In 1970, almost two years older and a good deal wiser, they decided to get back together. Without a group to promote it, the Odessa album never sold the way it might have, even with a hit, "First of May." Cucumber Castle generated several successful singles in England and Germany, including the gorgeous, African-influenced "I.O.I.O.," while Robin had a hit with "Saved by the Bell." Barry and Maurice held on to the Bee Gees name for one LP, Cucumber Castle, while Robin released Robin's Reign. A lushly orchestrated double LP, it was their most ambitious recording to date, but they were unable to agree on which song would be the single, and Robin walked out. In 1969, the trio split up in a dispute involving the Odessa album.
At this point in their history, they were most comfortable deconstructing elements in the singing and harmonies of black American music and rebuilding them in their style. It was easy, amid the sheer beauty of their recordings, to overlook the range of influences that went into their sound, which came from a multitude of sources, including American country music and soul music. charts.Īfter Bee Gees' 1st, the Gibb brothers took over producing their own records.
They had successful follow-ups with "Holiday" and "To Love Somebody," the latter actually written for Otis Redding to record, and "Massachusetts," which topped the U.K. Their first English recording, "New York Mining Disaster 1941," an original by the group with a haunting melody and a strangely surreal, almost psychedelic ambience, was released in mid-1967 and made the Top 20 in England and America. Barry played rhythm guitar, while Maurice played bass, piano, organ, and Mellotron, among other instruments. Barry and Robin Gibb alternated the lead vocal spot, harmonizing together and with Maurice.
The trio was signed by Stigwood upon their arrival, and began shaping their sound in the environment of Swinging London. The group had sent demo recordings ahead of them, and "Spicks & Specks" - which became their first Australian hit while they were in mid-ocean - had attracted the interest of manager Robert Stigwood. The trio was astoundingly popular in the press and on television, but actual hit records eluded them.īy late 1966, they'd decided to return to England - which, thanks to the Beatles, was now the center of the world for rock and popular music. It was around this time that they took on the name the Bee Gees (for Brothers Gibb). Now known as the Brothers Gibb - with Barry writing songs - they attracted the attention of a local DJ, and eventually got their own local television show. The family moved to Australia in 1958, resettling in Brisbane.
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The three Gibb brothers made their earliest performances at local movie theaters in Manchester in 1955, singing between shows. The three of them gravitated toward music, encouraged by their father, who saw his sons at first as a diminutive version of the Mills Brothers. Barry Gibb, born on September 1, 1946, in Manchester, England, and his fraternal twin brothers Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb, born on December 22, 1949, on the Isle of Man, were three of five children. The group was also music's most successful brother act. What remained a constant throughout their history is their extraordinary singing, rooted in three voices that were appealing individually and melded together perfectly. Then, after hitting a popular trough, they reinvented themselves as perhaps the most successful white soul act of all time. Beginning in the mid- to late '60s as a Beatlesque ensemble, they quickly developed as songwriters and singers to create a style of their own that carried them from psychedelia to progressive pop. No popular music act of the '60s, '70s, '80s, or '90s attracted a more varied audience than the Bee Gees. LISTEN ONLINE on Deezer, Grooveshark, Last.FM, MySpace, Rdio, Rhapsody, Slacker, Spotify.įormed: 1958 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Excerpts from the album 'THE ULTIMATE BEE GEES'.īUY THE DELUXE DOUBLE CD & DVD SET from Amazon USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan.īUY THE DOUBLE CD from Amazon USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan.ĭOWNLOAD THE ALBUM from iTunes, or Amazon USA, UK, France, Italy,Germany, Spain, Japan.