I had been wanting to watch the documentary on The Bee Gees for sometime now and today I was finally able to. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves music. It's important to know their role in music history as it is a huge one.
Most people know the Brothers Gibb from the ''Disco Era'' but they began way before then and had a lot of hits before those of the late 70's. I knew them mostly from baton twirling classes as my teacher, Linda Thomas was definitely always looking for great music for us to twirl to. I remember routines to Jive Talkin, Night Fever and You should be Dancing.
I've seen Barry interviewed before speaking on his brother's deaths and how he is the only one left, and at the end of the documentary, he says he can still not face the fact they are gone. The documentary really shows how close they were, and how they followed their dreams, but also delves into things that tore them apart, and also what brings them back together.
One thing I learned was they were ''fly by the seat of your pants'' music makers, never writing anything until they went into a studio and began recording. Who does that? But it was something that worked very well for them. In fact, that was the way Barry discovered his falsetto voice he was so famous for. It was during the recording of Nights on Broadway.
I also learned about the DJ who brought them down, some idiot in Chicago who began the whole "Disco Sucks'' phrase. The Bee Gees just evolved. They were always pop singers but played with sounds and music and ended up being labeled as disco, and they were trashed because of it during the early 80's. It was very unfair to any of the artists that went from being at the top of the charts to being ridiculed and even worse, given death threats, as was the case of The Bee Gees. I learned that their friends like Dolly, Barbara Streisand, Dionne Warwick rallied behind them and had them write hit songs for them. So while many thought of them as pariahs, they were still bringing in huge amounts of money and making hits. Just for other people. Of course now, people recognize their greatness, but to have been harassed as they were for these amazing songs that are still popular and used in other movies and tv shows today is heartbreaking to me. I never bought into the "Disco Sucks'' movement. I liked all kinds of music, and especially music I could dance to.
And of course there was Andy. They had thought to make him the fourth Bee Gee, but he got to the studio and they had him sing by himself, and thought he was ready to make it on his own. He attracted a different audience, very young and teenagers, mostly girls like me. I had his posters up on my wall as a teenager. Andy was the first teen idol of mine to pass away. And only 30. Was so sad.
Music has always been a big deal in my life. I danced from the age of 3, then did baton twirling, then later in life bellydancing. I could go out dancing, and dance for hours without getting tired. It's no wonder my novels thus far have been grounded in music and bands.
When I think of Andy, Barry, Robin, and Maurice, I'll always think of our baton routines, the flashy costumes, and all the fun we had performing. I'll remember sitting in the nosebleed section of a sold out coliseum and screaming my lungs out as the brothers put on a great show for us.
