"Don't Forget to Remember" also called "Don't Forget to Remember Me" is a country

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 ...

recorded by the Bee Gees, from the album '' Cucumber Castle''. The song was written by Barry 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 lea ...

. It was produced by the band with

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 ...

Recording

The song's genre is country like much of what Maurice and Barry wrote together without input from their brother, Robin, but all three brothers have written in the medium at other times, most notably the

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...

and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

hit " Islands in the Stream", and its parent album ''

Eyes That See in the Dark ''Eyes That See in the Dark'' is the 15th studio album by Kenny Rogers, first released by RCA Nashville in August 1983. Background ''Eyes That See in the Dark'' marks Barry Gibb's third production project of the 1980s outside of the Bee Gees. Gi ...

''. The song was recorded at 7 May 1969 same day as the unreleased track "Who Knows What a Room Is". Barry Gibb's lead vocal was in a lower register than usual. Peter Mason, Robin's intended replacement in the group originally sang harmony vocals on the song, as Mason explains, "I did some harmonies, I remember doing three songs, there was 'Don't Forget to Remember' and I put the harmony down on that and two other songs. don't knowwhether it's a tryout, although he'd said before that he wanted me, because we sat and sang together." Mason also explained: "When I sit and listen to 'Don't Forget to Remember' I can't really tell whether it's me or not. He ran the tracks and said, 'Can you put a harmony to that?'". The song also sticks out in Mason's memory.

Structure

The song features Barry Gibb singing at a lower pitch than usual. The song's lyrics follow the country-song tradition of romantic laments with its tearful first-person lyrics about a man haunted by a failed love affair he can't put out of his mind. Its melody matches the yearning quality of the lyrics, especially on the chorus, which underpins the forlorn wish ''Don't forget to remember me/And the love that used to be'' with glorious runs of ascending notes. On paper, the song seems applicable to the group's usual pop style but their recording uses country-music elements to carry it into that genre, a prominent acoustic guitar cuts through the background orchestration and Barry Gibb adds a Nashville-inspired twang to his vocal.

Release

Maurice's reaction when the song was released was "The thing is that it is

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...

-ish it's rather like '

Oh Lonesome Me "Oh Lonesome Me" is a popular song written and recorded in December 1957 by Don Gibson with Chet Atkins producing it for RCA Victor in Nashville. Released in 1958, the song topped the country chart for eight non-consecutive weeks. On what beca ...

' and that sort of song and you'll never forget the melody. It wasn't a deliberate dedication to Jim Reeves - it's just worked out that way". Maurice also explains, "We know we don't want to split up, maybe Colin will want to leave sometime in the future, but we all have different things we've involved in". The single covers of the song, (in all countries) features the three remaining Bee Gees after the departure of Robin Gibb. The song was re-released in CD by

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

as a part in the EP of the same name (1987).

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 vocals, acoustic guitar *

–

harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical c ...

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 ...

, acoustic guitar,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, mellotron *

Colin Petersen Frederick Colin Petersen (born 24 March 1946) is an Australian drummer, record producer and former child actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he wa ...

– drums * Peter Mason – harmony vocals (erased from the final recording) * Uncredited – orchestral and strings arrangement

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* The version of this song by Elton John was released on "12 Top Hits" (Avenue-AVE034) *

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired ...

Flamingokvintetten covered the song in 1972, with lyrics in

, as "Jag vill leva mitt liv med dig" ("I want to live my life with you"). * Country singer

Skeeter Davis Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick; December 30, 1931September 19, 2004) was an American country music singer and songwriter who sang crossover pop music songs including 1962's " The End of the World". She started out as part of the Davis S ...

covered the song and reached #44 on the country charts with it in 1974. * Another

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

singer Kikki Danielsson covered the song with the original lyrics in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

on her 1993 album '' Jag ska aldrig lämna dig''. *Anna McGoldrick covered this song in 1998. * Brian Letton covered this song in 1997. *

Daniel O'Donnell Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had co ...

(1987), *

Donna Fargo Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People * Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), ...

covered this song in 1978 * John & Anne Ryder covered the song in 1969. * South African singer Ray Dylan covered the song on his album ''Goeie Ou Country vol 2''. * Monika Martin has a German Version "Du warst da, als der Sommer kam"

References

{{authority control 1969 singles Bee Gees songs Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Song recordings produced by Robert Stigwood Country ballads Pop ballads Elton John songs Flamingokvintetten songs Kikki Danielsson songs 1969 songs Atco Records singles Polydor Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa