"Alone" is a song by musical group the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, 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

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, written by

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

, and Maurice Gibb, is the opening track on their 21st studio album, '' Still Waters'' (1997), and was the first single released from the album on 17 February 1997. In the United Kingdom, the song was backed with two

B-sides 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 company ...

: "Closer Than Close" and "Rings Around the Moon", while in the United States, a live version of "

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 ...

" was included on the single releases. The track was a worldwide hit, peaking at number five in the United Kingdom and number two in New Zealand, where it was the 10th-highest-selling single of 1997. In Canada, it reached number 20 and was the most successful

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

song of 1997 according to ''RPM'' magazine. On the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the single peaked at number 28, making it the Bee Gees' 30th and final top-40 hit in the US, after being a ''Billboard'' "Hot Shot" debut at number 34.

Song information

Maurice Gibb explained about the track: Barry and Robin Gibb alternate on lead vocals on the track, with both mostly using the group's trademark falsetto.

Critical reception

British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated the song four out of five, adding, "Brits lifetime award-winners should crashland in the top five with their instantly-familiar harmonies and Barry Gibb's sure pop production (cod bagpipes over an ELO-style arrangement this time)."

Music video

Two promotional videos directed by

Nick Egan Nick Egan (born 4 July 1957 in London, England) is a visual design artist and director of music videos, commercials and film. He graduated from the Watford College of Art and Design with a DGA in 1976. While attending college, he created cover ...

were made for the song. The first one, not shown in the United States, featured the brothers singing in a spinning room intercut with a female

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

slowly removing her space suit in zero gravity, a homage to the opening of the 1968

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage i ...

'' Barbarella''. The promo for the US featured the brothers recording the song in a studio, intercut with various clips of the brothers throughout the years, as well as segments of the original video.

Track listings

* UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "Alone" – 4:49 # "Closer Than Close" – 4:34 # "Rings Around the Moon" – 4:29 * UK CD2 # "Alone" – 4:49 # " How Deep Is Your Love" – 4:02 # "

Words A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no conse ...

" – 3:13 # " I've Gotta Get a Message to You" – 3:06 * UK cassette single and European CD single # "Alone" – 4:49 # "Closer Than Close" – 4:34 * US CD single # "Alone" (single mix) – 4:02 # "

" (live) – 4:06 # "

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 ...

" (Decadance) – 8:42 # "Rings Around the Moon" – 4:29 * US cassette single :A. "Alone" (single mix) – 4:20 :B. "Stayin' Alive" (live) – 4:06

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

"Alone" was covered by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Monty Holmes Monty Holmes (born in Lubbock, Texas) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Holmes signed to Bang II Records and released his debut album, ''All I Ever Wanted'', in 1998. Monty Holmesat Allmusic His highest charting single, "Why'd Y ...

on his 1998 debut album, ''All I Ever Wanted''. It was released as the album's second single and peaked at number 53 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

chart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alone (Bee Gees Song) 1990s ballads 1996 songs 1997 singles 1998 singles Bee Gees songs Monty Holmes songs Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Russ Titelman Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb