[Vision2020] Bee Gee Robin Gibb, 62, dies

Mon May 21 03:32:58 PDT 2012

Courtesy of today's (May 21, 2012) Spokesman-Review.

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Bee Gee Robin Gibb, 62, dies
Singer, songwriter felled by cancer

In this 1979 photo, the Bee Gees, from left, Maurice, Robin and Barry Gibb sing at a concert in Miami.

LONDON – With his carefully tended hair, tight trousers and perfect harmonies, Robin Gibb, along with his brothers Maurice and Barry, defined the disco era. As part of the Bee Gees – short for the Brothers Gibb – they created dance floor classics like “Stayin Alive,” “Jive Talkin’ ” and “Night Fever” that can still get crowds onto a dance floor.

The songs, with their falsetto vocals and relentless beat, are familiar pop culture mainstays. There are more than 6,000 cover versions of Bee Gees hits.

Robin Gibb, 62, died Sunday “following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery,” his family said in a statement released by his representative.

The Bee Gees, born in England but raised in Australia, began their career in the musically rich 1960s but it was their soundtrack for the 1977 movie “Saturday Night Fever” that sealed their success. The record became one of the fastest-selling albums of all time.

Despite financial success, Robin Gibb and his brothers endured repeated tragedies. Maurice died suddenly of intestinal and cardiac problems in 2003. Their younger brother Andy Gibb, who also enjoyed considerable chart success as a solo artist, had died in 1988 just after turning 30. He suffered from an inflamed heart muscle attributed to a severe viral infection.

Robin Gibb took care of his health and, at the time of his death, was a vegan who did not drink alcohol.

The Bee Gees sold more than 200 million records and had a long string of successful singles, making their way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“Saturday Night Fever” – actually a compilation album including songs by other performers – represented the pinnacle of Gibb’s career, but he enjoyed more than 40 years of prominence as a Bee Gee, as a solo artist, and as a songwriter and producer for other artists.

The Bee Gees consisted of Barry Gibb, the eldest, and twins Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb. Their three-part harmonies became their musical signature, particularly in the disco phase, when Barry’s matchless falsetto often dominated, and they were renowned for their wide-ranging songwriting and producing skills.

After several hits and successful albums in the late ’60s and early ’70s, the brothers were at a low point when they went into a studio to try to come up with some songs for the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack at the urging of promoter Robert Stigwood.

The success of those tunes changed their lives forever, giving them a string of number one hits.

After several years of chart success, the Gibbs spent much of the 1980s writing songs and producing records for other artists, working closely with top talents such as Barbra Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and Dolly Parton. They also continued touring and releasing their own records.

The band continued in the 1990s, and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

One of his final projects was “The Titanic Requiem,” a classical work he co-wrote with his son Robin-John, that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra premiered in April to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

Gibb is survived by his second wife, Dwina, and four children, as well as his older brother Barry, and his sister Lesley Evans, who lives in Australia.

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In this 1979 photo, the Bee Gees, from left, Maurice, Robin and Barry Gibb sing at a concert in Miami.

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"Words" by the Bee Gees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JECTUQVrvzE

"Massachusetts" by the Bee Gees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XWYefe9EzI

"Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by the Bee Gees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv1ZKJU6-rc

"To Love Somebody" by the Bee Gees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N42bYLoaZho

Rest well, Robin.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"If not us, who?
If not now, when?"

- Unknown

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