"Railroad" is the first solo

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released by

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 ...

, best known as a member of 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 ...

. It was released in April 1970. Like the Bee Gees' songs from 1967 to 1972, the single was released by

Polydor 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. ...

in most parts of the world while in the US and Canada it was released by

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

. In Canada it was also released by

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 ...

and

Cotillion The cotillion (also cotillon or French country dance) is a social dance, popular in 18th-century Europe and North America. Originally for four couples in square formation, it was a courtly version of an English country dance, the forerunner o ...

. Gibb did not release a follow-up single until 1984 when he released "

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. ...

Background

"Railroad" was written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. Note: To search for other titles chose 'Search again' and enter the track name. Lawrie was the brother of

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, who Maurice married in 1969. The song was originally intended for a Bee Gees album. The single features guitar work by

Leslie Harvey Leslie Cameron Harvey (13 September 1944 – 3 May 1972) was a Scottish guitarist in several bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s, most notably Stone the Crows. He was the brother of Alex Harvey. Biography Harvey was born in Govan, Gla ...

Stone the Crows Stone the Crows were a Scottish blues rock band formed in Glasgow in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey. History The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to L ...

. As Gibb explains: "People have said that my single sounds like the Bee Gees, I sang the higher parts usually, and the other vocal parts I've added to 'Railroad' could be the others." Gibb once said that his wife at that time, singer

's reaction to the recording was that the piano was too loud;Gibb remixed it six times to please her.

Reception

The single failed to chart in Australia or the US but reached #6 on the

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n Singles Charts and #9 in Singapore. Gibb's debut solo album '' The Loner'' was never released. In other territories this single and its B-side were released as a double A single. The CD version of this song appears in the box set ''

Tales from the Brothers Gibb ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song'' is a box set compilation released by the Bee Gees in 1990. Originally released on four cassettes and four compact discs, ''Tales'' is a summary of the Bee Gees output from their third album, ...

'' however its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "I've Come Back", has never appeared on any other releases. Gibb handled all of the vocals on this track, covering the high harmonies and the lead in a manner that was impossible not to compare with the Bee Gees, he later described it as "anticlimactic" in the box set ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb''. This song was probably earmarked as the single from early on. It has the big singalong chorus of the Bee Gees hit "

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 ...

" and Robin Gibb's "Saved by the Bell" plus unique features like an intro, a verse played once, and a finish. Richie Unterberger at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

describes the song as "another throwback to country-pop balladry".

Personnel

—

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

— guitar * Johnny Coleman —

* Geoff Bridgford —

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Gerry Shury Gerald Roland Shury (11 August 1944General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 17; Page: 0919 – 24 May 1978)England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), page 7395 was a British songwriter, arranger, an ...

— orchestral arrangement

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control 1970 songs 1970 debut singles Maurice Gibb songs Polydor Records singles Atco Records singles 1970s ballads Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Billy Lawrie Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb Songs about trains Songs about loneliness Atlantic Records singles