BeeGees kinda night.

Montecfo said:
A somewhat different top list, this is according to critics. It contains more of the early material.

In the pre-falsetto era they seem like a different band. In the falsetto era "Tragedy" is one of my favorites and one of their 9 US number 1 hits.

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/bee-gees-songs-best-hits-list-7998719/
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Interesting read. Too bad they didn't provide links to hear the songs like the other greatest hits.

This was interesting note in the article......

10. Bee Gees – “Too Much Heaven”

One of the Bee Gees’ most recognizable singles, also happens to be one that helped out those in need. While “Too Much Heaven” saw the brother band leaning more towards R&B style, the track is also notable for the fact that the band promised to donate all the royalties they received from it to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, a.k.a. UNICEF. The soothing track helped the band donate more than $7 million to the charity and was recognized by then-president Jimmy Carter.
 
2HOTinPHX said:
Interesting read. Too bad they didn't provide links to hear the songs like the other greatest hits.

This was interesting note in the article......

10. Bee Gees – “Too Much Heaven”

One of the Bee Gees’ most recognizable singles, also happens to be one that helped out those in need. While “Too Much Heaven” saw the brother band leaning more towards R&B style, the track is also notable for the fact that the band promised to donate all the royalties they received from it to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, a.k.a. UNICEF. The soothing track helped the band donate more than $7 million to the charity and was recognized by then-president Jimmy Carter.
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Speaking of R&B, have you heard this that some of the young folks are not aware the BeeGee's are white?

Just that unique sound I guess.
 
If you have Max (HBO Max), there's a great documentary titled "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" Watch it.

Like many here, I grew up during disco sucks and actually was a Steve Dahl listener. I saw Demolition Night on TV. Of course a boy my age professed that Disco Sucks!

Meanwhile, I secretly left the radio on to the pop stations and tapped my feet in the closet when some of the disco hits came out.

With perspective, I've come to realize the incredible talent the Bee Gees had. From their early stuff on to the 80s, they just oozed raw talent. They were incredible songwriters and innovators. The story of the drum loop for Stayin' Alive is a story of its own. Summary: working in a dilapidated studio, they needed a tight track for the song. Their drummer was called away on emergency. They found two tight bars and working with the engineer, came up with a 20 ft tape loop that was tight. The rest is history. This was right before drum machines were feasible. I have no evidence of this, but I believe hearing these tight drums haunted Donald Fagan (Steely Dan) as he was known to burn out the best drummers in the industry when recording in the late 70s.
 
JoeWras said:
If you have Max (HBO Max), there's a great documentary titled "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" Watch it.

Like many here, I grew up during disco sucks and actually was a Steve Dahl listener. I saw Demolition Night on TV. Of course a boy my age professed that Disco Sucks!

Meanwhile, I secretly left the radio on to the pop stations and tapped my feet in the closet when some of the disco hits came out.

With perspective, I've come to realize the incredible talent the Bee Gees had. From their early stuff on to the 80s, they just oozed raw talent. They were incredible songwriters and innovators. The story of the drum loop for Stayin' Alive is a story of its own. Summary: working in a dilapidated studio, they needed a tight track for the song. Their drummer was called away on emergency. They found two tight bars and working with the engineer, came up with a 20 ft tape loop that was tight. The rest is history. This was right before drum machines were feasible. I have no evidence of this, but I believe hearing these tight drums haunted Donald Fagan (Steely Dan) as he was known to burn out the best drummers in the industry when recording in the late 70s.
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Wow you described my feelings to a tee. Glad I learned to appreciate their music too.

https://youtu.be/B5tncybE7Wg is a link to the preview for the documentary you mentioned. Really want to check it out.
 
When I saw the Heading "Bee Gees Kind of Night", all I could think of is 'my COVID theme song' Stayin Alive!
 
Switchin' Alive

Like several have mentioned, I was also generally part of the Disco Sucks! generation, but that was mainly because my father was a Southern Baptist preacher and fundamentalists generally don't dance.

(side note, do you know why Southern Baptists don't have sex standing up? Because they're afraid someone might see them and think they are dancing!)

This did not stop me from enjoying the BeeGees begrudgingly. I dated a girl for two years and our song was 'How Deep is Your Love'. Sappy, I know.

On a different note, one of my wife's favorite BeeGee-related videos is this mashup of Stayin' Alive and Will Smith's Switch. The BeeGees start showing up at 1 minute (briefly) and then more at 1:30 if you want to skip the hip-hop part. It's just a catchy little tune, imho.

 
Montecfo said:
Speaking of R&B, have you heard this that some of the young folks are not aware the BeeGee's are white?

Just that unique sound I guess.
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Not surprising at all giving that they totally embraced the generally black soul/funk music tradition at the time. They were big fans. I think I remember Barry Gibb mentioning the Everly Brothers in one interview.
 
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I still recall hearing "New York Mining Disaster 1941" for the first time and becoming a fan. The sound - though others compared it to the Beatles - was unique to me. Especially Robin's voice. His voice isn't the classical rock and roll type.



Difficult to keep in mind that it all happened in a life time - my life time. From start to finish(?) I was there for the band's c@reer. What a time to be alive.
 
Montecfo said:
Speaking of R&B, have you heard this that some of the young folks are not aware the BeeGee's are white?

Just that unique sound I guess.
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They must not have talked to their parents :). "Jive Talking" and "You Should Be Dancing" were their first songs to cross over onto R&B stations and their origins were known. They were considered more "funk" than "disco" before "Saturday Night Fever" came out.

I remember our college radio station receiving early releases of some songs and albums for the R&B shows, where they group was not pictured, because they were white or racially mixed. Of course, Sly broke that barrier back in the 60s for funk groups, but it just began to pick up steam, so to speak, in the mid-70s.
 
audreyh1 said:
Not surprising at all giving that they totally embraced the generally black soul/funk music tradition at the time. They were big fans. I think I remember Barry Gibb mentioning the Everly Brothers in one interview.
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The YouTube video posted here of the very young BeeGees reminded me of the Everlys, another amazing group-the harmonies. I suspect being brothers and some similar genetics may help the harmony 'perfection.'
 
deserat said:
The YouTube video posted here of the very young BeeGees reminded me of the Everlys, another amazing group-the harmonies. I suspect being brothers and some similar genetics may help the harmony 'perfection.'
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I'm sure that closeness - and those 10,000 hours of practice/experience at an early age lead to such a long and excellent career. I still miss them.
 
Birdie Num Nums said:
I've been a Bee Gees fan since the late 60s, when I was but a wee kid. Still a fan even during the disco era, which coincided with my post-graduate years. But for only one song that I can think of, "If I Can't Have You," for Yvonne Elliman, the Bee Gees avoided that stereotypical and over-used "hump-tee-dumpty, hump-tee-dumpty" disco beat in their well-crafted, performed and produced songs of the time. They still hold up well to this day. (Yet I'm still amazed that more people don't realize how creepy those "stalker hiding in the dark" lyrics are in their classic hit "Nights on Broadway." Eek!)
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I watched this version of Nights on Broadway and noticed it was Maurice singing the falsetto! Very interesting.

Just watched The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart on Saturday night and thought it was well done.
 
Birdie Num Nums said:
(Yet I'm still amazed that more people don't realize how creepy those "stalker hiding in the dark" lyrics are in their classic hit "Nights on Broadway." Eek!)
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I commented, in another group page I am on, that I am a smart guy. But when it comes to subtle/hidden meanings in songs, I am as dumb as they come. Until you wrote this it never dawned on me, despite decades of listening to this song.

Steeler75 said:
I watched this version of Nights on Broadway and noticed it was Maurice singing the falsetto! Very interesting.

Just watched The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart on Saturday night and thought it was well done.
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Barry did the falsetto in the recording, in the studio. If you listen to the song, he could not have sung the lyrics and done that falsetto simultaneously, so Maurice did it in the concert. I read somewhere that Maurice did a few background falsetto's.
 
Nights on Broadway, I did not see that as a stalker. Dude is watching a popular Broadway show, it is standing room only. Of course the audience is in the dark. She is on stage and can't see him. That is due to the lights (on Broadway lol). Then stands in line to see her after.

Ok he does follow her but he could not help himself, she is that appealing. And he is patient, willing to wait a lifetime.

That's a lot of lonely days and lonely nights. It's hard to fare with no one to love you.
 
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I dunno. He had to follow her, though she did not want him to. Seems kinda "stalky" to me. :eek:
 
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I never heard the words well enough to figure out the "plot." Kinda interesting. Sorta like Sting's "Every Breath You Take" I guess. I'll have to go look up the words to "Nights on Broadway."
 
Koolau said:
I never heard the words well enough to figure out the "plot." Kinda interesting. Sorta like Sting's "Every Breath You Take" I guess. I'll have to go look up the words to "Nights on Broadway."
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Sting is horrified that people used "Every Breath You Take" for a wedding dance song. BTW, it is a Police song, but it might as well be Sting solo. Sting gave Andy and Stewart little to do.

As for "Broadway", I just see it as another unrequited love song. If you want an analog, consider "Cherish" by The Association. Different style, similar theme, and music contrasting with the subject.
 
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Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's "Young Girl" has suffered a similar fate.

It is not about anything illegal. That's why the lyric is "young girl, get out of my mind. My love for you is way out of line...." Etc.

But it goes on to explain (allege?) that "with all the charms of a woman [she] hid the secret of [her] youth..."
 
Montecfo said:
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's "Young Girl" has suffered a similar fate.

It is not about anything illegal. That's why the lyric is "young girl, get out of my mind. My love for you is way out of line...." Etc.

But it goes on to explain (allege?) that "with all the charms of a woman [she] hid the secret of [her] youth..."
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Oh, that's a rabbit hole. Way too many too mention, sadly. The number #1 of that genre is "Into The Night" by Benny Mardones. I reject his explanation.

The wiki article for this song also mentions the other offenders under the section "Controvsery" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Night_(Benny_Mardones_song)). I'd add "You're Sixteen" to that.
 
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