Story of one of the most underrated bands ever.

Trailer here

https://www.youtube.com/w...5tncybE7Wg

Love the Bee Gees. So many wonderful songs and great harmonies.

Watched it the other night...I really enjoyed it. I was surprised to see how they sequenced the drum tracks for the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack...never knew that. Also interesting that they didn't talk about the 1978 "Sgt. Pepper" film either. Despite being lumped into the "disco backlash", The Bee Gees were a great, legendary band.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Watched it the other night...I really enjoyed it. I was surprised to see how they sequenced the drum tracks for the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack...never knew that. Also interesting that they didn't talk about the 1978 "Sgt. Pepper" film either. Despite being lumped into the "disco backlash", The Bee Gees were a great, legendary band.

They made up the name "Bernard Lupe" to credit the drums to, aftewards other bands wanted to hire Bernard Lupe.

Edit: I don't know if htey mentioned that in the documentary, I'm waiting until my daughter can watch it with me.

[Edited 12/15/20 6:40am]

Have already watched this documentary three times since Saturday's debut. So many wonderful things in this documentary, paying homage to this underrated and probably the most bashed in history, I dont think any artist that acheived what they acheived dealt with what they had to deal with. I was also glad this was a full Documentary, two hours, could have been three for sure but I do like how it reached and touched their beginning years and not just the "Fever" years, it actually does a great job dividing the time but also for one of the first times we got the background of that "Backlash" the blowing up Disco records, and how that incident was more than about hating disco, it was more a racial/homophobic backlash. As an usher who worked the comiskey park, an African American himself, they let people into the stadium for 98 cents if they brought a disco record to set fire to and blow up, but he started noticing, RB records all over the place, Stevie, Donny Hathaway, Aretha etcc..and he was saying "thats not disco". The Bee Gees got caught in this movement of things like "Disco Duck" being equated to "More than a woman", I mean break down those Bee Gee so called disco records and you have the greatest written songs of an era, that easily could be performed acoustic and be just as good. I also like the inclusion of Andy and his work and quick success but even quicker fall, sadly in 1988, it was annouced he would be joining the group officially, but sadly he would die months later before any of that happened. Very touching are the final clips of each brother and mentioning their deaths, other docs on the bee gees have detailed those things more. And in the end the words of the oldest and only living brother BARRY really hit the nail on the head, of how all of this they wanted to be known as songwriters, for those songs and they did it, those songs still hold and many have been covered even more than beatles songs. But Barry's last words very touching "I would rather have my brothers back than the hits", and that sums this all up, a great group but also we forget a family, brothers always, good times and bad, highs and lows, they dealt with being dropped by labels literally a year or so after selling and having hits, they were the brunt of so many jokes, but they always closed ranks and went on. When BEE GEES could not be on the radio, basically after the fever days and Spirits having flown, as 1980 hit they were boycotting, so they became the writers of others hits and worked it back and got the respect they always deserved and still deserve more. I think a more in depth look into reissuing alot of their catalog, good luck finding Bee Gee albums and not having to pay a lot for just one, classic albums like "Spirits" and "Children of the World" and "Main Course" and going way back to Bee Gees "1st" and hidden gems like "ODESSA" there was an effort to do deluxe releases then it just stopped and these albums went out of print, also out of print all of Andys albums. So i think they deserve to get some reissues happening and maybe this is step one to doing that again.

I would also add that BARRY GIBB needs to be recognized as one of the best songwriters of all time.

[Edited 12/15/20 7:28am]

lastdecember said:

Have already watched this documentary three times since Saturday's debut. So many wonderful things in this documentary, paying homage to this underrated and probably the most bashed in history, I dont think any artist that acheived what they acheived dealt with what they had to deal with. I was also glad this was a full Documentary, two hours, could have been three for sure but I do like how it reached and touched their beginning years and not just the "Fever" years, it actually does a great job dividing the time but also for one of the first times we got the background of that "Backlash" the blowing up Disco records, and how that incident was more than about hating disco, it was more a racial/homophobic backlash. As an usher who worked the comiskey park, an African American himself, they let people into the stadium for 98 cents if they brought a disco record to set fire to and blow up, but he started noticing, RB records all over the place, Stevie, Donny Hathaway, Aretha etcc..and he was saying "thats not disco". The Bee Gees got caught in this movement of things like "Disco Duck" being equated to "More than a woman", I mean break down those Bee Gee so called disco records and you have the greatest written songs of an era, that easily could be performed acoustic and be just as good. I also like the inclusion of Andy and his work and quick success but even quicker fall, sadly in 1988, it was annouced he would be joining the group officially, but sadly he would die months later before any of that happened. Very touching are the final clips of each brother and mentioning their deaths, other docs on the bee gees have detailed those things more. And in the end the words of the oldest and only living brother BARRY really hit the nail on the head, of how all of this they wanted to be known as songwriters, for those songs and they did it, those songs still hold and many have been covered even more than beatles songs. But Barry's last words very touching "I would rather have my brothers back than the hits", and that sums this all up, a great group but also we forget a family, brothers always, good times and bad, highs and lows, they dealt with being dropped by labels literally a year or so after selling and having hits, they were the brunt of so many jokes, but they always closed ranks and went on. When BEE GEES could not be on the radio, basically after the fever days and Spirits having flown, as 1980 hit they were boycotting, so they became the writers of others hits and worked it back and got the respect they always deserved and still deserve more. I think a more in depth look into reissuing alot of their catalog, good luck finding Bee Gee albums and not having to pay a lot for just one, classic albums like "Spirits" and "Children of the World" and "Main Course" and going way back to Bee Gees "1st" and hidden gems like "ODESSA" there was an effort to do deluxe releases then it just stopped and these albums went out of print, also out of print all of Andys albums. So i think they deserve to get some reissues happening and maybe this is step one to doing that again.

I would also add that BARRY GIBB needs to be recognized as one of the best songwriters of all time.

[Edited 12/15/20 7:28am]

No only has no artist achived what they dead then delt with what they had to deal with. No artist achived what they did in 1978 period. They wrote/produced/performed on the The #1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 19, 45 most popular songs of the year. Nobody else has remotely come close to doing that.

I gotta see this!

SPYZFAN1 said:

Also interesting that they didn't talk about the 1978 "Sgt. Pepper" film either.

After the first day of filming,the brothers told their manager that they changed their minds and wanted out of the project.Unfortunately,it was too late.The contracts had been signed and there was no backing out of it I don't think that the movie is great,but some of the musical performances are excellent.

Children Of The World,released in 1976,is my favorite Bee Gees album

alandail said:

No artist achived what they did in 1978 period. They wrote/produced/performed on the The #1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 14, 19, 45 most popular songs of the year.

here's a Billboard Top 10 chart from April 8,1978.In addition to their own songs at the Number One and Number Two position,they wrote three other songs on this chart: "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman, "Emotion" by Samantha Sang and "Love Is Thicker Than Water" by their brother Andy Gibb.They were dominating that year!

1 1 NIGHT FEVER –•– The Bee Gees (RSO) -10 (4 weeks at #1) (1)
2 2 STAYIN’ ALIVE –•– The Bee Gees (RSO) -18 (1)
3 3 LAY DOWN SALLY –•– Eric Clapton (RSO) -14 (3)
4 4 CAN’T SMILE WITHOUT YOU –•– Barry Manilow (Arista) -10 (4)
5 6 IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU –•– Yvonne Elliman (RSO) -11 (5)
6 5 EMOTION –•– Samantha Sang (Private Stock) -21 (3)
7 10 DUST IN THE WIND –•– Kansas (Kirshner) -11 (7)
8 8 (Love Is) THICKER THAN WATER –•– Andy Gibb (RSO) -23 (1)
9 9 THUNDER ISLAND –•– Jay Ferguson (Asylum) -17 (9)
10 11 JACK AND JILL –•– Raydio (Arista) -13 (10)

I agree with you Soul....the movie was a dud, but it's a funny time capsule from that era. It didn't help Peter Frampton's sinking popularity either (lol). Strangely enough, I actually enjoyed the double album soundtrack.

Its such an interesting documentary and a lot i had remembered from some other docs they did but this is the best one with great footage and even more details. I think one big takeaway was Barry saying if we were not brothers but just three guys in a group we never would have last through the first split when Robin left way back in 1969 when it became a battle between Robin and Barry so Robin left for about 18 months. And think what was born when they regrouped, "Lonely Days" which was an ode to John Lennon, and "How can you mend a broken heart", and even with this they still were having trouble catching a break and struggling, so came the suggestion from Eric Clapton that they should go to Miami where he just completed 461 Ocean BLVD, as he said "I always felt they were an RB group and needed to discover that" And from that came working with Arif Mardin and "Jive Talkin" and the Main Course record and that was the beginning of a second chapter of their career. And yes that time when Fever was out and Andy was out and then Spirits the album came out, they were untouchable, and I think people now who think streaming numbers equate to what that WAS, it is not even in the ball park. Selling records people actually buying the singles the albums etc...going to the stores and getting it, getting the airplay this was a total dominance of a time never seen again on that level.

SoulAlive said:

SoulAlive said:

I gotta see this!

SPYZFAN1 said:

I agree with you Soul....the movie was a dud, but it's a funny time capsule from that era. It didn't help Peter Frampton's sinking popularity either (lol). Strangely enough, I actually enjoyed the double album soundtrack.

it seems like Peter Framptom's career never really recovered from that movie.I enjoy the soundtrack,too....especially the EW&F song.

lastdecember said:

SoulAlive said:

lastdecember said:

Its such an interesting documentary and a lot i had remembered from some other docs they did but this is the best one with great footage and even more details. I think one big takeaway was Barry saying if we were not brothers but just three guys in a group we never would have last through the first split when Robin left way back in 1969 when it became a battle between Robin and Barry so Robin left for about 18 months. And think what was born when they regrouped, "Lonely Days" which was an ode to John Lennon, and "How can you mend a broken heart", and even with this they still were having trouble catching a break and struggling, so came the suggestion from Eric Clapton that they should go to Miami where he just completed 461 Ocean BLVD, as he said "I always felt they were an RB group and needed to discover that" And from that came working with Arif Mardin and "Jive Talkin" and the Main Course record and that was the beginning of a second chapter of their career. And yes that time when Fever was out and Andy was out and then Spirits the album came out, they were untouchable, and I think people now who think streaming numbers equate to what that WAS, it is not even in the ball park. Selling records people actually buying the singles the albums etc...going to the stores and getting it, getting the airplay this was a total dominance of a time never seen again on that level.

‘Spirits Having Flown’ is a superb album.All of the three singles went straight to Number One and I believe that a few other tracks (“Reaching Out”,”I’m Satisfied”) could have done the same,too.

I always thought the title track should have been released. Such a great song.

alandail said: