"Spicks and Specks" is a song 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 ...

, written 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 popul ...

. When the song was released in September 1966, the single reached No. 4 on the ''Go-Set'' Australian National Top 40 (No. 1 on other Australian charts), and when the song was released in other countries in February 1967, it reached No. 28 in Germany, No. 2 in the Netherlands and No. 1 in New Zealand.

Recording

"Spicks and Specks" is dated to early July by the memory of Geoff Grant (Geoffrey Streeter) who played the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

. Grant recalls working three nights in a row on four songs including this track, "

I Am the World "I Am the World" is a song recorded by the Bee Gees, written and sung by Robin Gibb. It was released as the B-side of "Spicks and Specks (song), Spicks and Specks". Later, it was included on the compilation ''Rare, Precious and Beautiful, Vol. 3' ...

", "

All by Myself "All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Sergei Rachmaninoff's circa 1900–1901 '' Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor'', Opus 18. The ...

", and "The Storm". There were no charts; Barry sang what he wanted live, and Grant copied it. Some of the artists whose disks came out in August recall hearing "Spicks and Specks" being worked on or completed, further confirming that early July is the approximate date of the song's recording. "Spicks and Specks" was a ballad around a strong piano beat.

Release

The single entered the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

charts at the end of September and stayed in the top 40 for 19 weeks, peaking at number 3. It appeared on the ''

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 ...

'' National Top 40 for sixteen weeks, where it reached number 4 early in November.''Go-Set'' National Top 40 charting: * Debut at No. 37 on 19 October 1966. * Peaked at No. 4 on 9 November 1966, for two weeks: ** ** * Final (16th) week in chart at No. 29 on 8 February 1967.

Personnel

– lead and backing 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 le ...

– piano, bass, electric guitar * Russell Barnsley – drums * Geoff Grant – trumpet *

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 ...

– backing vocal *

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 ...

– backing vocal * Nat Kipner – producer

Charts

References

{{Authority control Bee Gees songs Songs written by Barry Gibb 1966 singles 1966 songs 1967 singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Status Quo (band) songs The Searchers (band) songs Polydor Records singles Spin Records (Australian label) singles