History Music / TheBeeGees

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Their unreleased 1973 album ''A Kick in the Head Is Worth Eight in the Pants'', is a highly sought after collector's item. It was recorded at the group's lowest ebb of popularity, and the record company, smelling another flop, [[ExecutiveMeddling refused to release it]]. It still hasn't been given a proper release to this day, which is quite a shame because musically, it's a very strong album, albeit rather on the somber side.
** If you just want the music, their 1981 album ''Living Eyes'' is easy to obtain, as it's available for download from a variety of sources. However, if you want an original CD copy of the album... good luck. It was one of the first compact discs manufactured and released; however, the format was in its infancy, and by the time the CD became the dominant music format, the album had long fallen out of print. To date it has never been reissued, and is ''extremely'' rare.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In the late 80s, there was talk of youngest Gibb brother Andy Gibb joining the Bee Gees, making them a quartet for the first time since their late 60s harmonic rock period. Andy's untimely death at the age of 30 in 1988 meant this would never come to pass.

* SignatureSong: "Stayin' Alive" will always be the song most associated with the band. However, they have [[CreatorBacklash mixed feelings]] about it despite its popularity, as it resulted in their disco TypeCasting. Final verdict: if someone wants it, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stayin%27_Alive#Beginnings it can't be used for anything related to disco.]]'' Over the years, directors have decided that this is the ''perfect'' song for {{Power Walk}}s.
** In addition, it turned out that the beat of Stayin' Alive is [[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27221281/ns/health-heart_health/t/keeping-beat-cpr-hum-stayin-alive/ the best rhythm]] for applying compressions for [[CPRCleanPrettyReliable CPR]] (being 103 beats per minute).

It was then that Robert Stigwood approached the Gibbs about contributing songs to the soundtrack of a new motion picture that was being produced. The project, which would focus on the disco scene, excited the Gibbs, and they happily agreed. The ''SaturdayNightFever'' soundtrack would quickly catapult the band to the peak of its popularity, even more so than they had been in their pre-disco days. Because of the incredible success of this album--for a time, it was the biggest-selling album ''in history'' until that role was taken by MichaelJackson's ''Thriller''--The Bee Gees, fairly or not, became the poster boys of the disco era. Despite this, disco songs were hardly The Bee Gees' only hits, even in this era; non-disco ballads like "How Deep Is Your Love" and "Too Much Heaven" were just as big of hits as "Stayin' Alive", "Tragedy", "Jive Talkin'", and "Night Fever". Their last big hit of the [[TheSeventies 1970s]], "Love You Inside Out", was more of an R&B song than full-on disco. Whatever the general vocal ranges of the songs were, though, one thing that remained from their harmonic rock period was their tight vocal harmonies, although this time with Barry Gibb taking more of a lead role.

As the 1970s became the [[TheEighties 1980s]], the group updated its sound once more to stay contemporary, shifting from straight disco to R&B-based pop. However, the US continued to regard them as relics of the disco era, and with the [[DeaderThanDisco backlash against disco running strong]], the group would find only occasional success in the studio from here on out -- most notably the 1989 single "One" (their last U.S. Top 10 hit) and the 1997 album ''Still Waters'' (which sold over 4 million copies in the States, and spawned their last top 40 hits, "Alone" in the summer of 1997 and the title track in January 1998). They remained popular in the UK, though, and experienced continued popularity behind the scenes writing songs for other people even in the US. Songs they wrote for others include BarbraStreisand's "Woman in Love", Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker", and "Islands in the Stream" by Music/KennyRogers and Music/DollyParton.

* GenreRoulette: All through their career. From Rock, Baroque Pop and ballads in the 60s and early 70s, to Disco in the mid/late 70s, to AOR, R&B and Soul from the 80s onward. An album example is their final new release, ''This Is Where I Came In'', which features - among other genres - acoustic rock, Eurodance, and even ''Tin Pan Alley''.

* CoverVersion: They covered quite a few [[TheBeatles Beatles]] songs, such as ''Ticket To Ride'' and ''Paperback Writer''.

* FollowTheLeader: ''Bee Gees' 1st'' was very much in the mold of ''Sgt. Pepper''-era [[TheBeatles Beatles]], just quirkier.

2003 saw the temporary end of The Bee Gees, with Maurice Gibb's sudden death at the age of 53 of a heart attack. Since then, Barry and Robin have performed off-and-on under the Bee Gees name, most recently with appearances on ''DancingWithTheStars'' and ''StrictlyComeDancing'' in late 2009. However, they have not recorded any new material (and likely won't) since their last record with Maurice, 2001's ''This Is Where I Came In''.

* IAmTheBand: Barry Gibb is the only member to have been in every incarnation of the Bee Gees; Robin dropped out for a time in the early '70s, and the group recently reformed minus deceased brother Maurice.

* ItIsPronouncedTro-PAY: It's "Morris", not "muh-REECE".

* ItIsPronouncedTroPAY: It's "Morris", not "muh-REECE".

* PopCultureOsmosis: Most young people only know the Bee Gees' song "Nights on Broadway" as the theme of the recurring "Barry Gibb Talk Show" sketch on ''SaturdayNightLive'' but with different lyrics like instead of "Standing in the dark/where your eyes couldn't see meee" it's "Discussing politics/And the issues of the daaay"

* PopCultureOsmosis: Most young people only know the Bee Gees' song "Nights on Broadway" when it was used with different lyrics as the theme of the recurring "Barry Gibb Talk Show" sketch on ''SaturdayNightLive''.

As the 1970s became the [[TheEighties 1980s]], the group updated its sound once more to stay contemporary, shifting from straight disco to R&B-based pop. However, the US continued to regard them as relics of the disco era, and with the [[DeaderThanDisco backlash against disco running strong]], the group would find only occasional success in the studio from here on out -- most notably the 1989 single "One" (their last U.S. Top 10 hit) and the 1997 album ''Still Waters'' (which sold over 4 million copies in the States, and spawned their last top 40 hits, "Alone" in the summer of 1997 and the title track in January 1998). They remained popular in the UK, though, and experienced continued popularity behind the scenes writing songs for other people even in the US. Songs they wrote for others include BarbraStreisand's "Woman in Love", Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker", and "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

As the '70s became the '80s, the group updated its sound once more to stay contemporary, shifting from straight disco to R&B-based pop. However, the US continued to regard them as relics of the disco era, and with the [[DeaderThanDisco backlash against disco running strong]], the group would find only occasional success in the studio from here on out -- most notably the 1989 single "One" (their last U.S. Top 10 hit) and the 1997 album ''Still Waters'' (which sold over 4 million copies in the States, and spawned their last top 40 hits, "Alone" in the summer of 1997 and the title track in January 1998). They remained popular in the UK, though, and experienced continued popularity behind the scenes writing songs for other people even in the US. Songs they wrote for others include BarbraStreisand's "Woman in Love", Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker", and "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

It was then that Robert Stigwood approached the Gibbs about contributing songs to the soundtrack of a new motion picture that was being produced. The project, which would focus on the disco scene, excited the Gibbs, and they happily agreed. The ''SaturdayNightFever'' soundtrack would quickly catapult the band to the peak of its popularity, even more so than they had been in their pre-disco days. Because of the incredible success of this album--for a time, it was the biggest-selling album ''in history'' until that role was taken by MichaelJackson's ''Thriller''--The Bee Gees, fairly or not, became the poster boys of the disco era. Despite this, disco songs were hardly The Bee Gees' only hits, even in this era; non-disco ballads like "How Deep Is Your Love" and "Too Much Heaven" were just as big of hits as "Stayin' Alive", "Tragedy", "Jive Talkin'", and "Night Fever". Their last big hit of the '70s, "Love You Inside Out", was more of an R&B song than full-on disco. Whatever the general vocal ranges of the songs were, though, one thing that remained from their harmonic rock period was their tight vocal harmonies, although this time with Barry Gibb taking more of a lead role.

The Bee Gees name is commonly believed to be short for Brothers Gibb, though it's actually a reference to Australian DJ Bill Gates (no, not that [[{{Microsoft}} Bill Gates]]) and promoter Bill Goode, two men who played key roles in launching the group's career. The Bee Gees for most of their history have consisted of twin brothers Robin and Maurice Gibb and older brother Barry. (Youngest brother Andy Gibb is commonly believed to have been a member of the Bee Gees, but he never was.) British by birth, the brothers were living in Australia when they began their musical careers, though they had moved back to Britain by the time they hit it big. They first came to prominence in the late 1960s as a harmonic rock group, characterized mainly by their three-part harmonies led by Robin Gibb's vibrato. Their first international hit was "New York Mining Disaster 1941"; other hits from this period include "To Love Somebody", "Holiday", and "Massachusetts" (the last of these being their first UK #1 hit). These songs and several others today are staples on oldies stations. The band at this point actually consisted of five members. In addition to the Gibb brothers, the group also included guitarist Vince Melouney and drummer Colin Peterson.

->"The Bee Gees... sound like talented musicians... being scalded to death."

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Bee-Gees_l_4711.jpg
[[caption-width:350:Maurice, Barry, and Robin.]]

-->"The Bee Gees... sound like talented musicians... being scalded to death."

-->"The Bee Gees... sound like talented musicians... being scalded to death"