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All Music Guide:
As a member of the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb sang and played the guitar along with his twin brothers Maurice Gibb and Robin Gibb. Among the group's well-known hits are "How Deep Is Your Love," "Night Fever," and "Run to Me." For more than two decades the band has produced hits. Their records have sold more than 100 million copies; they have produced more than 25 albums and have had at least 19 hits on the American music charts.
Barry Gibb was born in England and emigrated with his family to Australia where the career of the Bee Gees began. The Bee Gees name came from the Brothers Gibb. Their debut performance was on Australian television in 1963 when they sang their first single, "The Battle of the Blue & Grey." "Spicks and Specks," another hit, went over big in Australia. Despite the band's success "down under" they were envious of groups like the Beatles who had become internationally known by this time. In 1967, the trio went back to Britain to achieve national fame.
After signing a record contract the Bee Gees produced their first hit in the UK, "New York Mining Disaster 1941," which also scored on the American musical charts. Following this, the group had a string of hits that landed on both the U.K. and American charts. The songs included "Massachusetts," "Words," "I've Got a Message to You," "I Started a Joke," and "First of May."
With success looming in their path, Robin Gibb decided to leave the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career. Barry Gibb and his brother decided to keep the Bee Gees alive and produced the hit single "Tomorrow, Tomorrow." The two performed on the television show Cucumber Castle singing "Don't Forget to Remember." Barry Gibb's songwriting talents not only benefited the Bee Gees but also several other '70s and '80s singers such as Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and most recently, Celine Dion and Michael Bolton.
By 1970, Robin Gibb had rejoined the group and a new decade was upon the Bee Gees. The early '70s were hard on the group as the transition was happening between pop and folk-rock to heavier rock. Main Course, released in 1975, produced the band's next hit, "Jive Talkin." Their manager, Robert Stigwood, used these songs to enhance the trio's popularity during the disco phenomenon. The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack brought about enormous popularity for the Bee Gees. Hits from the soundtrack include "Night Fever," "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," and "You Should Be Dancin." By the end of the '70s, the group was once again on the charts.
Despite the '70s success, the Bee Gees were less successful in the '80s, producing few hits. The group released You Win Again in 1987. Unfortunately, Andy Gibb, the group's musically talented younger brother, died in 1988 of a cocaine overdose. The '90s proved a bit more successful with the 1993 album Size Isn't Everything and the singles "Paying the Price of Love" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." The Bee Gees were awarded the lifetime achievement award at the Brit Awards in 1996 and at the American Music Awards in 1997. Also in 1997 they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. After three decades, Barry Gibb continues singing and writing. He and his wife Linda have five children, Stephen, Ashley, Travis, Michael and Alexandria.
Wikipedia:
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE (born 1 September 1946) is a singer, songwriter, producer and both the eldest and last surviving Gibb brother.
He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents, the second-eldest of five siblings. With his younger brothers, twins Robin and Maurice, he formed the Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. Their younger brother Andy was also a popular singer. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their 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 and Hugh Gibb (d. 1992) in the Isle of Man. He has an older sister, Lesley (b. 1945), and had three younger brothers, fraternal twins Robin (1949–2012) and Maurice (1949–2003), and Andy (1958–1988). 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. The Gibb family returned to England in 1967. Shortly afterward, the Bee Gees became international stars.
Career
Gibb had a highly successful career as a member of the Bee Gees, a group which ranks sixth on 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 "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" became number 1 in the UK as the Comic Relief single for 2009. His songs have been recorded by numerous artists, including José 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.
In more recent years, Gibb has participated in a variety of activities, such as appearing as a mentor in the sixth season of American Idol, writing the song "Drown on the River" for movie soundtrack for Deal, and writing the theme music for ITV's Grease Is the Word.
On 2 May 2004, Barry and Robin Gibb received the CBE award at Buckingham Palace with their nephew Adam, who collected the award in honour of his late father, Maurice Gibb.
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 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 U.S. citizens. They retained their British citizenship.
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.
Personal life
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, and 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 with their nephew Adam, who collected the award in honour of his late father, Maurice Gibb.
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 U.S. citizens. They retained their British 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 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.
