"Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" is a song written and performed by the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

for their ''

Main Course A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée ("entry") course. Typically, the main course is the meal that is the heaviest, heartiest, and most intricate or substantial o ...

'' album in 1975. It was the third single release from the album, peaking at number 12 on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number two in Canada. According to Maurice Gibb, producer Quincy Jones called "Fanny" one of his favorite R&B songs of all time.

Inspiration and recording

It was written by Barry Gibb,

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 ...

and Maurice Gibb. In a 2001 ''Billboard'' magazine interview with the Bee Gees, Barry claimed that:

"We had a housecleaner named Fanny when we stayed at 461 Ocean Blvd. n North Miami Beachduring the making of ''Main Course''. We were sitting in the lounge at
Criteria Criterion, or its plural form criteria, may refer to: General * Criterion, Oregon, a historic unincorporated community in the United States * Criterion Place, a proposed skyscraper in West Yorkshire, England * Criterion Restaurant, in London, Eng ...
tudioswriting the song with the lyric idea, 'Be tender with my love'. Maurice turned round and saw Fanny and said, 'Wouldn't it be a better song if it was a woman's name in there, and you're asking her to be tender?".

Recording for "Fanny" took place on 30 January, the same day as " Jive Talkin'", "Songbird", and "All This Making Love". Additional recording took place in February when Barry Gibb began to use his

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 ...

as a lead vocal in addition to Robin using his falsetto as well sharing the lead on "Fanny" and on backing vocals. The result of this song repeats on the idea of contrasting slower section of " Nights on Broadway". The complexity of falsetto and natural harmonies would become a Bee Gees trademark culminating with 1979's '' Spirits Having Flown''. The key of this song in the end, was from keyboardist Blue Weaver. Weaver was influenced by Hall & Oates' 1973 LP ''

Abandoned Luncheonette ''Abandoned Luncheonette'' is the second studio album by the American pop rock duo Daryl Hall & John Oates, released in 1973, which combines folk, Philly soul, and acoustic soul. It is the most commercially successful of their Atlantic Re ...

'' as he later admits, "The key change in 'Fanny (Be Tender)' was a complete rip-off from ''Abandoned Luncheonette'' from ' She's Gone' lso produced by Mardin I only had it on tape, and I didn't know that Arif produced it".

Critical reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "soulful composition" that "appears to be the third monster single in a row for these pop masters" off the ''Main Course'' album. The group did not perform "Fanny" live because of the layers of harmonies used to create the studio recording. A promotional film was made for distribution, the place was in the same as " Jive Talkin'". In an interview for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine on 14 November 2001, Maurice Gibb claims: "We all love that one, but it's just a bitch to sing". Bruce Eder of Allmusic describes "Fanny" along with "Baby As You Turn Away" had the same exquisitely sung sense of romantic drama as "

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 ...

" and " How Can You Mend a Broken Heart".

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1975 songs 1976 singles Bee Gees songs Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb RSO Records singles Song recordings produced by Arif Mardin British soft rock songs Pop ballads Soul ballads