BEE GEES STORY, THE (TV)
Summary
A documentary about the rise and career of the Gibb brothers, better known as the Bee Gees. The Gibbs were born on the Isle of Man, but grew up in Manchester, where they were exposed to music from a very early age from their father, who was an aficionado of both popular and classical compositions. They began performing in small venues as children before the family decided to move to Sydney, Australia in 1958 just after the birth of their latest child, Andy. The Gibb brothers continued to perform anywhere they could, and made their first television appearance on an episode of “Anything Goes” hosted by Russ Tyson. This appearance sparked the beginnings of their popularity, and by the time they had reached their teen years they decided to return to England, as they felt that the music scene was far more exciting there. By 1967, “New York Mining Disaster 1941” had become their first number-one hit. Their success was often traced back to their manager Robert Stigwood, who constantly motivated them to push themselves to greater stardom. Later that year “Massachusetts” became another major hit, and soon they were hobnobbing with many famous musicians of the time, including the Beatles. However, the sense of camaraderie between the brothers would dissipate by the 1970’s, when Maurice’s alcoholism broke up his marriage to singer Lulu and sent him into a deep depression. The Bee Gees broke up due to conflicts between Barry and Robin, but reunited two years later after their tempers had cooled somewhat. Their reunion was marked by their songs “Lonely Days” and “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?,” both of which became their first number-one hits in the United States. In 1975, the Bee Gees refined their musical style at 461 Ocean Boulevard in Miami, Florida, composing “Jive Talkin’,” which became something of a comeback for them. This also marked the beginnings of Barry Gibb’s trademark falsetto singing style, which became iconic for the band and influenced the direction of their later songs, most notably the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, which originated as a separate album but was incorporated into the film. Their work helped to bring disco music to the forefront of popular culture, exposing the Bee Gees to an entirely new audience. Their saturation on the music charts eventually led to a backlash against them when the disco fad began to die out. They began writing songs for other artists, such as Diana Ross’s “Chain Reaction,” Dionne Warwick’s “Heartbreaker,” “Islands in the Stream” featuring Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, and the Barbara Streisand album “Guilty.” As the 1980’s progressed, Andy was incorporated into the group, striking a chord with both fans and the group themselves. Despite his immediate success in the United States, Andy felt he wasn’t up to the standards his brothers had set, and felt difficulty in dealing with his newfound public persona and success. Soon he became addicted to prescription drugs, and was secretly suffering from seizures. While in England, one such incident put him in the hospital, and much to everyone’s shock he died there on March 10th, 1988, at only thirty years old. Andy’s death was devastating to his family, particularly to Maurice, who began making an effort to control his own substance abuse problem. By 1992, Maurice had finally rid himself of his alcohol problem, and renewed his wedding vows with his wife Yvonne. The Bee Gees continued writing songs in the 1990’s, earning a great deal of critical acclaim, even receiving a 1997 BRIT award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, demonstrating that the British audience still supported them. They recorded their latest album “Still Waters,” which featured each brother writing individual songs as a form of self-expression, all of them wanting to further distance themselves from their “Saturday Night Fever” era.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WGBH Boston, MA
- DATE: 1997
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:77011
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Arts documentaries
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1997
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Nick Bullen … Executive Producer
- Maureen Oglethorpe … Producer
- Steve Jones … Director
- Sally Wood … Researcher
- Jerome Flynn … Narrator
- Barry Gibb … Interviewee
- Maurice Gibb … Interviewee
- Barbara Gibb … Interviewee
- Robin Gibb … Interviewee
- David English … Interviewee
- Lulu … Interviewee
- Cilla Black … Interviewee
- Cliff Richard … Interviewee
- Amanda Redman … Interviewee
- Dionne Warwick … Interviewee
- Kenny Rogers … Interviewee
- Yvonne Gibb … Interviewee
- Susan George … Interviewee
- Steps … Interviewee
- Stephen Gately … Interviewee
- Andy Gibb
- Dolly Parton
- Diana Ross
- Robert Stigwood
- Barbara Streisand
- Russ Tyson