Barry Gibb Biography

Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE (born 1 September 1946) is a musician, singer and songwriter and producer, who rose to worldwide fame as a founding member of the Bee Gees. He is also the eldest and last surviving Gibb brother.

With his younger brothers, twins Robin and Maurice, he formed the Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups in the history of music. Their younger brother Andy was also a popular singer. The trio got their start in Australia and found major success when they returned to England.

Known for his high-pitched falsetto singing voice, Gibb shares the record with John Lennon and Paul McCartney for consecutive Billboard Hot 100 Number Ones as a writer with six. The book of Guinness World Records lists Barry Gibb as the second most successful songwriter in history behind Paul McCartney.

Early life

Barry Gibb was born to Barbara (née Pass) and Hugh Gibb (d. 1992) in the Isle of Man. He has an older sister, Lesley Evans (b. 1945), and had three younger brothers, fraternal twins Robin (1949"2012) and Maurice (1949"2003), and Andy (1958"88). He and his family moved to Chorlton-cum-Hardy in Manchester in 1953. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Brisbane, Australia, settling in one of the city's poorest suburbs, Cribb Island. The suburb was later bulldozed to make way for Brisbane Airport. It was in Australia that Gibb and his brothers Robin and Maurice started performing as the Bee Gees.

Career

1960s

In 1964, he wrote the songs "House Without Windows" and "And I'll Be Happy" for Trevor Gordon. In 1965, he wrote the songs "Little Miss Rhythm and Blues" and "Here I Am" also for Trevor. Also in that year, he wrote "Watching The Hours Go By" for Australian singer Noeleen Batley but it was only released as a B-side.

In 1967, the Gibb family returned to England. Shortly thereafter, the Bee Gees became international stars. That same year he wrote the song "To Love Somebody" with Robin for American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, but Redding died in an aeroplane crash later that year, before having a chance to record the song, and Barry takes the lead vocal on that song. In 1968, they recorded "First of May" with lead vocals by Barry, The flip side of the song was "Lamplight" on which Robin Gibb sang the lead, Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood chose "First of May" to be the A-side, No other songs released on the album Odessa, and Robin quit the group.

In 1969, after Robin quit the group, they recorded the songs for their seventh album Cucumber Castle, all of the songs sung by Barry, except the song "My Thing" (the song was performed by Maurice Gibb). In June 1969, Gibb co-wrote "The Love of a Woman" and its B-side "Don't Let It Happen Again", Samantha Sang's first single. Also in that month, P.P. Arnold recorded the Bee Gees song "Bury Me Down By the River", the song was produced also by Barry. In October 1969, he also produced the Samantha Sang songs "Please Don't Take My Man Away" and another Bee Gees song "The Day Your Eyes Meet Mine", both songs was not released.

1970s

After Robin's temporary departure from the Bee Gees in 1969, Gibb recorded his first solo album The Kid's No Good in 1970. However, the only part of the album that was released was the single "I'll Kiss Your Memory." The song "One Bad Thing" and its B-side "The Day Your Eyes Meet Mine" (both songs were originally written and recorded for the Cucumber Castle sessions in 1969) which he considered as the second single off the album were proposed to be released as a single around October 1970. In 1973, the Bee Gees' 11th album Life in a Tin Can was released, Barry sang the lead on the album's lead single "Saw a New Morning".

In 1977, Gibb wrote "I Just Want to Be Your Everything", Andy Gibb's first US No. 1, and provided backup vocals. Also in 1977, Barry takes the lead vocals on the songs "How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever" both songs were reached No. 1 in the US. In 1979, the Bee Gees' 1979 album Spirits Having Flown reached No. 1 in the US, most of the songs were performed by Barry. In 1978, he sang backup vocals, arranged and produced the Andy Gibb's 1978 album Shadow Dancing.

After the Bee Gees' 1979 Spirits Having Flown Tour, he started to record demos for Barbra Streisand in October 1979. Also in that year, he sung backup vocals, playing guitar, synthesizer and produced the Andy Gibb's 1980 album After Dark.

1980s

In 1980, he produced the Barbra Streisand's album Guilty. It features the title track] and "What Kind of Fool", both songs were released as a single and features a lead vocal by him and Barbra Streisand. In 1982, he produced the Dionne Warwick's album Heartbreaker and in 1983, he produced the Kenny Rogers' album Eyes That See in the Dark.

In August 1983, Irving Azoff signed Barry to the MCA Records for North America, Gibb was signed for a few million dollars to a multi-album deal, but in the end the MCA released only one album called Now Voyager, released in 1984 (His third solo album Moonlight Madness was rejected by MCA) The first single released on the album "Shine, Shine" it reached No. 34 in the US and reached No. 10 in the US Adult Contemporary Charts, the second single "Fine Line" did not chart in US or UK. In 1985, he produced the Diana Ross' album Eaten Alive. In 1986, he recorded an unreleased album called Moonlight Madness, Several songs would later appear on the Hawks soundtrack.

In 1988, the soundtrack album for the film Hawks was released, all of the songs were performed by him except the song "Chain Reaction" (the song was performed by Diana Ross.)

2000s

In more recent years, Gibb has participated in a variety of activities, such as appearing as a mentor in season six of American Idol, writing the song "Drown on the River" for the soundtrack of the film Deal, and writing the theme music for ITV's Grease Is the Word.

On 14 March 2009, Gibb teamed with Olivia Newton-John to present the one-hour finale performance at a star-studded 12-hour live concert at Sydney's Sydney Cricket Ground, part of Sound Relief, a fundraiser to aid victims of the February 2009 Victorian Bushfires that devastated large tracts of heavily wooded and populated south-eastern Australia, where the Gibb family once lived. The concert was televised live nationally across Australia on the Max TV cable network.

In late 2009, Barry and Robin announced plans to record and perform together once more as the Bee Gees.

On 10 July 2009, Gibb was made a Freeman of the Borough of Douglas (Isle of Man). The award was also bestowed upon his brother Robin, and posthumously upon his brother Maurice. Also in 2009, Barry and Linda Gibb became US citizens. They retain their British citizenship.

2010s

On 21 February 2012, Gibb performed his first solo concert in the US at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe in Florida. He sang "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" with Maurice's daughter, Samantha Gibb, who is a singer in her own band. Barry's son, Steve, was also on stage as lead guitarist and sang a Maurice composition, "On Time".

On 20 May 2012, Robin Gibb died, making Barry the sole surviving Gibb brother. Ricky Skaggs recorded "Soldier's Son" before June 2012, on which Gibb added vocals on July in that year, the song was recorded for Skaggs' album Music to My Ears to be released in September 2012.

Gibb made his debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry on 27 July 2012, performing three songs. Gibb announced plans for a world tour in 2013, starting in Australia, and featuring the Bee Gees anthology set Mythology.

Legacy

Gibb had a highly successful career as a member of the Bee Gees, a group near the top of the all-time top-sellers list. When the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, their citation read "Only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees". The trio's contribution to Saturday Night Fever pushed the film's soundtrack past the 40 million mark in sales. It reigned as the top-selling album until Michael Jackson's Thriller. They are the only group in pop history to write, produce and record six straight No.1 hits. They have 16 Grammy nominations and nine Grammy wins.

Barry Gibb is also a prolific and successful songwriter. In 1977, Gibb saw five of his songs simultaneously enter the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100, and for one week in March, four of the top five songs were written by him. His songs were No. 1 for 27 out of 37 weeks from 24 December 1977 to 2 September 1978. As a songwriter Gibb has had No. 1 songs in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s 1990s and 2000s, when "Islands in the Stream" became No. 1 in the UK as the comic relief single for 2009. His songs have been recorded by numerous artists, including Jose Feliciano, Al Green, Wyclef Jean, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Little, Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton-John, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Nina Simone, Barbra Streisand, Tina Turner, Conway Twitty, Frankie Valli, Luther Vandross, Sarah Vaughn, Jennifer Warnes, Dionne Warwick and Andy Williams. Gibb has also produced albums for Andy Gibb, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand and Dionne Warwick.

Personal life

Barry Gibb's first marriage was to Maureen Bates, whom he married on 22 August 1966, when he was 19 years old. The couple lived together for only a short time, and were divorced in 1970. On 1 September 1970 (his 24th birthday), he married the former Miss Edinburgh, Linda Gray. They have five children, Stephen (born 1973), Ashley (born 1977), Travis (born 1981), Michael (born 1984) and Alexandra (born 1991).

In 1994, Barry Gibb, along with brothers Robin and Maurice, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame; in 1997 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

On 2 May 2004, Barry and Robin Gibb received the CBE award at Buckingham Palace, along with their nephew Adam, who collected the posthumous award in honour of his father, Maurice.

In January 2006, Gibb purchased the former home of country singers Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in Hendersonville, Tennessee, intending to restore it and turn it into a songwriting retreat. The house was destroyed by fire on 10 April 2007 while under renovation.

On 10 July 2009, Gibb was made a Freeman of the Borough of Douglas (Isle of Man). The award was also bestowed upon his brother Robin, and posthumously upon his brother Maurice.

In 2009, Barry and Linda Gibb became US citizens. They have a dual citizenship.

Legislation lobbying

On 7 December 2006, Barry Gibb (along with around 4,500 other musicians) bought a full-page advertisement in the Financial Times newspaper, calling for the British Government to extend the existing 50 year copyright protection of sound recordings in the United Kingdom. The fair play for musicians advertisement proposed that the copyright be extended to the American standard of 95 years, and was viewed as a direct response to the Gowers Review (published by the British Government on 6 December 2006), which recommended the retention of the 50 year protection for sound recordings.

Discography

Albums

• 1970: The Kid's No Good (unreleased)
• 1984: Now Voyager
• 1986: Moonlight Madness (unreleased)
• 1988: Hawks (soundtrack album)
• 2006: The Eaten Alive Demos (iTunes)
• 2006: The Guilty Demos (iTunes)
• 2006: The Eyes That See in the Dark Demos (iTunes)
• 2006: The Heartbreaker Demos (iTunes)

Singles

• 1969: "I'll Kiss Your Memory"
• 1970: "One Bad Thing"
• 1978: "A Day in the Life"
• 1981: "Guilty" (duet with Barbra Streisand)
• 1981: "What Kind of Fool" (duet with Barbra Streisand)
• 1984: "Face to Face" (duet with Olivia Newton-John)
• 1984: "Shine, Shine"
• 1984: "Fine Line"
• 1988: "Childhood Days"
• 2006: "Dr. Mann"
• 2006: "Underworld"
• 2007: "Drown on the River"
• 2011: "All in Your Name" (featuring Michael Jackson)
• 2011: "Daddy's Little Girl" (Gibb composed this song in honour of his daughter Ali Gibb)
• 2011: "Grey Ghost" (dedicated to the people of Japan)