Barry Gibb (Photo: Danny Clinch)
The hair may be graying and the gold chains are missing but there’s no mistaking that face. There are legendary music artists and then there are Legends. With a capital L. Without question, one of the latter is Legendary singer/songwriter/producer Barry Gibb. The surviving member of one of music’s most successful and revered bands, the Bee Gees – formed with his brothers Robin and Maurice – has signed with Columbia Records and will release his first album with the label, In The Now, in the fall of 2016. Gibb has kept the album a family affair, writing all the songs with his sons Stephen and Ashley.
Produced by Gibb and co-producer John Merchant, the album is only the second solo effort of his career and his first album of all-new material since the Bee Gees final studio album in 2001. The 12-song album was recorded in Miami with the same gathering of accomplished musicians Gibb assembled for his acclaimed 2014 solo tour.
As a record producer/songwriter, Gibb has helped create milestones for other artists, ranging from Barbra Streisand’s 1980 Guilty album to the 1983 Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers smash duet “Islands In The Stream,” among others.
“This is a dream come true for me. It’s a new chapter in my life. I always hoped one day that The Bee Gees would be with Columbia or indeed Sony so, it’s a great joy for me to start again this way with such great people,” says Gibb.
Beginning with 1971’s “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” the Bee Gees earned nine #1 U.S. singles. The phenomenal statistics only start there. They achieved 15 Top 10 singles and 24 that reached the Top 20. During their 1975 – 1979 peak, which including the mega-selling Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the group had eight of those #1 chart hits including such “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever.”
Check out Gibb being introduced by Coldplay‘s Chris Martin at the Glastonbury festival on June 26, 2016…
Then Gibb performs another huge Bee Gees hit…
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Adds Gibb: “I will never forget my brothers, they will always be a part of everything I do. Our dream came true.” The Bee Gees earned numerous Grammy Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Gibb, 69 years old, returned to live performing in 2013-2014 with the Mythology Tour, celebrating the Bee Gees anthology release of the same name as a tribute to his three brothers. The tour included shows in Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland, and the U.S. No word as of yet regarding a possible tour to support In The Now.
6 Comments so far
Jump into a conversation“the gold chains are missing” jeez come on if you are going to write about them leave the senseless comments out please.
We’re huge Bee Gees fans. The rest of that first paragraph makes that abundantly clear. But the indelible image that many people have of them are from that era. No offense was meant and sorry you seem to have taken it that way.
Nothing wrong with this article?
The BeeGees are #1 in my opinion. Barry, you are awesome! Keep on, keeping on my dear. Love and hugs always.
Cool…but Coldplay? Ugh!!
I love Barry Gibb