Bee Gees

The Bee Gees were a British and Australian band, originally a pop singer-songwriter combination, reborn as funk and rhythm and blues. The brothers Gibb, consisting of frequent lead vocalist Barry, and the twins, co-lead vocalist Robin, and keyboardist/guitarist Maurice, were born in the Isle of Man in the 1940s.

1980s and 1990s

As the decade turned to the 1980s, the Bee Gees' career took a turn towards solo work. Barry released a solo project called Now Voyager. This project failed to produce any hits. The first single, "Shine", faded. Robin's attempts at a solo career began with How Old Are You. With "Juliet" and "Another Lonely Night in New York" it spawned two European hits, but was met with disappointment in the U.S. Robin then tried his luck again with Walls Have Eyes. It too was a disappointment. The Brothers then did some production work for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick, who each covered Bee Gees songs. The group sang backing vocals on several tracks. The brothers also worked with Kenny Rogers. They wrote and produced Rogers' album Eyes that See in the Dark. This produced the huge hit "Islands In The Stream" — a duet between Rogers and Dolly Parton. Counting all these which were written for other artists, Barry Gibb had now written and produced fourteen number one hits. The Bee Gees were successful at writing songs for other artists, but in this period, their own recordings were not as successful.

Related Topics:
Barbra Streisand - Diana Ross - Dionne Warwick - Kenny Rogers - Dolly Parton

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The Bee Gees released E.S.P. in 1987 as a comeback album. With the number one song "You Win Again", it was well received and reached number one in the UK and Europe, but failed to impress the United States. On March 10th 1988, the fourth brother Andy died from heart disease. The Bee Gees' following album, One (1989), was popular in the US again for once, and the title track was a hit. To remember Andy, they added another song on the One album called "Wish You Were Here". After the release, they went on a US tour. Following the next album, "High Civilization", the Bee Gees went on a European tour. After the Europe tour, Barry Gibb began to battle a serious back problem. In the early 1990s, Barry Gibb was not the only Bee Gee living in serious pain. Maurice had a serious drinking problem, which he had battled for many years, but finally conquered with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1992. Two other things happened in 1992: their father Hugh died, and Barry had a baby girl named Alexandra. The Bee Gees released several singles, including "Paying the Price of Love", which achieved little success. In 1993, they released an album called Size Isn't Everything. In 1997 they released Still Waters, which went double platinum, and a new single "Alone", was a new hit for the Bee Gees.

Related Topics:
E.S.P. - 1987 - United States - 1989 - Alcoholics Anonymous - Size Isn't Everything - Still Waters

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On November 14, 1997, The Bee Gees performed a live concert in Las Vegas called "One Night Only". The CD One Night Only, released a year later, sold 5 million copies worldwide.

Related Topics:
Las Vegas - One Night Only

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