The Early Bee Gees

The night before Robin Gibb died, I was listening to the radio and heard a somewhat familiar song. It was clearly something from the psychedelic era of the '60s--monk chants, violin chords in a minor key, enigmatic lyrics. I thought it might be early, Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd. No, it was The Bee Gees. The song was "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You."

Gibb's death the next day launched a major Bee Gees retrospective on TV and radio, but most of it was keyed on their career from Saturday Night Fever on. This makes a world of sense, since the soundtrack album from that movie became the biggest seller of all time, and enabled Barry Gibb to be recognized as the highest-earning songwriter except for Paul McCartney. But the early Bee Gees deserve not to be forgotten, especially considering Robin, who was the main vocalist in those days.

The Bee Gees formed as teenagers. The three brothers, in addition to a couple of other bandmates, were big hits in Australia, and then became worldwide sensations, creating a hybrid of pop and psychedelia that was somewhat Beatlesque, but still with its own distinct sound. Part of this was due to Robin's tremulous vocals, which sounded like he was ready to bust into tears. Songs like "Holiday," "I Started a Joke," "Massachusetts" and "New York Mining Disaster 1941" are real weepies, and his vocals could melt the heart of the hardest man. Other songs, like "I've Gotta Get a Message to You," are excellent crafted pop songs.

Barry also contributed in those days, with "To Love Somebody," and "Words," but Robin was the focal point of the group. To be sure, some of the songs were way over the top, like "First of May," which is dreadful, but on the Bee Gees first greatest hits album, which contains songs from the '60s, almost all of them are pleasurable to listen to.

Later, the band would go full psychedelic, creating concept albums like Odessa. They would eventually slip out of of sight, and then be revived in the mid-'70s with the album Main Course, which incorporated Latin rhythms. One of my favorite Bee Gees songs, and another one that had a prominent Robin vocal, was "Nights on Broadway." It was this album, surely, that caught the attention of those making Saturday Night Fever, and that was all she wrote.

The Bee Gees weren't consciously writing disco songs. In fact, I'm not sure disco as a genre had then been established. I remember that the classic rock station I listened to in those days, WPLJ, played "Stayin' Alive" a time or two, because it was The Bee Gees, who were part of their repertoire. But when someone alerted the station that they were playing (gag!) disco, that song was never heard again on classic rock stations. So be it.

Robin, with his buck teeth and yearning stare, seemed like the odd one out in the trio of brothers, but I maintain it was his talent that made them stars in the first place. I've spent a happy week listening to their early songs, and a lot of them are still rattling around in my head.