/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/06/1975 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1976 color:black layer:back at:05/02/1979 color:black layer:back at:01/10/1981 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1985 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1987 color:black layer:back at:17/04/1989 color:black layer:back at:25/03/1991 color:black layer:back at:13/09/1993 color:black layer:back at:10/03/1997 color:black layer:back at:24/04/2001 color:black layer:back Timeline of touring members ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:90 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1958 till:20/05/2012 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3 ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1958 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1958 Colors = id:Rhythm value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:Lead value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:Percussion value:claret legend:Percussion id:lines value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars BarData = bar:Alan text:"Alan Kendall" bar:Joey text:"Joey Murcia" bar:Tim text:"Tim Cansfield" bar:Harold text:"Harold Cowart" bar:George text:"George Perry" bar:Matt text:"Matt Bonelli" bar:GeoffW text:"Geoff Westley" bar:Blue text:"Blue Weaver" bar:Vic text:"Vic Martin" bar:Gary text:"Gary Moberly" bar:Ben text:"Ben Stivers" bar:Chris text:"Chris Karan" bar:Dennis text:"Dennis Bryon" bar:Chester text:"Chester Thompson" bar:Mike text:Mike Murphy bar:Steve text:"Steve Rucker" bar:Joe text:"Joe Lala" PlotData= width:11 bar:GeoffW from:01/01/1973 till:01/01/1975 color:keys bar:Alan from:01/01/1971 till:01/01/1981 color:lead bar:Alan from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:lead bar:Alan from:01/01/1971 till:01/01/1981 color:lead bar:Dennis from:01/01/1973 till:01/01/1981 color:drums bar:Blue from:01/01/1975 till:01/01/1981 color:keys bar:Chris from:01/01/1972 till:01/01/1973 color:drums bar:Joe from:20/12/1976 till:20/12/1976 color:percussion bar:Joe from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1980 color:percussion bar:Harold from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1980 color:bass bar:Tim from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:lead bar:Vic from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:keys bar:Gary from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:keys bar:George from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:bass bar:Chester from:01/01/1989 till:31/07/1989 color:drums bar:Ben from:01/06/1996 till:01/01/2000 color:keys bar:Matt from:01/06/1996 till:01/01/2000 color:bass bar:Steve from:01/06/1996 till:01/01/2000 color:drums bar:Joey from:20/12/1976 till:20/12/1976 color:rhythm bar:Joey from:01/01/1979 till:01/01/1980 color:rhythm bar:Mike from:31/07/1989 till:01/01/1990 color:drums LineData = at:01/11/1965 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1966 color:black layer:back at:14/07/1967 color:black layer:back at:01/02/1968 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1968 color:black layer:back at:30/03/1969 color:black layer:back at:01/04/1970 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1970 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1971 color:black layer:back at:01/10/1972 color:black layer:back at:19/01/1973 color:black layer:back at:15/06/1974 color:black layer:back at:01/06/1975 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1976 color:black layer:back at:05/02/1979 color:black layer:back at:01/10/1981 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1985 color:black layer:back at:01/09/1987 color:black layer:back at:17/04/1989 color:black layer:back at:25/03/1991 color:black layer:back at:13/09/1993 color:black layer:back at:10/03/1997 color:black layer:back at:24/04/2001 color:black layer:back

Discography

Soundtracks '' Saturday Night Fever'' (1977) and '' Staying Alive'' (1983) are not official Bee Gees albums, but contain some previously unreleased tracks. Apart from live and compilation, all their official albums are included on this list. ''

'' has not been included on the list because it appeared only on numerous bootlegs and was not officially released.

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1965) * '' Spicks and Specks'' (1966) * ''

Bee Gees' 1st ''Bee Gees' 1st'' is the third studio album by English group Bee Gees, and their first international full-length recording after two albums distributed only in Australia and New Zealand. ''Bee Gees' 1st'' was the group's debut album for the UK P ...

'' (1967) * '' Horizontal'' (1968) * ''

'' (1968) * ''

'' (1969) * '' Cucumber Castle'' (1970) * '' 2 Years On'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1972) * ''

'' (1973) * '' Mr. Natural'' (1974) * '' Main Course'' (1975) * ''

'' (1976) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Living Eyes'' (1981) * '' E.S.P.'' (1987) * '' One'' (1989) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1993) * '' Still Waters'' (1997) * ''

'' (2001)

Concert tours

The Bee Gees' concerts in 1967 and 1968 The 1967–68 Tours (also known as The Bee Gees in Concert, Spring Tour '68, North American Tour) are a series of concerts held in 1967 and 1968 by English band, the Bee Gees. The tours promoted their third, fourth and fifth studio albums: ''Bee ...

(1967–1968) * 2 Years On Tour (1971) *

Trafalgar Tour Trafalgar most often refers to: * Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England It may also refer to: Music * ''Trafalgar'' (album), by the Bee Gees Pl ...

(1972) *

Mr. Natural Tour ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

(1974) * Main Course Tour (1975) * Children of the World Tour (1976) *

Spirits Having Flown Tour Spirits Having Flown Tour (also known as the Spirits Tour and the North American Tour) is the eighth concert tour by the Bee Gees in support of their fifteenth studio album ''Spirits Having Flown'' (1979). The tour began on 28 June 1979 in Fort ...

(1979) * One for All World Tour (1989) * High Civilization World Tour (1991) * One Night Only World Tour (1997–1999) * This Is Where I Came In (2001)

Filmography

Citations

General bibliography

* .

External links

Bee Gees Official website

Bee Gees
at ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' *
Bee Gees' Vocal Group Hall of Fame webpage

Bee Gees at bmi.com

Robin Gibb sadly passes away after losing his battle with cancer

Who Do You Think You Are? – Bee Gees Family History
* {{Authority control 1958 establishments in Australia Australian pop rock groups ARIA Award winners ARIA Hall of Fame inductees Atlantic Records artists Barry Gibb Brit Award winners British disco groups British musical trios British soft rock music groups British soul musical groups Brunswick Records artists Capitol Records artists Child musical groups English expatriates in Australia English expatriates in the United States English pop music groups English rock music groups Grammy Legend Award winners Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners Mercury Records artists Manx musical groups Maurice Gibb Musical groups established in 1958 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Musical groups disestablished in 2012 Musical groups from Manchester Queensland musical groups Philips Records artists Q150 Icons Robin Gibb RSO Records artists Sibling musical trios UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors United Artists Records artists Warner Records artists World Music Awards winners