"Too Much Heaven" 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 ...

, which was the band's contribution to the "Music for

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

" fund. They performed it at the

Music for UNICEF Concert The Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song was a benefit concert of popular music held in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on January 9, 1979. It was intended to raise money for UNICEF world hunger programs and to mark the b ...

on 9 January 1979. The song later found its way to the group's thirteenth original album, ''

Spirits Having Flown ''Spirits Having Flown'' is the fifteenth album released by the Bee Gees. It was the group's first album after their collaboration on the '' Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack. The album's first three tracks were released as singles and all reac ...

''. It hit No. 1 in both the US and Canada. In the United States, the song was the first single out of three from the album to interrupt a song's stay at #1. "Too Much Heaven" knocked "

Le Freak "Le Freak" is a 1978 funk / disco song by American R&B band Chic. It was the band's third single and first ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B number-one hit song. Along with the tracks " I Want Your Love" and "Chic Cheer", "Le Freak" scored number ...

" off the top spot for two weeks before "Le Freak" returned to #1 again. "Too Much Heaven" also rose to the top three in the UK. In the US, it would become the fourth of six consecutive No. 1s, equalling the record set by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, and

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

for the most consecutive No. 1 songs. The six Bee Gee songs are "How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "Too Much Heaven", "Tragedy" and "Love You Inside Out". The songs spanned the years of 1977, 1978 and 1979.

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 ...

reportedly said on the Bee Gees' interview for ''Billboard'' in 2001 that this track was one of his favourite songs of the Bee Gees.

Background and recording

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 ...

and

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 ...

wrote this track with "

Tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

" in an afternoon off from the making the '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' movie; that same evening, the Gibbs wrote " Shadow Dancing" for

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to pr ...

(but that song was later credited to all four Gibbs) The recording process was the longest of all the tracks on ''Spirits Having Flown'' as there are nine layers of three-part harmony, creating 27 voices, though the high falsetto voices are the most pronounced in the final mix: *Barry on falsetto lead three times *falsetto high harmony three times *falsetto low harmony three times *Barry on natural voice lead three times *high harmony three times *low harmony three times *Barry, Robin and Maurice together on lead three times *high harmony three times *low harmony three times Imbued with their

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 ...

style, it is also notable for being one of two songs on the album featuring the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

horn section (

James Pankow James Carter Pankow is an American trombone player, songwriter and brass instrument player, best known as a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life, family and education Born in St. Louis, Missouri of German and Irish descent, Pa ...

Walt Parazaider Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He plays a wide variety of wind instruments, including saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He also occasionally ...

and

Lee Loughnane Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter, best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. Early life and education Lee David Loughna ...

); the other track that features the Chicago members is "Search, Find", in return for the brothers' appearance on the Chicago song "Little Miss Lovin'". On its demo version, Barry begins with count-in. This track does have some backing vocals. The demo lacks the full orchestral feel of the final song.

Release

"Too Much Heaven" was released nine months after "

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 ...

". The single "Too Much Heaven" was released in the late autumn of 1978 and started a slow ascent up the music charts. In the first week of 1979, preceding the

, the single first topped the charts in both the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number three late in 1978. In the summer of 1978, the Gibb brothers announced their latest project at a news conference at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. All of the publishing royalties on their next single would go into UNICEF, to celebrate the

International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child.

, which was designated to be 1979. The song earned over $7 million in publishing royalties. The Bee Gees were later invited to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, where President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

thanked the group for their donation. At the ceremony, the brothers presented Carter with one of their black satin tour jackets. In later years, the brothers performed the song with only Barry's

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 ...

and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, with all three singing in their normal range. This version was part of a medley the brothers did as part of their 1989 ''One For All'' tour, and is also included on the ''

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, ...

'' box set alongside the original version. "Too Much Heaven" also reached No. 2 in ''Cash Box'' charts in six weeks between 30 December 1978 and 3 February 1979 behind

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

's "

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 it is "gentle and silky with the famous falsettos rising upwards."

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

spoke positively of the song, stating, "I was really loved and impressed with the harmonies they achieved on that record. I'm very very proud of those guys; they're exceptionally good at harmony. They’re a very heavy duty harmony group."

Credits and personnel

Bee Gees *

– lead, harmony and backing

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

– co–lead, harmony and backing vocals *

– co–lead, harmony and backing vocals,

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 ...

, keyboard Backing band *

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 Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

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?' ...

–

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 ...

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 ...

–

synthesiser A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

Additional personnel *

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 e ...

, Daniel Ben Zubulon –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

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 ...

– synthesiser, bass, conductor *

Walter Parazaider Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician best known for being a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He plays a wide variety of wind instruments, including saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He also occasionally ...

– horn * Russ Powell - guitar * George Terry – guitar

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Nana version

In 1997,

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

covered the hit for his album ''Father''. Compared to the original, this version is increasingly listening to rap passages while retaining much of the original's lyrics. Nana is responsible for the rap, while Van der Toorn sings the lyrics and chorus of the original. In German-speaking countries, this cover version was a top ten success. In Germany, this version was also awarded with

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

Music video

The music video plays both in a sky setting and in a detached house. In a family home, the coexistence of a large family is the focus. In parallel, Nana mimics the song in the sky and beamed to the extended family. In the course of the video, the parents argue in the video, but find themselves together again in the end.

Track listing

CD maxi # Too Much Heaven – 3:56 # One Second (Nana feat. Alex Prince) – 5:40 # Lonely – 6:09

Charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

*In 1979, the Cantonese singer Alan Tam covered and released it as 唱一首好歌 ("Sing A Good Song"). *Hip hop boy band

US5 US5 was a multinational pop boy band. The band originated in 2005 on the German RTL II television reality show '' Big in America'' and debuted in June of the same year on Lou Pearlman’s Transcontinental label. US5 became successful throug ...

released a cover of "Too Much Heaven" in 2007 as a duet with

. "Too Much Heaven" was their first single with new member Vincent. *Norwegian pop duo M2M used the chorus from "Too Much Heaven" in the chorus of their own song "Our Song" which appears on their debut album ''

Shades of Purple There are numerous variations of the color purple, a sampling of which are shown below. In common English usage, ''purple'' is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue. However, the meaning of the term purple is not well define ...

''. *British soul singer

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke and ...

released a cover version of "Too Much Heaven" in 2009 on her album '' 100%''. Knight's version featured backing vocals at the request of Robin Gibb, as they had previously collaborated on the song live. *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

recorded this song in December 2004 in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

as a tribute to Maurice Gibb but it was not released. *American gospel recording group Winans Phase 2, released a cover of "Too Much Heaven" on their 2000 album, ''We Got Next''. *In 1999, South Korean singer, 조관우 (Joe Kwan Woo) covered the song on his album ''Special 99 Edition''. *American R&B singer-songwriter Criss Starr released a cover version of "Too Much Heaven" for his ''Yours 4Ever'' CD in 2013. *British comedian

Tim Vine Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...

occasionally closes his shows by performing a comedic version of the song.

References

External links

Too Much Heaven info at SuperSeventies
{{Authority control 1970s ballads 1978 singles 1997 singles Bee Gees songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Charity singles RSO Records singles Pop ballads Soul ballads 1978 songs 1997 songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in Switzerland