# Beatles vs. Bee Gees? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232 "2010-07-19T15:49:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ILoveBeatleGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85f322/32.png) [@ILoveBeatleGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ILoveBeatleGeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/21 "2010-07-28T01:55:18Z")
[quote=“choie, post:5, topic:547232”] > [@gytalf2000](#): > > Musicianship/talentwise, Barry and Maurice were both very good singers, but not nearly as flexible as John and Paul. It’s a little hard for me to judge their instrumental skills, since I’m mostly familiar with their disco output, which showcased their voices and the synthesizer more than anything else (except perhaps the bass). Meanwhile, between them, Paul and John alone could practically play a whole freakin’ orchestra, and what George and Ringo “lacked” in variation of instruments (though George’s ability to master the sitar changed the face of music), their individual skills were breathtaking. Actually John couldn’t play nearly as many instruments as George, who (believe it or not) played almost as much to the same amount as Paul. So actually John and Ringo played the least instruments of The Beatles. Just wanted to point that out! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/22 "2010-07-28T02:28:56Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > [The Hee Bee Gee Bees](http://www.google.com/search?q=hee+bee+gee+bees&hl=en&prmd=v&source=univ&tbs=vid:1&tbo=u&ei=3pFFTN-oFM_hnQeWzKCiBA&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCwQqwQwAw) were a lot more musically versatile than [The Rutles](http://www.rutles.org/). The Rutles had Neil “[The Seventh Python](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seventh_Python)” Innes, who was as good a songwriter as any of the Gibbs, and by far a better instrumentalist. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/23 "2010-07-29T06:20:36Z")
The Beatles. So now The Bee Gees and Oasis have to battle it out for second place! ---
**Author:** ![song\_dance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@song\_dance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/song_dance)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/24 "2011-03-24T17:59:24Z")
Typically it’s difficult to compare two bands from different era’s cause the climate of one bands day may be totally different from the next. That being said, we are fortunate with these particular bands in that they shared stage for about a 4 year period with one another, 1967 to 1970. In that time period some of the best music that either produced, which is typically agreed upon by critics and fans alike, making the discussion all the more interesting. While the Beatles were a force in music, I prefer the Bee Gees material as I thought to be more diverse and their harmonies more complete than the former. I must completely disagree with an earlier statement made that the Bee Gees’ songs were “sophomoric” compared to the Beatles. That’s pure non sense, Barry and Robin Gibb were brilliant songwriters and the diversity they brought to the table was fantastic. Then you add Maurice’s melodies to that mix and you come up with gems like Massachussets, I Started A Joke, Holiday, To Love Somebody, Kilburn Towers, Odessa, Lamplight, etc. And the Bee Gees’ were more versatile as well performing rock, r&b, country, classical, jazz, folk amongst others. And cause of this versatility, they were in high demand as songwriters for others in a variety of genre’s. This is were they were so revolutionary and they were doing this while teenagers. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/25 "2011-03-24T18:19:39Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > I like the Bee Gees, but when they first appeared, weren’t they so similar to the Beatles that there was a rumour it was actually the Beatles recording under a different name for a bit of a joke? It sounds like their label tried to make one of their early singles a hit by tricking people into believing it was a Beatles song: [Wikipedia says:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bee_Gees#Late_1960s_.E2.80.93_first_international_fame) > [@](#): > > Their second British single (their first UK 45 rpm issued was “Spicks and Specks”), “New York Mining Disaster 1941,” was issued to radio stations with a blank white label listing only the song title. Some DJs immediately assumed this was a new Beatles’ single and started playing the song in heavy rotation. The trick would not have worked if the song wasn’t a little bit Beatles-ish: it’s a folk-rock song with tight three-part harmonies and the singers are recognizably British. I’m sure a lot of other bands did that but it’s not a whole world away from Rubber Soul, I guess. For the most part, the Bee Gees are associated with disco and songs like Stayin’ Alive, which doesn’t sound anything like anything the Beatles ever did. I know at least one other band (Klaatu) was rumored to be the Beatles recording under another name. What does that prove? People went insane over the Beatles. > [@song\_dance](#): > > I prefer the Bee Gees material as I thought to be more diverse :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/26 "2011-03-24T18:21:00Z")
Let’s not forget the Bee Bees also did dynamite work on the “Dawn Of The Dead” soundtrack. Versatility is sometimes underrated, as is the importance of not only being able to do different things, but to do them _well_. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/27 "2011-03-24T18:31:10Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > How do the Bees Gees stack up against the Beatles in terms of the impact of their music, their songwriting, innovation, vocals, overall musical ability, etc? In much the same way that a stack of soggy toast stands up to a brick building. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/28 "2011-03-24T18:31:56Z")
> [@song\_dance](#): > > …That being said, we are fortunate with these particular bands in that they shared stage for about a 4 year period with one another, 1967 to 1970. > … And, of course, The Zombies recorded during this period too. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232/29 "2011-03-24T18:57:35Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And, of course, The Zombies recorded during this period too. It’s the time Of the season for zoooommmmbieeesss. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beatles-vs-bee-gees/547232.md?page=1)