Maurice Gibb sang the song in duet with his former wife Lulu on her 2002 TV special An Audience with Lulu, while Robin Gibb guested on G4's cover of the song, released on G4 & Friends in 2005. Later renditions by group members Īlthough the originally released version was basically just Barry Gibb's vocal backed with Bill Shepherd's orchestral arrangement, the other two credited writers would later appear performing the song. The song was consequently reissued as a CD single in Japan, also featuring How Deep Is Your Love and peaked at No 25, selling more than 100,000 copies. In 1996, the song was used as a theme of the Japanese drama Wakaba no Koro. In 1971, the song was featured in the soundtrack to Melody, a British motion picture about two children in love. Cash Box described it as a "low-key love ballad with the same mystic quality that has proved captivating in the team's work" with "hypnotic arrangements" and a "singular vocal sound." Īfter its release, "First of May" enjoyed a resurgence several times. "First of May" debuted at #55 in Cash Box magazine charts the week of March 22nd 1969. The song was partially responsible for Robin's brief departure from the Bee Gees, because he had wanted his song, "Lamplight," to be the album's first single, while Barry preferred "First of May." In the end, Barry's judgment won, relegating "Lamplight" to the B-side and as a result Robin quit the band, but he returned a year later. No other singles were released from the Odessa album, as Robin Gibb already had left the group. Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees manager chose "First of May" for the A-side. The flip side of the single was " Lamplight" on which Robin Gibb sang the lead. The music was stopped when he sings don't ask me why, but time has passed us by, Someone else moved in from far away. After singing the second chorus, the singer repeated the first verse. Shepherd's orchestra was featured in second verse and second chorus. The song starts with a piano on the first verse and chorus. The orchestral arrangement from maestro Bill Shepherd was featured on the second chorus. This song was initially taped in demo form in New York City on 16 August 1968. We had a choir and an orchestra all on this one piano". Went back to England, and went into IBC Studios in London, added onto that piano track and Barry's vocal stayed on as well. We put a demo down with a vocal and we kept the piano track. "Barry and I were sitting at the piano", he said, "And I started playing the chords, and Barry started singing, 'When I was small and Christmas trees were tall' and I started singing along with it. Maurice recalled the session in which that song came about. There are other Bee Gees collections that dive more deeply into their career, but as far as single-disc sets go, you can't do better than this.The song was first recorded in Atlantic Studios in New York and was continued in IBC Studios, London.īarry said in the booklet with Tales from the Brothers Gibb that the title of the song came from the birthday of his dog, Barnaby.
It's just the hits, one brilliant track after another.
Bee gees greatest hits song list plus#
All the biggies are here from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, plus proto-disco jams like "Nights on Broadway," "Jive Talkin'," and one of their slightly under-the-radar classics, "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)." No pop band of the past 50 years had a more impressive chart run - both commercially and artistically - than the Bee Gees, and Timeless does a fine job laying out the facts and not muddying the waters with rarities. The shift to the dancefloor and bedroom meant that the songs were lighter and slicker, with Barry's sleek falsetto taking the lead on most of their hits. The baroque pop sounds were lush and moving, equally melodramatic ("New York Mining Disaster 1941"), painfully romantic ("To Love Somebody"), and emotionally devastating ("I Started a Joke"). Starting with their early hit from 1966, "Spicks and Specks," then ending with 1987's "You Win Again," the collection gives definitive proof that the brothers Gibb were geniuses at both songwriting and making records. Timeless: The All-Time Greatest Hits collects the cream of the crop from both their late-'60s/early-'70s baroque pop and brilliant mid-'70s funk and disco-pop periods.
The Bee Gees were impressive enough to have two amazing stretches when they not only topped the charts, but helped define the music of the era. The bands that do have a run of charting songs usually fade away after making a splash, never to be heard from again except on nostalgia tours and cruises. Most bands are lucky to get a single hit, much less a couple songs people will remember.