Who are the Bee Gees? Who are the brothers Gibb - fraternal twins Maurice and Robin, big brother and leader Barry, and tragically doomed little brother Andy - who sold 250 million records over a 40-year career? So much more than a disco band, the Bee Gees are musical innovators and hitmakers whose songs resonate worldwide.
A must-read for anyone who ever sang along to 'Massachusetts', or danced to 'Jive Talkin", The Bee Gees details the Gibbs' innovative sound and turbulent personal lives - the crushing poverty of their youth; their emigration to Australia; their long years building their name and music in Oz; their number-one hits in 1960s swinging London, when the Gibbs were still teenagers; the battles for control of the band between Robin and Barry; the near-breakup that almost ended the Bee Gees forever; their courageous climb out of obscurity; their breakthrough comeback dance hits and 18-month domination of the Top Ten worldwide with Saturday Night Fever, Andy Gibb becoming the first artist ever to have his first three releases hit number one; the Bee Gees' sold-out Spirits Having Flown tour; the Gibb brothers' incredible career as songwriters and producers for other artists, including Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Dionne Warwick, and Dolly Parton; their unbreakable bond and unique harmonies; Maurice's struggle with alcohol; Robin's addiction to amphetamines, and Andy's fatal attraction to cocaine.
This fast, provocative read, chock-full of Bee Gees drama, backstage stories, revealing portraits, and musical insights, provides the definitive portrait of the lives and music of the world's most famous musical family. Renowned rock historian David N Meyer discovers the true, astonishing inside story of the Bee Gees' music, ambition, creative imagination, and fame.