They are described as the band that defined the era of disco. Their trademark falsetto vocals moved audiences for over four decades and the surviving members still sing on today. They are the Bee Gees. After a long, climb to the top the Bee Gees’ fame and fortunes rose to sights most couldn’t conceive. This trio of brothers is one of the bestselling groups of all time and this is how they got there.
The Gibb Brother's Early Lives
Brothers Maurice, Robin and Barry Gibb were born in the Isle of Man and are of English descent. As children they grew up part of the time in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and their father, Hugh Gibb’s, hometown of Charlton, Cum Hardy, England in the fifties and sixties. The brothers formed a trio after performing at local areas once they relocated to Redcliff, Queensland, Australia.
They began by lip syncing to records of their favorite groups at a local cinema. As the story goes, one day Maurice dropped a record and the brothers were left with nothing to lip sync to. They then decided to try singing themselves.. The result of this was a lot of positive feedback from the audience. Following this high the brothers decided to officially launch a music career under the name the Rattlesnakes.
The Gibb brothers then changed their name to Wee Johnny Hayes & the Bluecats. They were introduced to DJ Bill Gates by a racetrack promoter that saw them perform at Brisbane’s Speedway Circuit. The group was renamed the Bee Gees by Gates after his and the promoter’s last names.
In 1960 things looked to be turning up for the Bee Gees as they landed a few spots on television and gigs at resorts in Queensland. Barry’s songwriting skills also were being taken notice of by local Australian acts. This helped the brothers get a recording deal with Festival Records in ’63.
The Rise of the Bee Gees
The Bee Gees would release several singles over the next few years with lackluster results. They then came up with the idea to send their small fan club money to purchase their CD thinking that this would send them up to 39 on the top 40 chart in Australia for music. The brother’s guess was right; not only did they reach thirty-nine, they hit as high as nineteen on the charts.
By now it was 1966 and the Bee Gees had released a string of singles and one LP. In ’66 the Bee Gees would return to England. Hugh Gibb sent in a demo of the brothers to then Beatles manager, Brian Epstein, around this time. Epstein gave the demo to Robert Stigwood, a member of NEMS. Stigwood became the Bee Gees manager and got them signed to a 5 year deal with Polydor Records. This made Polydor their UK distributor. ATCO would become the Bee Gee’s U.S. distributor.
Things were swinging up for the brothers as they released their first international hit “New York Mining Disaster 1941”. Drummer Colin Peterson and guitarist Vince Melouney then joined the trio of brothers. As a result of the genius of Stigwood the Bee Gees now were being compared to the Beatles. Their first album, Bee Gees 1st, was a worldwide smash hit. While touring to promote the album the Bee Gees had more than 24 number-one hits across the world.
By 1969 the excesses of fame would begin to wear down the group. The Bee Gees began to release unsuccessful works and were terribly discouraged by this. Colin Peterson left the group and then attempted to disallow the use of the name Bee Gees without him by suing the group. Robin would then go on to release a solo album. Barry and Maurice would then go on to release an album as well.
Things had fallen apart. The group would reunite two years later though and release Two Years On. Despite the reunion, the Bee Gees’ careers still began to flounder between the early to mid 1970s. The Bee Gees with the help of Stigwood made the switch from ballad singers to R&B singers. It was at this point that they began using their trademark falsetto vocals.
The Bee Gees then ventured into the genre of disco. Their newest disco sound landed them with platinum success and three hit singles. The Bee Gees then did a career defining soundtrack for the movie Saturday Night Fever featuring John Travolta. The movie and soundtrack were a huge success and would go on to define a generation. The brothers would have a number of other successful albums following this and one soundtrack flop.
Breaking From Robert Stigwood & The Eighties
In the eighties the Bee Gees would break from their manager Robert Stigwood and file a $200 million lawsuit over a claim of mismanagement. The case was settled out of court. Near the mid-eighties the Bee Gees moved their focus to separately writing songs and producing tracks for other musicians.
In 1987 the Bee Gees would come back together and release E-S-P. A year later tragedy would strike when the Gibb’s younger brother, singer Andy Gibb, died at age 30. Not too long after this Hugh Gibb, the boys’ father, died.
Maurice Gibb’s Death
Two comeback albums occurred during the nineties and the Bee Gees enjoyed a number of rewards and accolades from various sources. Sadly in 2003, at the age of 53 Maurice Gibb died. Barry and Robin Gibb stopped performing after this. It had been a 45 year run for the brothers. Just recently Robin Gibb announced that he and Barry would go on and reform the Bee Gees and perform again.
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