40. For Whom the Bell Tolls (1993)
The Bee Gees' biggest hit of the '90s sums up the ins and outs of their output during the decade. On the one hand, it is music of exceptionally high quality, produced by the hand of a master. On the other hand, the production is so smooth that it feels a bit painless.
39. Wildflowers (1981)
The sound of a band still reeling from the 1979 record backlash: A twist on thatdiscoSuck's T-shirt also featured the phrase "Kill the Bee Gees" - the Living Eyes album is everywhere. But Wildflower is a moment of true magic in the form of low-key, folky soft rock.
38. Trafalgar (1971)
Written and featuring rare lead vocals by Maurice Gibb, the title track from their 1971 album is clearly indebted to the work of John Lennon, but nothing worse. The descending melody is incredibly beautiful; chorus rises Oasis should have covered it.
37. Bis (1979)
Lurling on the B-side of Tragedy, or at the end of Spirits Being Flyn, until it's one of the more underrated Bee Gees tracks. It's a short, beatless, synth-backed sigh of tender misery that leaves the listener hanging, wondering what happened to ruin the youthful romance it originally portrayed.
36. She Keeps Coming Back (2001)
After a string of brilliantly professional '90s albums, This Is Where I Came In gave me the feeling of going back to the work of the Bee Gees in the '60s while experimenting at the same time. It was their best album in years, their willingness to go further summed up She Keeps on Coming, strongly suggesting that they had heard Talking Heads.
35. New York mining disaster of 1941 (1967)
A peculiar rumor has it that the Bee Gees' first UK hit was secretly the work of the Beatles. You can see why: the northern accents, the richness of the melody. But the Beatles never recorded anything so sinister, inspired in equal parts by the Aberfan disaster and a blackout that left the Gibb brothers' harmony in the dark.
34. Massachusetts (1967)
The 1967 No. 1 singles generally fell into one of two categories: fiery psychedelics, or MOR's backlash against them. But Massachusetts was somewhere in the middle. Smooth and to the point by Bee Gees ballad standards, the lyrics, however, were about a hippie who hitchhiked to San Francisco but got no further than New England.
33. Sweet Summer Song (1972)
The album's title, To Whom it May Concern, underscores its unfocused content, but only occasionally did the Bee Gees' growing confusion about their purpose lead them to try something out of the ordinary. Sweet Song of Summer's eerie analog synth background and ominous vibe are a spooky anomaly in their catalogue.
32. I Can't See Nobody (1967)
Originally the B-side to New York Mining Disaster 1941, I Can't See Nobody was later covered by Nina Simone, introducing audiences outside of Australia to the extraordinary voice ofpetirrojo gibb, which even her mother said became "cold". Singing the lead vocal, she looks like she's about to cry.
31. Odessa (Black Sea city) (1969)
Sometimes it's hard to convey to those who only know the hits how weird the '60s Bee Gees albums can be. Quick Fix: Play Odessa's title song, seven and a half minutes of ever-changing harp, strings, heartbreak, the saga of an 1899 shipwreck, and an explosion of Baa Baa Black Sheep. Inexplicable, but incredible.
30. Dogs (1974)
Produced by Arif Mardin, Mr Natural is a transitional album that bridges the different phases of the Bee Gees' career. While they were still ballads, Mardin nurtured Gibbs' love of rhythm and blues, hence the Dogs' smooth, seductive funk. It was unlike anything they had recorded before, and a sign for the future.
29. I Started a Joke (1968)
Almost all of the Bee Gees' '60s hits lean toward melancholy, but Robin's songs amplify the sadness to the point where it becomes a little haunting. Which brings us to I Started a Joke, where everything goes horribly wrong until her leading lady apparently dies, much to everyone's delight.
May 28 (1969)
Brotherly relations were strained during the Odessa recording, something to which the lyrics of Barry Gibbs' superbly dour May Day may allude, happy childhood memories contrasted with modern-day detachment. If they do, it's ironic that the song effectively breaks the Bee Gees and Robin comes out in protest of its release as a single.
27. Like (1989)
Album one is mostly melancholy and haunted by the death of his brother Andy Gibb, but it's pleasantly ironic that the Bee Gees have returned after 12 years with a dancefloor-focused song that, behind the electronica, hit the Top 10. 10 from the 1980s in the US, it could have appeared on their disco-era albums.
26. Hot Ride (1977)
The missing piece of Saturday Night Fever. It was mooted for a soundtrack, then dropped and eventually given to Andy, who released it on his last album, a post-disco flop in 1980. The Bee Gees version ended up appearing on a compilation in 2007. The fact that that it was audibly unfinished doesn't affect its restless size.
25. Torres de Kilburn (1968)
An unexpected addition to Barry's 2013 Mythology Tour set list, Kilburn Towers is a hidden gem on Idea. A beautiful evocation of the sunset over Sydney on a summer night, carried on a warm breeze of guitar and mellotron. Light but irresistibly beautiful.
24. Melody Fair (1969)
Written for Odessa, but later used as the theme song for the 1971 film Melody, Melody Fair embodies the two competing impulses within the '60s Bee Gees. It starts out as parent-friendly MOR pop, then suddenly and emotionally, it plunges into a sleepy-lidded Lennon-y chorus.
23. You came into my life (1976)
Disco fans may prefer Melba Moore's version: more haunting, lush and dramatic than the original, it was a huge hit in 1978. But "You Stepped into My Life" is a fantastic song, regardless of the arrangement, its grating hook and heady. spiraling melody, a testament to the Bee Gees' intuitive understanding of disco.
22. Welt (1967)
Darker and more complex was the sequel to Massachusetts: less a love song and more a cry of existential confusion seemingly rooted in the Bee Gees' overnight success: "Where the hell am I going to be tomorrow? Do they need me here?" Over and over, the guitar threatens to break out into a raucous, distorted, cathartic solo that never comes.
21. Riddler (1974)
The flop of 1973's Life in a Tin Can and their record label's rejection of the intended follow-up seemed to persuade the Bee Gees to up their game. The opening of Mr Natural is wonderful, dressing up his signature ballad style with a warm, smooth, jazzy arrangement.
20. How to mend a broken heart? (1971)
A suitably brittle-sounding song about Robin's return to the Bee Gees, after the aftermath of May Day, the original version of How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? it was the band's first US number 1, but the song blossomed when Al Green covered it to stunning effect in 1972.
19. You Gotta Dance (1976)
The heaviest disco track the Bee Gees recorded, You Should Be Dancing is as heavy as its title suggests. Hosted by a relentless one-note rhythm track, punctuated by haunting explosions of brass and featuring twisting, funky, conga-heavy, it feels like you're in the center of a crowded, sweaty dance floor at 2am. .
18. I love you backwards (1979)
Commercially outshone by its predecessor Tragedy in the UK, Love You Inside Out is a much better song. If Tragedy pushes the Bee Gees' disco sound to the point of being raucous and melodramatic, Love You Inside Out is downright elegant: quieter, more subtle, with an incredible chorus.
17. Fanny (Be Tender to My Love) (1975)
Only the Bee Gees would write such a lush ballad—their harmonies were so thick they couldn't be reproduced live—and then overload them with such a title. It's named after the band's housekeeper, but why not change the name? annie? Or something else?
16. More Than a Woman (1977)
So good that it was featured twice on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. It is debatable whether the original Bee Gees version or the Tavares version is the better version (the latter was a hit single). Both glide and shine; it has the confident sound of songwriters who know exactly what they're doing.
15. Vacation (1967)
"Holiday" dispenses almost entirely with drums and brings Robin's voice to the music with orchestrations, fancy harp glissandi and church organ. But for all its wasted sound, its true power comes from the fact that there's something indescribably creepy about its minor chords and impossibly weird lyrics.
14. If I Can't Have You (1977)
The Bee Gees understand that many of the best clubs have tension at their heart: uplifting music mixed with emotionally painful lyrics. If I Can't Have You is a completely haggard tale of unrequited love that feels completely euphoric. Yvonne Elliman's cover definitely is, but the original is amazing too.
13. I Need to Send You a Message (1968)
In fact, I've Gotta Get a Message to You is a killer ballad - not an area of music easily associated with the Bee Gees - the lead in I've Gotta Get a Message to You heads to the gallows and can't call your partner to say goodbye. Best of all: the last change in tone, where Robin suddenly jumps and seems almost choked by his own anguish.
12. Lots of Heaven (1978)
There's a touch of chi-lites and the ultra-smooth soul of Stylistics in Too Much Heaven. A deeply unfashionable influence to show off in 1978, that sound had long since lost its commercial reputation, but the results are impressive. And when did the Bee Gees bother to be fashionable?
11. Any Lion-Hearted Christian Man Will Show You (1967)
Obviously, the '60s Bee Gees weren't sure if they wanted to be the favorite of housewives or Sgt. Pepper-inspired experimenters, and they tried to be both. Soulful ballads were the hits, but weird stuff could be great. Here, mellotron and faux Gregorian chants interrupt harmonized elegiac psychedelics.
10. You Win Again (1987)
The Gibbs' big comeback in the UK, their first No. 1 in eight years, isn't just a perfect pop song; it also has a slight hint of its '60s weirdness. The production is so weird that its label complained; the drum beat, recorded in Maurice's garage, drowns out the rest of the arrangement.
9. Words (1968)
The second modern standard developed by the Bee Gees in less than a year. Words' bulletproof melody, and Barry's terrific voice, alternately brittle and haunted, has spawned over 150 covers, including covers by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Terry Wogan and Boyzone - sadly not together.
8. Nights on Broadway (1975)
Nights on Broadway introduced the world to Barry's trademark falsetto, a response to Mardin's request that he "scream in unison." It's also an incredible song, best heard on the full album version, complete with a slow section that underscores just how desolate the lyrics hide behind the upbeat music.
7. Run to Me (1972)
It says something about the discomfort of the compositional riches in the Bee Gees catalog that a song as good as Run to Me, full of key changes from soft verses to anthemic choruses, plus a Top 10 hit, forgets. In any other job, it would be a nuisance.
6. Night Fever (1977)
Almost incomprehensible on record, the lyrics to the verses on Night Fever are really good, perfectly capturing the feeling of anticipation that precedes a night out: "upon the waves of the air / There she is dancing." The music is catchy: dramatic, pleading verses, upbeat chorus. A masterpiece.
5. Ghosts (Flying) (1979)
Remarkably never released as a single, the title track from her latest disco-era album might be her standout. Their super smooth 1970s West Coast sound, featuring Herbie Mann on flute, takes a step back from the dance floor. Meanwhile, the moment at 1:30 when the chorus takes off is incredible.
4. How Deep Is Your Love (1977)
The 2020 documentary How Can You Mend a Broken Heart featured a clip of the Bee Gees writing How Deep Is Your Love and extracting its impossibly beautiful melody out of thin air. The lyrical paranoia, "A world of fools is bringing us down," provides a distinctly bizarre and therefore very Bee Gees counterpoint.
3. Jive Talking (1975)
The music that changed the Bee Gees' careers didn't just offer a new sound; It was also an amazing single. The preponderance of hooks feels effortless, the thumping synth bass, the guitar mimicking the sound of a car crossing a bridge, and the airy, funky drums invite you into a dance you can't resist.
2. Loving Someone (1967)
The first sign that the Bee Gees were supernatural songwriters. Robin was still a teenager when he and Barry wrote To Love Somebody, which almost immediately became a modern standard, accepted by everyone from Nina Simone to Rod Stewart. The Choice is James Carr's haunted take on southern soul.
1. Stay Alive (1977)
Bore's version—that the Bee Gees were opportunists who ruined the club with their ubiquity—ignores just how profusely talented the Gibbs were at making records; The songs they wrote for Saturday Night Fever Novelty Records are beyond imagination. Stayin' Alive in particular is perfection: an opening riff that will clearly keep people on the dance floor for the rest of time; the relentlessness of the looping drum track; The lyrics are about "despair," as Barry put it, and lurking beneath the hooks is a poisonous, damaged stew of machismo and urban rot. It is absolutely current and yet timeless.
FAQs
What was the Bee Gees most successful song? ›
1 singles — more than any other group in history save for the Beatles (with 20) and the Supremes (12). Of their chart-topping hits, their biggest is “How Deep Is Your Love,” which reigned for three weeks in 1977 and spent 33 weeks on the chart — the group's longest-running single.
How many top 40 hits did the Bee Gees have? ›As artists, in the USA the Bee Gees have had twenty-nine Top 40 hits, fifteen Top 10's and nine number ones. But perhaps because of their incredible accomplishment of having written number one records in four consecutive decades, the brothers considered themselves, first and foremost, to be songwriters.
How many top 10 hits did Bee Gees have? ›The trio has had 9 No. 1 hits, 15 Top 10 hits, and 43 songs on the Hot 100 in total, so here are the best of the best, their top 10 charting songs!
Which song was a Bee Gees chart topping hit? ›Spending 3 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, “How Deep is Your Love” reigns as the most successful Bee Gees song.
Who was the most talented of the Bee Gees? ›"Maurice was the talented multi-instrumentalist. I mean here's a guy who played keyboards, guitar, bass and percussion," the DJ and writer Paul Gambaccini told BBC London 94.9 yesterday. "He was the high part of the three-part harmony.
Which Gibb had the best voice? ›But as the most distinctive voice in one of the most successful groups ever, Robin Hugh Gibb will never be forgotten.
How many #1 songs do the Bee Gees have? ›With nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the Bee Gees are the third-most successful band in Billboard charts history behind only the Beatles and the Supremes.
Which song has been played the most? ›"Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd is the most streamed song on Spotify with over 3.3 billion streams.
Who has the most Top 10 hits of all time? ›With 40 top 10 hits in the Hot 100 over her career, Swift surpassed Madonna as the woman with the most top 10s in the chart's history. (Madonna has 38 top 10 singles.) Swift is only surpassed by Drake, who counts 59 top 10 hits.
Who has had the most Top 10 hits? ›An elite 12 artists have achieved top 10 placements on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart in four or more decades, led by Andy Williams and Michael Jackson, with top 10 ranks in five decades each.
What was the 1979 number one hit for the Bee Gees? ›
“Too Much Heaven”
This song hit number one in 1979, spending two weeks at the top of the chart.
Bee Gees star Barry Gibb's falsetto is synonymous with the golden era of disco music. And it was the high-pitched vocal that pushed the legendary British pop trio Bee Gees to the top of the charts the world over.
What is the number one song on the pop charts? ›The chart of today's current hit top pop songs 2023 on iTunes is several times daily and was last updated: Pacific Time. The current number one pop song on iTunes right now is Flowers by Miley Cyrus.
What was the first song in the charts? ›The first ever Top 12 (which was actually a Top 15 given that sales of the Number 7, Number 8, and Number 11 singles were tied) was published in the New Musical Express on November 14, 1952. American crooner Al Martino took the inaugural Official Singles Chart Number 1 with his track Here In My Heart.
Did Michael Jackson like the Bee Gees? ›"That he did it all for them and for the pure love of music." The Bee Gees and Michael Jackson's friendship went back decades, with Barry Gibb naming one of his sons after the singer – who was also Michael Gibb's godfather – and Jackson attending fellow Bee Gee Maurice Gibb's funeral in 2003.
Which Bee Gee was tone deaf? ›Stop anyone in the street and ask them to sing the chorus of “Stayin' Alive” and nine times out of ten you will get a...
Which one of the Bee Gees is the oldest? ›One of the most prominent acts of the disco era, the Grammy Award-winning group behind some of the best known hits of the late '70s — such as “Stayin' Alive” and “Night Fever” — was formed by three siblings: 74-year-old Barry Gibb, the oldest, and fraternal twins Robin and Maurice.
How many number 1 songs did the Bee Gees wrote? ›With nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the Bee Gees are the third-most successful band in Billboard charts history behind only the Beatles and the Supremes.
What is the #1 disco song of all time? ›No song epitomizes the disco era more than Le Freak. Chic scored a number one single in the U.S. with this dancefloor filler that mentions Studio 54 in its lyrics. Upon its release in late-1978, Chic achieved seven-million sales of Le Freak and scored the number three song of 1979.