1-01. Who are the Bee Gees? part5
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This article is from the Bee Gees FAQ, by David Garcia garc@compuserve.com with numerous contributions by others.
1-01. Who are the Bee Gees? part5
It was maddening. Songs and albums that sold well in Europe
went unnoticed by Americans. "You Win Again" provides a perfect
example: how can a song by a major artist be number one in
England, yet number 75 in the US? Two years later, Warner even
re-released "You Win Again" in the US as the second single from
the "One" album, hoping that it would finally get airplay. It
didn't. Why did American radio ignore the group? As one
reviewer quipped, we were ready to forgive Nixon for Watergate,
but were we ready to forgive the Bee Gees for disco?
In 1993, the Bee Gees returned to the Polydor label and
released the CD "Size Isn't Everything". Appearances on radio
and TV brought inevitable one-liners about the meaning of the
title, even leading shock jock Howard Stern to ask "which one is
the 'biggest' Bee Gee?" Sadly, the "Full Size" tour planned for
April of 1994 had to be abruptly canceled, due to Barry's health
problems.
During this time no less than three tribute albums to the
Bee Gees have been released: An alternative rock version,
"Melody Fair", joins compilations of previous cover versions on
the rack: "Bee Gees Songbook" (a UK import), and the recently
released "Soul of the Bee Gees", featuring a liner note "mea
culpa" over the record company's mishandling of Robin Gibb's
single "Toys" back in 1985.
In September of 1996 word was received that the Bee Gees had
been chosen as 1997 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame. The ceremony was held in Cleveland on May 6, 1997.
Additional awards have included the American Music Awards'
"International Artist" award, and special recognition in this
year's "Brit" awards.
The newest release, "Still Waters," debuted at #2 on the UK
charts. The compilation album "The Very Best of the Bee Gees"
also briefly reentered the top ten a
s well, putting the brothers
Gibb in the remarkable position of having two albums in the UK
top ten at the same time -- all this thirty years after their
international debut. The album debuted in the US at #11, their
first top twenty album since 1979. The US release of "Still
Waters" was been acompanied by a whilrwind of activity. The
weekend before the album's debut, VH-1 had a "Bee Gees Weekend"
with a Saturday afternoon marathon of videos and performances. On
the day of the album's release, the Bee Gees appeared on the
Oprah Winfrey show, and that evening were inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The album reportedly sold
over 2.5 million copies worldwide, making it their greatest
success since 1979's "Spirits (Having Flown)."
Is it over? Not yet -- the brothers Gibb, even with a four
decade career to look back on, continue to look forward, and plan
for the next album, the next single. As Barry puts it, "...a
gold record on your wall is like an ornament, and it doesn't
really mean anything. It's a memory -- you look at it and go,
'Well THAT was great,' but it's not part of your NOW. And it's
now and tomorrow that are the most important..."
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