Aamodt 1 Matthew Aamodt Lorra Kelly Music 1040-006 12/2/2013 Bee Gees The Bee Gees were one

of the greatest artists in Rock and Roll History.(Bands) They had the ability to adapt to many different genres depending on the demand. (Rock and Roll Hall of Fam) They were such good artists that they did not limit themselves to one genre. The Bee Gees had two main eras when they were most popular. One, in the early 70s when they just barely got back together after breaking up, and then again in the late 70s with the disco era.(Rovi) They have three songs that are the focus of this paper: "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Stayin' Alive", and "Lonely Days".

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart was written in August of 1970 by Barry and Robin Gibb. The song was written the same day as Lonely Days in Barrys basement.(Facts) Robin says that they wrote the song in about an hour. Barry and Robin originally offered the song to Andy Williams, a popular recording artist, but upon thinking about it, they decided to sing it themselves. The song was recorded in London on January 28, 1971, the same night they officially reunited. The song was composed of a more R&B/ soul feel to it on their album Trafalgar. Trafalgar was their 9th album. It took them that many albums to get a #1 hit. It became their first #1 hit in 1971 in the US.(Facts)

Aamodt 2 Stayin Alive is one of the most famous disco songs of the 70s. It was originally going to be called Saturday Night, but since there were too many songs with that title, they decided to name it Stayin Alive. (Fontenot) The song is part of the album Saturday Night Fever the soundtrack for the movie. This album inspired Michael Jackson to perform Thriller. (Rock and Roll Hall of Fam) When recording Stayin Alive the Bee Gees did not like the drum recording. While the drummer was away at his fathers funeral the Bee Gees brothers changed it. When the drummer got back he liked the change and just added a couple cymbals. (Fontenot) The Song was finally released on Dec 13, 1977. To this day the album is the best-selling soundtrack of all time.

Lonely Days was written on the same day as How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.(Facts) It falls under the ballad genre of music. The song was featured on the album 2 years on. The song Lonely Days was released in November of 1970 and grew to # 3 on the charts in 1970.(Bands) Lonely Days has more of an emotional feeling to it. This might be due to the feelings of getting back together as a group.

These songs along with others, establish the Bee Gees as one of the most popular bands of the 60s, 70s, and into the 80s. There are many more songs that make the top 25 of the US and UK charts. We should appreciate good music for what it is.

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Work Cited Rovi, Bruce. About Bee Gees. .MTV Artists.,n.d. Web. 4 Dec 2013. <http://www.mtv.com/artists/bee-gees/biography/.> Bands, Classic. The Bee Gees. .N.p.,n.d. Web. 4 Dec 2013. <http://www.classicbands.com/beegees.html> Facts, Song. How can you mend a Broken Heart?. .N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec 2013. <http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=9099 The Bee Gees Biography. Rock and Roll Hall of Fam. Hall of Fam Museum., n.d. Web. 4Dec 2013. <http://rockhall.com/inductees/the-bee-gees/bio/> Fontenot, Robert. Stayin Alive:Solid Gold Spotlight. About.com. N.p., N.d. Web. 4 Dec 2013 <http://oldies.about.com/od/disco/a/Stayin-Alive-Solid-Gold-Spotlight.htm>