History Music / TheBeeGees

* 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 ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' but with different lyrics like instead of ''Standing in the dark/where your eyes couldn't see me'' it's ''Discussing politics/And the issues of the day''.

*** The Teddybears remix has also gained popularity due to the song that plays when [[VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution Adam Jensen]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A6eeeq_2TE walks into a bar]].

* MusicOfNote: Say what you will about [[CondemnedByHistory disco]], but for average listeners "Stayin' Alive" is probably the archetypal example of the genre.

* NiceHat: From the 1980s up until his death, Maurice wore a black hat whenever he and his brothers performed live, and he even wore one on the covers of some of their albums.

* TheMovie: ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'' is essentially the movie of The Bee Gees.
** Years earlier, they also provided the majority of the soundtrack for ''Film/MelodySWALK''.

** Well, they were in ''Film/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' too...

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* MurderBallad: "I've Gotta Get a Message to You".

* LongRunnerLineUp: Type 3.

* 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.

* MusicOfNote: Say what you will about [[DeaderThanDisco disco]], but for average listeners "Stayin' Alive" is probably the archetypal example of the genre.

->''"The Bee Gees... sound like talented musicians... being scalded to death."''
-->-- ''Webcomic/BasicInstructions''

The Bee Gees are a controversial band to talk about these days because either you love them or you hate them. Whatever the case, it isn't considered cool to like them, even though they have had a significant career in the music industry.

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, having a massive 1987 Number One single (twenty years after their first) in the shape of thumping echo-chamber romp "You Win Again", and top 5 success into the '90s with "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "Alone". They also experienced continued popularity 'behind the scenes' writing songs for other people, even in the US; songs they wrote for others include worldwide hits like Music/BarbraStreisand's "Woman in Love", Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker", Diana Ross' "Chain Reaction" and "Islands in the Stream" by Music/KennyRogers and Music/DollyParton.

* EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes: "Alone".

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'' 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. However, they were planning on adding him in the '80s, but his death put a stop to that.) 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 [[TheSixties 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" (1967); 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.

** An album example is their final new release, ''This Is Where I Came In'', which features - among other genres - [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW2tGPvsR2E Acoustic Rock]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xTZP4g4Wsw Eurodance]], and even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHvwp6uKZTM Tin Pan Alley]].

The Bee Gees are a controversial band to talk about these days, because either you love them or you hate them. Whatever the case, it isn't considered cool to like them, even though they have had a significant career in the music industry.

The band's first three albums (excluding a couple of Australia-only releases), ''Bee Gees' 1st'', ''Horizontal'', and ''Idea'', were all popular successes. However, [[CreativeDifferences tensions]] began to boil during the recording of the group's next album, ''Odessa''. Though the album today is considered one of the finest of their early period, it was a cause of great strife for the band. Robin began to feel that the label was favoring Barry's songs when it came to choosing singles, and finally left the band to pursue a solo career. Peterson was fired during sessions for their next album, and with Melouney having left previously to pursue a different musical direction, the Bee Gees at this point were a duo consisting of just Barry and Maurice. The album ''Cucumber Castle'' was a flop, and with the group in a state of chaos at this point, it was seemingly the end of The Bee Gees.

* BaroquePop: Most of their 60s output, chiefly ''Bee Gees' 1st'' through ''Odessa''.

* 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.

-->''"Life goin' nowhere... Somebody help me."''

* NiceHat: From the 1980's up until his death, Maurice wore a black hat whenever he and his brothers performed live, and he even wore one on the covers of some of their albums.
** During the group's post disco years, Maurice appeared to be the best dressed of the group. A prime example of that would be during the ''One Night Only'' concert in 1997. In addition to wearing his NiceHat, Maurice also wore a BadassLongcoat. See examples [[http://jsnouff.com/kristin/beegees/backsofbgs.jpg here]] and [[http://i.ytimg.com/vi/G2tvp5j-E3Q/maxresdefault.jpg here]].

* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: "Somethinganda somethinganda somethinganda somethinga staaaaaylin' alive! Stayin alive!" For the record, the actual lyrics are "Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother you're stayin' alive! Stayin' alive! Feel the city breaking and everybody shaking and we're stayin' alive! Stayin' alive!"

* {{Teen Idol}}s: How the Gibbs were marketed in the late 1960s and early 1970s … long before some movie called ''Saturday Night Fever'' changed their image forever.
* ThickerThanWater: The Gibbs have admitted that they probably would have never resolved their differences in the early 70s if they had not been brothers.

!!The Bee Gees provide examples of:

* ConceptAlbum: ''Odessa'' was intended to be a concept album about the loss of a (fictional) ship, though CreativeDifferences led to the concept becoming somewhat muddled in the final product.

In 1997, with Barry Gibb struggling with arthritis and back pain, the group played a show titled ''One Night Only'', intending for it to be their last. Response to the show was [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming so overwhelmingly positive]], however, that Barry decided to [[{{Determinator}} soldier on]] with one last full-scale tour despite the pain. That same year saw them inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Music/BrianWilson of Music/TheBeachBoys, who himself knew a thing or two about vocal harmonies, performed the induction.

* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Despite being Robin's twin brother, Maurice bore a much stronger resemblance to eldest brother Barry. Which makes perfect sense, as Robin and Maurice were very obviously fraternal twins (the result of two separate eggs being fertilized at the same time as opposed to [[AlwaysIdenticalTwins one fertilized egg splitting]]), so the three of them were no more alike than any other siblings.

* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Despite being Robin's twin brother, Maurice bore a much stronger resemblance to eldest brother Barry.

** "Stayin' Alive," the perennial favorite of upbeat, swaggering power walkers ever since ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', contains some rather dark lyrics that, so far, have only really suited the protagonist of the aforementioned film.

The Bee Gees are a controversial band to talk about these days, because either [[LoveItOrHateIt you love them or you hate them]]. Whatever the case, it isn't considered cool to like them, even though they have had a significant career in the music industry.

[[caption-width-right:350:Maurice, Barry, and Robin.]]

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, having a massive 1987 Number One single (twenty years after their first) in the shape of thumping echo-chamber romp "You Win Again", and top 5 success into the '90s with "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "Alone". They also experienced continued popularity 'behind the scenes' writing songs for other people, even in the US; songs they wrote for others include worldwide hits like BarbraStreisand's "Woman in Love", Dionne Warwick's "Heartbreaker", Diana Ross' "Chain Reaction" and "Islands in the Stream" by Music/KennyRogers and Music/DollyParton.