The Bee Gees, The #6 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Six

 

(Continued from Part Five)

The trio toured the world for the first time in 10 years.  The Bee Gees released the compilation album The Very Best of the Bee Gees, which became one of the best-selling albums in the U.K.

 

The group released the album High Civilization and toured Europe in 1991.  "Secret Love" is a prime track.

 

Barry soon required back surgery and Maurice finally got treatment for alcoholism, which he had battled for many years.  In 1993, the Bee Gees released the album Size Isn't Everything, which included  this song.  With a massive hook and expert songcrafting, here is "For Whom The Bell Tolls".

Maurice delivered one of his best lead vocals on "Omega Man".

 

We also want to feature Maurice singing lead on "Above And Beyond".

In 1994, the group was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  The following year, the Bee Gees released Still Waters, another big-seller across the world, #2 in New Zealand, #4 in Austria, #5 in the U.K. and Ireland and #6 in Germany.  

Maurice recalled to Bee Gees World the composition of this song:

                 I really remember having a

                 good time writing it. We were

                 sort of set up in the studio

                 here with the three of us just

                 together and I got some 

                 bagpipe sounds.  We were

                 just screwing around. And 

                BG (Barry) programmed this

                 groove on the computer. We  

                 thought it was cool. We don't    

                 actually go in and plan to

                 write a ballad or an R&B 

                 song. We just say, "Let's go 

                 that route." And we'll follow 

                 it.  And "Alone" came out of 

                 that. I love the line "I'm on a 

                 wheel of fortune with a    

                 twist of fate."

 

Here is the most successful Adult Contemporary song of the year, according to RPM magazine--"Alone".

 

The long and enduring success of the Bee Gees is not only to adapt to new musical trends but to set them.  "Still Waters".

The group brought in a cast of outstanding musicians such as David Paich, Steve and Mike Porcaro and Steve Lukather from Toto, percussionist Ralph MacDonald (whose credits number in the hundreds and include "Just The Two Of Us" for Grover Washington, Jr., James Taylor, Paul Simon, Hall & Oates, Carole King, Steely Dan, David Bowie, George Benson, and Luther Vandross, Russ Titelman (who has worked with Taylor, Simon, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Gordon Lightfoot, the Monkees, Steve Winwood, the Allman Brothers, and Brian Wilson), bassist Leland Sklar (who has worked with Linda Ronstadt, Taylor, Phil Collins, Jackson Browne and Carole King, among others), Pino Palladino (who has played with the Who and John Mayer), drummer Manu Katché (who has worked with Joni Mitchell, Dire Straits, Sting, Jeff Beck, the Eurythmics, Tears for Fears and Simple Minds, to name a few),  and others.  This is "Irresistible Force".

Still Waters has now sold over four million copies.  The Bee Gees recorded a concert in Las Vegas, Nevada which was later released on CD as One Night Only, which has topped five million in sales.  The event was so successful that even with Barry's health issues, the trio toured throughout the world for the last time, including a show before 56,000 at Wembley Stadium in London and in front of 72,000 at Olympic Stadium in Sydney, Australia.

The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and they received the Legend Award at the World Music Awards.  They also won another American Music Award for International Award.  

 

In 1998, the music for Saturday Night Fever, with three new Brothers Gibb songs written for the project, was incorporated into a stage production that was performed in both the West End in London and Broadway in New York.  That same year, the Bee Gees collaborated with Celine Dion for "Immortality", a #2 smash in Germany and #5 in the U.K.

In 1999, the Isle of Man Post Office introduced a set of six stamps honoring the music of the Bee Gees.  The Bee Gees were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, making the group one of a select few who are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. 

 

The next year, the group was elected to the Dance Music Hall of Fame.  The trio released the album This Is Where I Came In in 2001, which includes the title song, the final single released by the group.

This is another solid track on the album--"Wedding Day".

Their Greatest Hits:  The Record, also released that year, has gone Platinum.  The final concert was at the Love and Hope Ball in 2002.

On January 12, 2003, Maurice died from a heart attack while he was waiting to undergo emergency surgery for a strangulated intestine.  Out of honor for their brother, Barry and Robin announced that the Bee Gees' long storied career was over.  

The next month, the Bee Gees received the Grammy Legend Award.  All three Gibb brothers, including a posthumous recognition of Maurice, were named Commanders of the Order of the British Empire in December 2001 and honored in a ceremony at London's Buckingham Palace on May 27, 2004.  The trio won the Legend Award at the Grammys in 2004 and released the album Number Ones, which has been certified Gold.  In 2007, the group received the BMI Icon Award at the annual BMI Pop Awards.  

Robin recorded a solo album and toured extensively.  Barry teamed up again with Streisand for the album Guilty Pleasure (Guilty Too in the U.K.).  

In 2009, the Isle of Man's capital recognized all three brothers with the Freedom of the Borough of Douglas honor.  The compilation album The Ultimate Bee Gees, released in 2009, has gone Gold.  Barry and Robin performed together occasionally and appeared on Strictly Come Dancing for the BBC and Dancing with the Stars on ABC-TV in 2009. 

More heartbreak came when Robin Gibb announced that he had been diagnosed with liver cancer in 2011.  On April 14, 2012, Robin contracted pneumonia and was in a coma.  Although he came out of it six days later, he continued to struggle and Robin died on May 20, 2012 of liver and kidney failure.

On February 14, 2013, Barry was present to unveil a statue of the Bee Gees and opening of Bee Gees Way, a walkway with photos and videos of the Bee Gees in Redcliffe, Australia.

Barry went on tour in honor of his brothers in 2013 and continued to make occasional appearances along with the album In the Now in 2016.  In 2015, the Bee Gees received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.  The following year, the documentary The Joy of the Bee Gees aired on the BBC.  In 2018, Barry was knighted by Prince Charles.

The Bee Gees won six Grammy Awards among nine nominations and five American Music Awards.  They racked up 32 career hits and 13 Top 10's, with an incredible 9 of those 13 going all the way to #1.  Their hits represent some of the greatest songs in history, but as you have heard, it is their album tracks which help get them to #6.  The Bee Gees are roughly tied with Celine Dion for second all-time with 220 million albums sold, behind only the Beatles with 265 million.