"Islands in the Stream" is a song written 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 i ...

and recorded by American

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, o ...

artists

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Named after an Ernest Hemingway novel, it was released in August 1983 as the first single from Rogers's 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 ...

''. The song was originally written for

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 ...

in an R&B style but later reworked for the duet by Rogers and Parton. The Bee Gees released a live version of the song in 1998 and a studio version in 2001. The song reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States, giving both Rogers and Parton their second pop number-one hit (after Rogers's "

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inform ...

" in 1980 and Parton's " 9 to 5" in 1981). It also topped the Country and Adult Contemporary charts. It has been double certified Platinum and gold certified singles by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and ...

for 2 million and half a million digital sales in US. In 2005 the song topped CMT's poll of the best country duets of all time; Parton and Rogers reunited to perform the song on the CMT special. Rogers and Parton went on to record a Christmas album together, and had an additional hit with their 1985 duet " Real Love". Due to licensing reasons, this song was not included on digital release of ''Eyes That See in the Dark'' from

Capitol Records Nashville Capitol Records Nashville is a major United States-based record label located in Nashville, Tennessee operating as part of the Universal Music Group Nashville. From 1991 to 1995, Capitol Nashville was known as Liberty Records, before returning ...

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

, the current owner of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

, protected copyrights for this recording, and is digitally available only in various compilations from Sony Music, especially those of

Musical structure

The song is sung in

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor an ...

moderate time, with Rogers and Parton alternating lead vocals. Their version features a

key change In music, modulation is the change from one tonality ( tonic, or tonal center) to another. This may or may not be accompanied by a change in key signature (a key change). Modulations articulate or create the structure or form of many pieces, as ...

from C major to

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat m ...

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 ...

'' said that "the sound is simply gorgeous, as is the melody, as are the voices."

Commercial performance

The song knocked

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' ...

's " Total Eclipse of the Heart" out of No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also topping the Country and Adult Contemporary listings. In December of that year, it was certified platinum by the

for selling over two million physical copies in the US. After becoming available for digital download, it had sold a further 834,000 digital copies in the US, . In Australia, the song was number one for one week in December 1983 and became one of the highest selling singles of 1984. The song reached a peak of No. 7 in the UK singles chart in 1983. , it had also sold 245,577 digital copies in the UK. , it had racked up 287,200 downloads and 4.83 million streams in the UK.

In popular media

In April 2008, South Bend,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

, radio station WZOW played the song continuously for several days on end, a

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...

drawing attention to the station's format change from

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercia ...

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

. The song was also used as a karaoke song in two season 2 episodes of ABC's '' The Good Doctor'', "Islands Part One" and "Tough Titmouse".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* Danish blues-rock singer Peter Thorup and pop singer Anne Grete Rendtorff had great success with a version with Danish lyrics in 1984 called ''Skibe uden Sejl'' (Ships without Sails). The song was used as title track for the Danish TV series ''Måske i morgen'' (maybe tomorrow) shown on Danish national television DR. * Jamaican reggae artist

Owen Gray Owen Gray, also known as Owen Grey (born 5 July 1939),Larkin, Colin (1998) "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, is a Jamaican musician. His work spans the R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae eras of Jamaican music, and he has been c ...

covered the song on an album entitled "Little Girl" in 1984. *The chorus of the 1998 hip-hop song " Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" is an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a ...

of the chorus of "Islands in the Stream". The song was made by

Pras Prakazrel Samuel Michel (; born October 19, 1972) is a Haitian-American rapper, producer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. After the Fugees, he earned two ...

and

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

. *Country artists Hailey Whitters and

ERNEST Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest ...

, under the moniker Countrypolitan, covered the song in 2021

Bee Gees' recorded version

The Bee Gees performed their version live at the MGM Grand 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 Vega ...

on 14 November 1997, which was released a year later on '' One Night Only'', with solo vocal by

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 popula ...

. A studio version was recorded for their 2001 retrospective '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', which has since featured on the 2004 '' Number Ones'' and on the 2010 ''

Mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

'' box set. The chorus of Pras's 1998 hit "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)", which in turn is a reworking of the original Rogers and Parton release, replaces the final chorus in the studio recording. The live version of the song appears on their ''

Love Songs A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

'' compilation. ;Personnel (studio version) *

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 ...

– vocals *

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 l ...

– keyboard, programming * John Merchant –

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction ...

;Personnel (live version) *

– lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar *

— harmony and backing vocals *

– harmony and backing vocals, keyboard with *

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 ...

– lead guitar *

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, a ...

- guitar

Comic Relief version

On March 8, 2009, Welsh actors Ruth Jones and

Rob Brydon Robert Brydon Jones (; born 3 May 1965) is a Welsh actor, comedian, impressionist, presenter, singer and writer. He played Dr Paul Hamilton in the Australian/British comedy series ''Supernova'', Bryn West in the BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey'' ...

, in character as Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West from the hit BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey'', released a version of the song as a single for Comic Relief. Sir Tom Jones also features on the song, performing the final verse and chorus, whilst

appears on the single as a backing vocalist. Re-titled "(Barry) Islands in the Stream", in reference to the

Barry Island Barry Island ( cy, Ynys y Barri) is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc. Barry's stretch of coast, on the Bristol C ...

setting of ''Gavin & Stacey'', it entered at the top of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top ...

on March 15, 2009. This meant the Gibb Brothers had achieved number one songs in five successive decades, the first songwriters to achieve this feat. It also made Tom Jones, at the age of 68, the oldest person to have a UK number one song, until the record was taken in 2020 by Captain Tom Moore for his involvement in "

You'll Never Walk Alone "You'll Never Walk Alone" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' Carousel''. In the second act of the musical, Nettie Fowler, the cousin of the protagonist Julie Jordan, sings "You'll Never Walk Alone" to comfort and en ...

" at the age of 99. The video was filmed in

and the

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

desert, with both Gibb and Jones appearing in the video alongside Jones and Brydon. Nigel Lythgoe also makes a cameo appearance as a talent competition judge.

Track listing

* CD single # "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" – 3:56 # "Wisemen" – 3:14 # "Somethin' Stupid" – 2:48 # "Islands in the Stream" (music video) – 4:21 * DVD single # "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" (full-length video) – 8:56 # "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" (making of the video) – 14:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

*''The

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 advertis ...

Book of Number 1 Hits'' {{authority control 1983 songs 1983 singles 2009 singles Bee Gees songs Barry Gibb songs Dolly Parton songs Kenny Rogers songs Kikki Danielsson songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Scotland RPM Top Singles number-one singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Albhy Galuten RCA Records Nashville singles Polydor Records singles Comic Relief singles Male–female vocal duets Songs about islands

Musical structure

Reception

Commercial performance

In popular media

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Bee Gees' recorded version

Comic Relief version

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

See also

References