"Why" is a song 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 popula ...

and composed by

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, Robin and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through th ...

, fourth and last single released on the album '' Shadow Dancing''. Released as a single in September 1978 around the same time as "

(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 ...

". It was his only single that was not charted in any countries.

Writing and recording

Barry wrote the lyrics for this song while Andy composed the melody. As Andy reveals: It was recorded in Wally Heider Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Barry sings background vocals on this track especially on the refrain and chorus. Barry also used his falsetto voice on this track as well as " Shadow Dancing", " Don't Throw it All Away" and "

An Everlasting Love "An Everlasting Love" is a song written by Barry Gibb, performed by Andy Gibb, released in June 1978 as the second single from his second studio album '' Shadow Dancing''. The song peaked at #5 on the Hot 100 on 23 September 1978 and #10 in the ...

". The song features a guitar work by

Jock Bartley Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The ban ...

Firefall Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band' ...

John Sambataro Johnne "John" Sambataro (born August 27, 1953, in South Florida) is an American rock musician. In 1975, he began working as a session vocalist and musician at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami, where he worked with Andy Gibb, Barry Gibb, St ...

, who later worked with Steve Winwood who also sing background vocals on the album, plays slide guitar on this track as it was featured on the intro and interlude.

Release

The two US singles have consecutive catalog numbers and the same B side, as if "Why" was a quick replacement for "

". (The song was in fact the American hit.) This track was produced by Barry,

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 ...

and Karl Richardson, but the B-side was "One More Look at the Night" written by Andy Gibb and produced only by Galuten and Richardson (and was also used as the B-side of "Don't Throw it All Away") In the UK, its B-side was "Fool for a Night" was originally released on Andy's 1977 debut album '' Flowing Rivers''.

Personnel

— lead vocals *

—

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

— backing vocals, slide guitar *Joey Murcia —

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 strin ...

— guitar *George Bitzer — synthesizer *Harold Cowart — bass *

Ron Ziegler Ronald Louis Ziegler (May 12, 1939 – February 10, 2003) was the 13th White House Press Secretary and Assistant to the President, serving during United States President Richard Nixon's administration. Early life Ziegler was born to Louis Daniel ...

— drums *

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 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. Ex ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Why (Andy Gibb song) 1978 singles 1978 songs Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Andy Gibb Andy Gibb songs RSO Records singles Disco songs Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Albhy Galuten