''Saturday Night Fever'' is the soundtrack album from the 1977 film '' Saturday Night Fever'' starring John Travolta. The soundtrack was released on November 15, 1977. It is one of the best-selling albums in history, and remains the second-biggest-selling soundtrack of all time, after '' The Bodyguard,'' selling over 40 million copies worldwide. In the United States, the album was certified 16×

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

for shipments of at least 16 million units. The album stayed atop the charts for 24 straight weeks from January to July 1978 and stayed on '' Billboard''s album charts for 120 weeks until March 1980. Three singles from the album contributed by the Bee Gees – " How Deep Is Your Love", "

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 ...

" 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 ...

" – along with Yvonne Elliman's " If I Can't Have You", all reached No. 1 in the US. In the UK, the album spent 18 consecutive weeks at No. 1. The album epitomized the disco 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 ...

and was an international sensation. The album has been added to the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

in 2014 for being culturally significant.

Writing and recording

According to the DVD commentary for ''Saturday Night Fever'', the producers intended to use the song " Lowdown" by Boz Scaggs in the rehearsal scene between Tony and Stephanie in the dance studio, and choreographed their dance moves to the song. However, representatives for Scaggs's label, Columbia Records, refused to grant legal clearance for it, as they wanted to pursue another disco movie project, which never materialized. Composer

David Shire David Lee Shire (born July 3, 1937) is an American songwriter and composer of stage musicals, film and television scores. The soundtracks to the 1976 film '' The Big Bus'', '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'', ''The Conversation'' and ''All ...

, who scored the film, had to, in turn, write a song to match the dance steps demonstrated in the scene and eliminate the need for future legal hassles. However, this track does not appear on the movie's soundtrack. The Bee Gees'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 Stevie Wonder and Boz Scaggs."Sam Kashner, "Fever Pitch", ''Movies Rock'' (Supplement to ''The New Yorker''), Fall 2007, unnumbered page. 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 ...

commissioned the Bee Gees to create the songs for the film. As Robin Gibb asserted: The brothers wrote the songs "virtually in a single weekend" at Château d'Hérouville studio in France. The first song they recorded was " If I Can't Have You", but their version was not used in the film. Barry Gibb remembered the reaction when Stigwood and music supervisor Bill Oakes arrived and listened to the demos: Maurice Gibb recalled, "We played him demo tracks of 'If I Can't Have You', 'Night Fever' and ' More Than a Woman'. He asked if we could write it more discoey." The Brothers Gibb then wrote a song called "Saturday Night" but as Maurice explains, The track was recorded at Criteria Studios, with Maurice Gibb playing a bass line similar to the guitar riff, Barry Gibb and Alan Kendall on guitar riffs, and Blue Weaver on synthesizers. Barry chose to sing falsetto on the whole song, except on the line "life’s going nowhere, somebody help me".

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?' ...

, who was a backing drummer, left in the middle of the session due to the death of his mother. So the group looked for a replacement. However, as there was a shortage of qualified drummers in the area, they tried out a drum machine, with unsatisfactory results. After listening to the drum track of the already-recorded

, they took two bars from that track, and re-recorded them as a loop on a separate tape.

Release

The original issue of the album included the original studio version of "Jive Talkin; later LP pressings included a version culled from '' Here at Last ... Bee Gees ... Live''. All CD releases have included the original "Jive Talkin. "Jive Talkin was to have been used in a deleted scene taking place the day after Tony Manero's first Saturday night at the disco, but as the sequence was cut for the final film, the song was cut as well. In addition to the Bee Gees songs, additional incidental music was composed and adapted by

. Three of Shire's cues – "Manhattan Skyline", "Night on Disco Mountain" (based on the classical piece "

Night on Bald Mountain ''Night on Bald Mountain'' (russian: Ночь на лысой горе, translit=Noch′ na lysoy gore, links=no), also known as ''Night on the Bare Mountain'', is a series of compositions by Modest Mussorgsky (1839–1881). Inspired by Russian ...

") and "Salsation" – are included on the soundtrack album as well. Five additional cues – "Tony and Stephanie", "Near the Verrazano Bridge" (both adapted from the Bee Gees' song "How Deep Is Your Love"), "Barracuda Hangout", "Death on the Bridge" and "All Night Train" – while heard in the film, remain unreleased on CD. In 1994, the soundtrack was re-released on CD through

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. ...

. In 2006, the album was re-released on Reprise Records as part of the Bee Gees' regaining control of their master tapes. To commemorate the movie's 40th anniversary, Capitol Records released a newly remastered version on April 21, 2017, with the original artwork and gatefold packaging. On November 17, 2017, a deluxe box set was released with the original soundtrack, 4 new mixes of "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "How Deep Is Your Love" and "You Should Be Dancing", a collector's book, art prints, a movie poster and a turntable mat.

Reception and legacy

Along with the success of the movie, the soundtrack, composed and performed primarily by the Bee Gees, is the second best-selling soundtrack album of all time. ''Saturday Night Fever'' had a large cultural impact in the United States. The Bee Gees had originally written and recorded five of the songs used in the film – "

", "

", " How Deep Is Your Love", " More Than a Woman" (performed in the film in two different versions – one version 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 ...

, and another by the Bee Gees) and " If I Can't Have You" (performed in the movie by Yvonne Elliman) as part of a regular album. They had no idea at the time they would be making a soundtrack and said that they basically lost an album in the process. Two previously released Bee Gees songs – "Jive Talkin and "

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 ...

" – are also included on the soundtrack. Other previously released songs from the disco era round out the music in the movie. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It is the only disco album to do so, and one of only three soundtrack albums so honored. In 2012, the album was ranked No. 132 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of "

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

", ranked again in a 2020 revised list at number 163. The soundtrack hit the No. 1 spot on the ''Billboard'' chart's Pop Album and Soul Album charts. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named it the 57th greatest album of all time, and it was ranked 80th in a 2005 survey held by British television's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

listed ''Saturday Night Fever'' as the 34th best album of the 1970s. The album was added to the

in the

on March 21, 2013 for preservation.

Track listing

Notes * signifies arranged by

Additional songs recorded for the film but not used

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

" by

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 ...

– 3:43 *" If I Can't Have You" by Bee Gees – 3:25 *"

(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away" is a song penned by Barry Gibb and Blue Weaver and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 on the '' Saturday Night Fever'' sessions but was not released until ''Bee Gees Greatest'' (1979). A different version was re ...

" by Bee Gees – 4:07 *" Warm Ride" by Bee Gees – 3:16

Personnel

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 ...

– lead, harmony and backing vocals, rhythm guitar (tracks 1–4, 12 & 13) * Robin Gibb – lead vocals (track 1 & 2), harmony and backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 12 & 13) *

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 lea ...

– bass, harmony and backing vocals (tracks 1–4, 12 & 13) *

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 ...

– electric guitar (tracks 1–4, 12 & 13) *

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, synthesizer, piano (tracks 1–4, 12 & 13) *

– drums, percussion (tracks 1–4, 12 & 13) *

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 (tracks 1–4) *

Wade Marcus Wade Marcus was a music producer and arranger associated with the Motown sound during the 1970s. He composed the music to the film ''The Final Comedown'' with Grant Green. He also produced albums by The Blackbyrds, Gary Bartz, A Taste of Honey, T ...

– string arrangements (track 2) * Stephen Stills – percussion (track 13) *

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...

– drums (track 10) *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

– synthesizer (tracks 8 & 10) *Bob Bowles – guitar (tracks 5 & 7) *Dennis Budimir – guitar (track 10) *

Sonny Burke Joseph Francis "Sonny" Burke (March 22, 1914 – May 31, 1980) was an American musical arranger, composer, Big Band leader and producer. In 1937, he graduated from Duke University, where he had formed and led the jazz big band known as the Duke ...

– piano (tracks 5, 7 & 8); electric keyboards (track 15) *

Eddie Cano Edward Cano (June 6, 1927 – January 30, 1988) was an Afro-Cuban jazz and Latin jazz pianist and composer. Early life Cano was born in Los Angeles on June 6, 1927. His mother was Mexican-American, and his father, a bass guitarist, was Mexican. Can ...

– acoustic piano (track 15) *Mike Caruso – guitar (track 6) * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (tracks 5 & 7) *Scott Edwards – bass (tracks 5, 10 & 15) *Steve Forman – percussion (tracks 8, 10 & 15) *

James Gadson James Gadson ( James Edward Gadson; born June 17, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B. He is also a singer and ...

– drums (tracks 5, 7 & 8) *Ralph Grierson – keyboards (track 10) *Mitch Hoder – guitar (track 8) *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass (track 8) *

Freddie Perren Frederick James Perren (May 15, 1943 – December 16, 2004) was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor. He co-wrote and co-produced songs including "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gay ...

– synthesizer, keyboards, percussion (track 5) *

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartf ...

– percussion (track 10) *

Jerome Richardson Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with C ...

– flute solo (track 15) * Lee Ritenour – guitar (tracks 8, 10 & 15) *

– adaptation (track 10) *Mark Stevens – drums (track 15) *Chino Valdez – congas (track 15) *Bob Zimmitti – percussion (tracks 5, 7 & 15) * John Tobler – liner notes *Bill Oakes – compilation, album supervision

Awards

Grammy Awards

, - , width="35" align="center" , 1978 , , " How Deep Is Your Love" , , Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group , , , - , width="35" align="center" rowspan=4 ,

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, , ''Saturday Night Fever'' , , Album of the Year , , , - , ''Saturday Night Fever'' , ,

Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group The 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 ...

, , , - , "Stayin' Alive" , , Best Arrangement of Voices , , , - , Barry Gibb,

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. He has numerous inventions and has produced 18 ...

, Karl Richardson (producers) , ,

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 ...

, , , - , width="35" align="center" , 2004 , , ''Saturday Night Fever'' , , Hall of Fame Award , , , -

American Music Awards

, - , width="35" align="center" , 1979 , , ''Saturday Night Fever'' , , Favorite

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

/ R&B album , , , -

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

Album online
on

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a radio channel of

Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company ( ro, Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune), informally referred to as Radio Romania ( ro, Radio România), is the public radio broadcaster in Romania. It operates FM and AM, and internet national and lo ...

Saturday Night Fever on Discogs
{{Use mdy dates, date=October 2012 1977 soundtrack albums Bee Gees albums Polydor Records soundtracks RSO Records soundtracks Reprise Records soundtracks United States National Recording Registry recordings Disco soundtracks Grammy Award for Album of the Year Juno Award for International Album of the Year albums Drama film soundtracks Various artists albums United States National Recording Registry albums