# Bee Gees and Beatles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479 "2010-11-12T20:49:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/61 "2011-03-27T03:47:39Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I suppose that depends on how we’re measuring. ‘‘Good’’ is an entirely subjective judgment. By whose standards do we judge good music? Or more to the point, why _shouldn’t_ we judge good music by majority opinion? It’s not complicated. I measure “good” on my own scale, you measure “good” on _your_ own terms. We judge good music on our own standards. You ask why we should not judge whether music is good based on popularity. The simple answer is that there is little connection between popularity and quality. Many of the very popular musical artists are manufactured and mass marketed to impressionable, easily influenced consumers who financially support the product, thus making the music popular. This goes for all manner of entertainment. Here are a few box office grosses for 2010: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: $300 million The Last Airbender: $130 million 127 Hours: $18 million Winters Bone: $6 million mmm ---
**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 27, 2011, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/62 "2011-03-27T15:27:47Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The Beatles did a lot of experimentation, and they put out some really crappy songs, but they had so many really wonderful songs that I’m willing to ignore “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road”. Now don’t you go dissing one of my favorites. One time Mrs. J. and I were at a hoity-toity hotel breakfast buffet on a Sunday morning and they had a harpist playing soothing music. I was horribly tempted to go up and make a request for her to play “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road”. I still think it would have been a gas (possibly only matched by a harp version of The Doors’ “The End”, complete with spoken parts). As far as Pete Townshend thinking ABBA’s “SOS” was the greatest pop song ever, well, Pete’s circuits have misfired on more than one occasion. I liked ABBA, but come _on_. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/63 "2011-03-27T17:29:11Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: $300 million > The Last Airbender: $130 million > 127 Hours: $18 million > Winters Bone: $6 million > mmm Right, but how many of these movies will be considered classics 50 years from now? I’m going with ‘‘none.’’ Do you see my point? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/64 "2011-03-27T23:55:40Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Right, but how many of these movies will be considered classics 50 years from now? I’m going with ‘‘none.’’ Do you see my point? Honestly, no. And I agree that none of them will be considered classics in '61. mmm ---
**Author:** ![vdgg81](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@vdgg81](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vdgg81)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/65 "2011-03-28T06:27:06Z")
In response to a passage that mentioned _A Hard Day’s Night_ and _Yellow Submarine_ > [@Imasquare](#): > > You’re using some of the Beatles lesser songs in that comparison aren’t you? How about using Eleanor Rigby and Day In The Life instead? Okay, I’ll give you _Yellow Submarine_, but since when is _A Hard Day’s Night_ a lesser song? I haven’t really listened to most of the **Bee Gees** ’ output so I can’t really say much about them. I can say that I live in a country where the **Bee Gees** are mostly unknown as a band and where _Saturday Night Fever_ is more or less known but where nobody knows or cares about who wrote it. Everybody knows the \*\*Beatles \*\*(not to say that everybody likes or loves them). This tells me nothing about the **Bee Gees** but I think it says a lot about the **Beatles**. Popularity in itself is meaningless. Popularity that spans frontiers and generations isn’t. Any cultural artifact strong enough to last has to have something going for it. Fads don’t last lifetimes and I think it’s safe to say at this point that the **Beatles** will. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/66 "2011-03-28T20:03:51Z")
The Bee Gees have their hands in more music out there than most people think. Barry Gibb wrote and produced Barbra Streisand’s 2005 album which went platinum. From the wiki: > [@](#): > > Among the artists who have covered their songs are Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Al Green, Eric Clapton, Lulu, Elton John, Tom Jones, Nina Simone, John Frusciante (who has covered “How Deep Is Your Love” during Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts), Feist, Billy Corgan, Michael Bolton, Robert Smith, Ardijah, Jinusean, Faith No More, The Flaming Lips and Destiny’s Child. The band’s music has also been sampled by dozens of hip hop artists. > > Songs written by the Gibbs but largely better known through versions by other artists include: [Linky](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Gees#Songwriting_success) I think they deserve a little more credit. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/67 "2011-03-28T20:26:16Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > I think they deserve a little more credit. …and you, along with other Bee Gees champions, are welcome to that opinion and have some great data to support it. But the fundamental reality, and the basis of this OP at its heart is: The Beatles are generally regarded as the best, most popular and most respected rock band\*, while the Bee Gees are not discussed in mainstream circles these days or maybe mentioned with regards to disco in mainstream circles, and very well-respected amongst music insiders. Is this wrong? Well, according to Bee Gees fans in this thread - yes! - while others are inclined to say that they were popular in their day but not “important” - similar to countless other artists that topped the charts many times in their careers only to be forgotten a few years on. Is that likely to be their fate over a longer run of time? Unclear - if a couple of hundred years from now, some 20th Century Music Scholar publishes a work putting them in the Pantheon, maybe their legend will elevate. It has happened to folks like Van Gogh, Emily Dickensen and other artists misunderstood or not respected fully in their day. I doubt it - but who knows? _I am NOT looking to argue, nor am I trying to present my opinion, which does not matter here. I am trying, in a simple, generalized way, to summarize “conventional wisdom” such as it is at this point in time…and from that perspective, the Beatles are at the toppermost of the poppermost_\* \*\*mildly obscure Beatles reference. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/68 "2011-03-28T20:28:02Z")
Look, has anybody even _seen_ the movie **Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band**? The Bee Gees couldn’t even _cover_ The Beatles without turning their songs into mushy shit. Case closed. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/69 "2011-03-28T21:42:37Z")
I like the Bee Gees (except their disco stuff, which is sucky disco), and the harmonies are incredible, but they are not in the same universe as the Beatles. The Beatles are on Mt. Olympus, the BeeGees on the highest point in Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/70 "2011-03-29T00:05:28Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > …and you, along with other Bee Gees champions, are welcome to that opinion and have some great data to support it. > > But the fundamental reality, and the basis of this OP at its heart is: The Beatles are generally regarded as the best, most popular and most respected rock band\*, while the Bee Gees are not discussed in mainstream circles these days or maybe mentioned with regards to disco in mainstream circles, and very well-respected amongst music insiders. > > Is this wrong? Well, according to Bee Gees fans in this thread - yes! - while others are inclined to say that they were popular in their day but not “important” - similar to countless other artists that topped the charts many times in their careers only to be forgotten a few years on. > > Is that likely to be their fate over a longer run of time? Unclear - if a couple of hundred years from now, some 20th Century Music Scholar publishes a work putting them in the Pantheon, maybe their legend will elevate. It has happened to folks like Van Gogh, Emily Dickensen and other artists misunderstood or not respected fully in their day. I doubt it - but who knows? > > _I am NOT looking to argue, nor am I trying to present my opinion, which does not matter here. I am trying, in a simple, generalized way, to summarize “conventional wisdom” such as it is at this point in time…and from that perspective, the Beatles are at the toppermost of the poppermost_\* > > \*\*mildly obscure Beatles reference. Most of us Bee Gees fans will agree that the Beatles are the best group ever. What we’re saying is that comparing The Beatles and the Bee Gees is lke comparing Joe Montana vs. Eli Manning and not Joe Montana to the 3rd sting QB at a bad division III school. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/71 "2011-03-29T11:18:59Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Most of us Bee Gees fans will agree that the Beatles are the best group ever. > What we’re saying is that comparing The Beatles and the Bee Gees is lke comparing Joe Montana vs. Eli Manning and not Joe Montana to the 3rd sting QB at a bad division III school. You know, I won’t argue that analogy. Eli had a huge moment of glory in the Superbowl and otherwise is a well-respected, solid if not “important” (heh) quarterback, just like the BeeGees had their _annus mirabilis_ during the disco period, along with solid, well-respected contributions and success before and after… ---
**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 29, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/72 "2011-03-29T13:22:40Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > Most of us Bee Gees fans will agree that the Beatles are the best group ever. > What we’re saying is that comparing The Beatles and the Bee Gees is lke comparing Joe Montana vs. Eli Manning Or like comparing Babe Ruth to Dave Kingman. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479/73 "2011-03-29T14:51:07Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > The Bee Gees have their hands in more music out there than most people think. Barry Gibb wrote and produced Barbra Streisand’s 2005 album which went platinum. > > From the wiki: > > [Linky](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_Gees#Songwriting_success) > > I think they deserve a little more credit. You call _that_ a “linky”? Let me show you _my_ [linky.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artists_who_have_covered_The_Beatles) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bee-gees-and-beatles/560479.md?page=3)