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Linking Young Minds Together
     Volume 2 Issue 45 | November 25 , 2007|


  
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Music

Bee Gees -
the sensational brothers


The Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb that became one of the most successful musical acts of all time. They were born on the Isle of Man to English parents, lived in Manchester, England and moved to Brisbane, Australia during their childhood years, where they began their musical careers. Their worldwide success came when they returned to England and signed with producer Robert Stigwood.

First called the Rattlesnakes, later Wee Johnny Hayes & the Bluecats, they were introduced to radio DJ Bill Gates by racetrack promoter Bill Goode (who saw them perform at Brisbane's Speedway Circuit). Gates renamed them the "Bee Gees" after his and Goode's initials thus the name was not specifically a reference to "Brothers Gibb".

The multiple Grammy Award-winning group was successful for all of its forty years of recording music, but it had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a harmonic "soft rock" act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as the foremost stars of the disco music era in the late 1970s. They were best rated band in the world in 1978.

It has been estimated that the Bee Gees' record sales total more than 220 million, easily making them part of the list of best-selling music artists. Their 1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame citation says "Only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees".[1]

Despite popular belief, the group's name was not derived from "Brothers Gibb", but from the initials of Australian radio DJ Bill Gates and racetrack promoter Bill Goode.

The Bee Gees have been incredibly successful, selling in excess of 180 million records and singles worldwide[5]. "How Deep Is Your Love" is their most popular composition, with over 400 versions by other artists in existence.

Their songs have been covered by singers of all stripes including Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Al Green, Eric Clapton, Lulu, Elton John, Tom Jones, and Nina Simone as well as newer acts like John Frusciante, and Feist singing a soulful "Love You Inside Out", Billy Corgan and Robert Smith covering "To Love Somebody", Steps and Destiny's Child. Songs written by the Gibbs but better known through versions by other artists include, "Immortality" by Celine Dion, "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman, "Chain Reaction" by Diana Ross and Steps,"Tragedy" by Steps,"Spicks and specks" by Status Quo , "Emotion" by Samantha Sang and Destiny's Child, "Come On Over", by Olivia Newton-John, "Warm Ride" by Graham Bonnet, "Guilty" and "Woman in Love" by Barbra Streisand, "Heartbreaker" by Dionne Warwick, "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, "Grease" by Frankie Valli, and "Only One Woman" by The Marbles. Many hit covers and album tracks of the Bee Gees' songs have been recorded, and the band's music has also been sampled by dozens of hip hop artists.

The Bee Gees were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; fittingly, the presenter of the award to "Britain's first family of harmony"[6] was Brian Wilson, leader of the Beach Boys, America's first family of rock harmony. The Bee Gees were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001 as well as the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997.

-Star Campus Desk

 

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