In its original form, this double-LP compilation was a very generous repackaging of four years' worth of hits and notable album tracks, plus the Andy Gibb-authored "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away." It was a perfect distillation of the sound that had put the Bee Gees on top of the pop music world from 1975 onward. At the time, it did elicit some unspoken resentment from older fans who knew their hits from the 1960s, but as a collection of first-rate '70s dance music it was unimpeachable. It's also a statement of just how successful the Bee Gees were at the time that this was a double LP, representing just those four years, and how generous the group and RSO Records could afford to be -- indeed, anything less would have seemed like exploitation of the fans, but extending it out past the obvious hits (including the Saturday Night Fever material) made this collection an event of sorts, and a release that could stand alongside their albums from Mr. Natural (where their '70s sound really begins) through Spirits Having Flown. Gathering all of this material together was, in some ways, also a sign that the era was drawing to a close. And listening to it today, one does feel the definite pull of nostalgia, for a time when life seemed much simpler -- without a war in Iraq (or the necessity of a War on Terror), before AIDS and other STDs -- and the world seemed a little more manageable, at least potentially. On that basis alone, beyond the appeal of the songs (which is massive), this collection still exerts a strong pull. In fact, just about the only better way to recall the era is to listen to the Bee Gees' original albums of the same period.In its original form, this double-LP compilation was a very generous repackaging of four years' worth of hits and notable album tracks, plus the Andy Gibb-authored "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away." It was a perfect distillation of the sound that had put the Bee Gees on top of the pop music world from 1975 onward. At the time, it did elicit some unspoken resentment from older fans who knew their hits from the 1960s, but as a collection of first-rate '70s dance music it was unimpeachable. It's also a statement of just how successful the Bee Gees were at the time that this was a double LP, representing just those four years, and how generous the group and RSO Records could afford to be -- indeed, anything less would have seemed like exploitation of the fans, but extending it out past the obvious hits (including the Saturday Night Fever material) made this collection an event of sorts, and a release that could stand alongside their albums from Mr. Natural (where their '70s sound really begins) through Spirits Having Flown. Gathering all of this material together was, in some ways, also a sign that the era was drawing to a close. And listening to it today, one does feel the definite pull of nostalgia, for a time when life seemed much simpler -- without a war in Iraq (or the necessity of a War on Terror), before AIDS and other STDs -- and the world seemed a little more manageable, at least potentially. On that basis alone, beyond the appeal of the songs (which is massive), this collection still exerts a strong pull. In fact, just about the only better way to recall the era is to listen to the Bee Gees' original albums of the same period.false2025-11-07 23:10:17Greatest19791979-10-011979-10-0188DiscoPop111264219943098018b1f-7e70-3b66-89ea-886ad7011b94bf0f7e29-dfe1-416c-b5c6-f9ebc19ea810d3d709c4-499e-3061-9bec-312a7f3ef444/media/data/media5/Music/Bee Gees/Greatest/folder.jpgBee GeesBee GeesThe Bee Gees
were a music group formed in 1958, featuring brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful as a popular music act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers of the disco music era in the mid- to late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies; Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid- to late 1970s and 1980s. The Bee Gees wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists and have been regarded as one of the most important and influential acts in pop music history. They have been referred to in the media as The Disco Kings, Britain's First Family of Harmony, and The Kings of Dance Music.Born on the Isle of Man to English parents, the Gibb brothers lived in Chorlton, Manchester, England until the late 1950s. There, in 1955, they formed the skiffle/rock and roll group the Rattlesnakes. The family then moved to Redcliffe, in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia, later to Cribb Island. After achieving their first chart success in Australia as the Bee Gees with "Spicks and Specks" (their twelfth single), they returned to the UK in January 1967, when producer Robert Stigwood began promoting them to a worldwide audience. The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (1977) was the turning point of their career, with both the film and soundtrack having a cultural impact throughout the world, enhancing the disco scene's mainstream appeal. They won five Grammy Awards for Saturday Night Fever, including Album of the Year.
The Bee Gees have sold over 220 million records worldwide, making them among the best-selling music artists of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; the Hall's citation says, "Only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees." With nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the Bee Gees are the third-most successful band in Billboard charts history behind only the Beatles and the Supremes.Following Maurice's sudden death in January 2003 at the age of 53, Barry and Robin retired the group's name after 45 years of activity. In 2009, Robin announced that he and Barry had agreed that the Bee Gees would re-form and perform again. Robin died in May 2012, aged 62, after a prolonged period of failing health, leaving Barry as the only surviving member of the group.