Barry Gibb and twin brothers Maurice and Robin were born on the Isle Of Man in 1947 and 1949 respectively. The family moved to Manchester, England in the mid 50's. Their mother was a singer and their father was a drummer and big-band leader. The boys interest in music started after they saw another youth lip-sync to a record at a local movie theatre. After arranging a spot for themselves, they were headed back to the theatre when Maurice dropped and broke the records that they were to mime to. Determined to go on stage, the trio sang in front of a live crowd for the first time and their fate was sealed. They began performing locally as The Rattlesnakes. In 1958, another brother, Andy was born and six months later, the family moved to Australia. The three older siblings continued to polish their act, changing their name to the B.G.'s (later amended to Bee Gees) and began performing and recording professionally. Despite releasing a dozen singles and being voted the top songwriting team in Australia in both 1965 and 1966, they couldn't score a hit record. Ultimately, the family decided to return to England, where the music scene had exploded with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who , and many others. In January, 1967, the Gibb family had set sail back to Great Britain and while on the ship, got word that one of their songs, "Spicks and Specks" had just reached Australia's number one. Back in England, the Bee Gees sent demo tapes of most of their Australian material, including "Spicks and Specks", to NEMS Enterprises, headed by the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein. Unbeknownst to the brothers, Epstein and his associate, Robert Stigwood listened to the tapes and Stigwood was more than interested. The Bee Gees were soon signed to a five-year management contract with Stigwood. After adding Vince Melouney on guitar and Colin Petersen on drums, the band headed for the studio to record "Bee Gees First", which was released in mid-1967. It was the beginning of a string of hit singles executed in a brooding, soulful and distinctively British pop style. From this period came such beautiful ballads as "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "To Love Somebody," "Massachusetts," "Words," "I've Got to Get a Message to You" and "I Started a Joke."
Barry Gibb and twin brothers Maurice and Robin were born on the Isle Of Man in 1947 and 1949 respectively. The family moved to Manchester, England in the mid 50's. Their mother was a singer and their father was a drummer and big-band leader. The boys interest in music started after they saw another youth lip-sync to a record at a local movie theatre. After arranging a spot for themselves, they were headed back to the theatre when Maurice dropped and broke the records that they were to mime to. Determined to go on stage, the trio sang in front of a live crowd for the first time and their fate was sealed. They began performing locally as The Rattlesnakes.
In 1958, another brother, Andy was born and six months later, the family moved to Australia. The three older siblings continued to polish their act, changing their name to the B.G.'s (later amended to Bee Gees) and began performing and recording professionally. Despite releasing a dozen singles and being voted the top songwriting team in Australia in both 1965 and 1966, they couldn't score a hit record. Ultimately, the family decided to return to England, where the music scene had exploded with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who , and many others. In January, 1967, the Gibb family had set sail back to Great Britain and while on the ship, got word that one of their songs, "Spicks and Specks" had just reached Australia's number one.
Back in England, the Bee Gees sent demo tapes of most of their Australian material, including "Spicks and Specks", to NEMS Enterprises, headed by the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein. Unbeknownst to the brothers, Epstein and his associate, Robert Stigwood listened to the tapes and Stigwood was more than interested. The Bee Gees were soon signed to a five-year management contract with Stigwood. After adding Vince Melouney on guitar and Colin Petersen on drums, the band headed for the studio to record "Bee Gees First", which was released in mid-1967. It was the beginning of a string of hit singles executed in a brooding, soulful and distinctively British pop style. From this period came such beautiful ballads as "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "To Love Somebody," "Massachusetts," "Words," "I've Got to Get a Message to You" and "I Started a Joke."
Eventually, egos, alcohol and drugs pulled the brothers apart and the group split up. Robin went on to have a solo hit in England called "Saved By The Bell". After eighteen months apart, The Gibbs smoothed out their differences and put the band back together again, minus Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen. They kicked off the Seventies with their biggest hits to date: "Lonely Days" (#3, 1970) and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (#1, 1971). The group then foundered commercially and creatively until 1975's "Main Course" album, which found them taking a breezy, rhythm & blues oriented approach that effortlessly tapped into the emerging disco movement. Recording in Miami with producer Arif Mardin, the trio exploited their upper registers on such mid-decade pop-disco smashes as "Jive Talkin'" (#1, 1975) and "Nights On Broadway" (#7, 1975). But "Main Course" was just an appetizer compared to the awesome run of Number One hits that followed from 1976 to 1979: "You Should Be Dancing," "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever," "Too Much Heaven," "Tragedy" and "Love You Inside Out." During the late Seventies, the Bee Gees' dominated dance floors and airwaves. With their matching white suits, helium-voiced harmonies and polished, radio-friendly records, they remain one of the essential touchstones to that outgoing, ultra-commercial era. By the time he reached his late teens, brother Andy was ready to perform, and Barry, Robin and Maurice helped out by writing songs for him. With his good looks and solid material, Andy dominated the record charts the way his brothers had with "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," (1977) "Thicker Than Water," (1977) "Shadow Dancing" (1978) and "Our Love, Don't Throw It All Away" (1978). When disco died in the early 1980s, The Bee Gees were suddenly out of fashion, with some radio stations even going as far as advertising "Bee Gee free music". Re-inventing themselves again, the Gibb brothers turned their attention to writing songs for other artists. Individually and together they wrote and produced major hits for Barbara Streisand ("Woman in Love," "What Kind of Fool"), Frankie Valli ("Grease"), Yvonne Ellison ("If I Can't Have You") Diana Ross ("Chain Reaction") Dionne Warwick ("Heartbreaker") and Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers ("Islands in the Stream", the most successful single in RCA Records history, and Most Played Country Single of all time.) Meanwhile, Andy's star had also dimmed and there was some talk of bringing him into the group. Before this could happen, tragedy struck. On March 10th, 1988 Andy died at the John Radcliff hospital in Oxford, England from myocarditis, ( an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a viral infection). The Gibb family learned that Andy had been suffering from heart problems, but he never told anyone about it. He was buried at Forest Lawn, Glendale Park, Los Angeles on March 21st. By the end of the decade, the Bee Gees had resumed their own place on centre stage, releasing three more hit singles, "Ordinary Lives", "One" and "You Win Again", but were unable to tour because of Barry's severe back pain. In order to get their music to their fans, they arranged to appear just once in North America, Europe and Australia in as series of shows they called "One Night Only". These concerts were televised and recorded for release on tape and DVD. The 1990s were marked by continued international success with hit albums "High Civilisation", "Size Isn't Everything", and 1997's "Still Waters" (with the worldwide top ten single "Alone"). 1998 was another banner year for the Bee Gees, beginning with Robert Stigwood's stage production of Saturday Night Fever, and was highlighted by the release of a new Greatest Hits CD. The fall of 2001 saw the release of a Bee Gees Anthology called "For The Record", that featured all of their hit singles, from the early ballads, through the disco era and all subsequent releases. Sadly, Maurice Gibb died in a Miami Fla. hospital on Sunday, January 12th, 2003. The 53-year-old had been in critical condition in a Miami hospital after suffering a heart attack during an operation to remove an intestinal blockage after he collapsed at his Florida home the previous week. Although they announced that they would never appear as The Bee Gees again, Barry and Robin did reunite for a Miami charity concert on February 18th, 2006, where they played many of the hits from their 35 year career. The event was held to raise money for the Diabetes Research Institute. The Bee Gees are the most successful trio in rock and roll history. They have sold more than 110 million records worldwide and rank amongst the all-time, top record sellers. They have had 19 #1 singles over a career that has spanned 5 decades, and are the only artists in history to have five singles in the U.S. Top 10 at the same time, as well as six consecutive number one records.
Eventually, egos, alcohol and drugs pulled the brothers apart and the group split up. Robin went on to have a solo hit in England called "Saved By The Bell". After eighteen months apart, The Gibbs smoothed out their differences and put the band back together again, minus Vince Melouney and Colin Petersen. They kicked off the Seventies with their biggest hits to date: "Lonely Days" (#3, 1970) and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (#1, 1971). The group then foundered commercially and creatively until 1975's "Main Course" album, which found them taking a breezy, rhythm & blues oriented approach that effortlessly tapped into the emerging disco movement.
Recording in Miami with producer Arif Mardin, the trio exploited their upper registers on such mid-decade pop-disco smashes as "Jive Talkin'" (#1, 1975) and "Nights On Broadway" (#7, 1975). But "Main Course" was just an appetizer compared to the awesome run of Number One hits that followed from 1976 to 1979: "You Should Be Dancing," "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever," "Too Much Heaven," "Tragedy" and "Love You Inside Out." During the late Seventies, the Bee Gees' dominated dance floors and airwaves. With their matching white suits, helium-voiced harmonies and polished, radio-friendly records, they remain one of the essential touchstones to that outgoing, ultra-commercial era.
By the time he reached his late teens, brother Andy was ready to perform, and Barry, Robin and Maurice helped out by writing songs for him. With his good looks and solid material, Andy dominated the record charts the way his brothers had with "I Just Want to Be Your Everything," (1977) "Thicker Than Water," (1977) "Shadow Dancing" (1978) and "Our Love, Don't Throw It All Away" (1978).
When disco died in the early 1980s, The Bee Gees were suddenly out of fashion, with some radio stations even going as far as advertising "Bee Gee free music". Re-inventing themselves again, the Gibb brothers turned their attention to writing songs for other artists. Individually and together they wrote and produced major hits for Barbara Streisand ("Woman in Love," "What Kind of Fool"), Frankie Valli ("Grease"), Yvonne Ellison ("If I Can't Have You") Diana Ross ("Chain Reaction") Dionne Warwick ("Heartbreaker") and Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers ("Islands in the Stream", the most successful single in RCA Records history, and Most Played Country Single of all time.)
Meanwhile, Andy's star had also dimmed and there was some talk of bringing him into the group. Before this could happen, tragedy struck. On March 10th, 1988 Andy died at the John Radcliff hospital in Oxford, England from myocarditis, ( an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a viral infection). The Gibb family learned that Andy had been suffering from heart problems, but he never told anyone about it. He was buried at Forest Lawn, Glendale Park, Los Angeles on March 21st.
By the end of the decade, the Bee Gees had resumed their own place on centre stage, releasing three more hit singles, "Ordinary Lives", "One" and "You Win Again", but were unable to tour because of Barry's severe back pain. In order to get their music to their fans, they arranged to appear just once in North America, Europe and Australia in as series of shows they called "One Night Only". These concerts were televised and recorded for release on tape and DVD.
The 1990s were marked by continued international success with hit albums "High Civilisation", "Size Isn't Everything", and 1997's "Still Waters" (with the worldwide top ten single "Alone"). 1998 was another banner year for the Bee Gees, beginning with Robert Stigwood's stage production of Saturday Night Fever, and was highlighted by the release of a new Greatest Hits CD.
The fall of 2001 saw the release of a Bee Gees Anthology called "For The Record", that featured all of their hit singles, from the early ballads, through the disco era and all subsequent releases.
Sadly, Maurice Gibb died in a Miami Fla. hospital on Sunday, January 12th, 2003. The 53-year-old had been in critical condition in a Miami hospital after suffering a heart attack during an operation to remove an intestinal blockage after he collapsed at his Florida home the previous week.
Although they announced that they would never appear as The Bee Gees again, Barry and Robin did reunite for a Miami charity concert on February 18th, 2006, where they played many of the hits from their 35 year career. The event was held to raise money for the Diabetes Research Institute.