My familiarity with the Bee Gees is mostly limited to their “disco” phase, entirely due to my age - I was 11 years old in 1977 when Saturday Night Fever came out (though I never saw the movie, I heard all the hits on the radio), and that experience followed me into junior high school.
I’ve since (as in “years ago”) learned that the Bee Gees had been around for quite a few years before they “went disco”, and had been a successful act before SNF.
I’ve recently been looking into old Bee Gees videos on YouTube, including a lot of stuff from their pre-disco days. And I’ve started to wonder about Maurice.
It’s clear to me that Robin had the best voice, but it’s also pretty apparent that he got somewhat marginalized in the disco era. Barry was the “good-looking” one (and frankly Robin was far from “good-looking”) and so Barry got the spotlight during the disco era.
But Maurice is a puzzle. He was a fantastic bass player, and as some of the older videos show, he was a competent pianist. Some other videos have shown me that he could sing some really nice high harmony.
But that led me to wonder … did Maurice ever sing lead? It looks to me like Maurice may have been the musical genius behind the Bee Gees (like, he was to the Bee Gees what John Paul Jones was to Led Zeppelin). In some of the older videos (from old TV performances), you’d hardly know he was one of the “Brothers Gibb”, because he’s got his bass guitar strapped on and he’s hanging back there next to the drummer while Robin and Barry take the spotlight. Of course, as a bass player myself, I understand the mentality of bass players. “I’m just back here doing what I do.” It’s like he avoided the spotlight until the disco era.
But again, my question: Did Maurice ever sing lead on a Bee Gees song?
I love The Bee Gees’ mid-60s through early 70s work and disdain the disco era (“Nights on Broadway” is the only song from that period I can marginally stand). So I’m not at all a Bee Gees expert. I know their first several albums (to me Bee Gees 1st will always be the pinnacle) and not much else.
So I can’t give you any specifics; I only know from others that Maurice did sing lead occasionally, but I don’t believe very often. He seemed content to me the man behind the scenes. Like you, I suspect his contributions in that role were considerable.
Basically we are songwriters who perform our own music. — Maurice Gibb
I’m not sure what songs Maurice may have sung lead on. But I love the early Bee Gees, and I want to put in a plug for an amazing site: http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/
It focuses on the Gibbs as songwriters, as well as their recording sessions, and is scholarly as hell. It will tell you what you need to know. Even more, your jaw will drop at the amount of material, much of it written for other performers, more that was never recorded by anyone, they collectively produced.
A song title like “Now Comes The Pain” - we may never get to hear it, but it sure sounds like something the boys could’ve sunk their teeth into. (Drool!)
I have an old Bee Gees LP from 1968 named “Idea.” of the 12 songs, Barry, Robin & Maurice sing together on 3, B sings on 3, R sings on 4, R & B sing on 1 and M & B on 1 (“Kitty Can”).
My record player got busted 2 years ago so I can’t listen to it for you.
If you flip through the Wikipedia entries for each album, you’ll see that they have the singers listed for each song. Maurice doesn’t have many solo lead vocal credits–not even on Cucumber Castle, the album he and Barry did without Robin–but he has a few. They’re generally obscure “deep cut” album tracks, although he does get the title song on Trafalgar.
I know you didn’t ask but it’s pronounced “Morris.” Fun fact.
Barry did a lot of writing - he had a whole album he did for Barbra Streisand so I wouldn’t call Maurice the brains behind the band. They each contributed. On stage he is not in the background; they are almost always lined up, equally across the stage. Maurice on the left, Barry in the center, Robin on the right.
Maurice and Robin are twins. Another fun fact.
Bee Gees songs - quite an impressive list and you see how much was written for others. Some covers:
“Immortality” by Celine Dion
“If I Can’t Have You” by Yvonne Elliman
“Chain Reaction” by Diana Ross
“Spicks and Specks” by Status Quo
“Emotion” by Samantha Sang and by Destiny’s Child
“Come On Over” by Olivia Newton-John
“Warm Ride” by Graham Bonnet and by Rare Earth
“Guilty” and “Woman in Love” by Barbra Streisand
“Heartbreaker” by Dionne Warwick
“Islands in the Stream” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
“Grease” by Frankie Valli
“Only One Woman” by The Marbles
That’s the question I assumed was going to be asked when I saw the thread title. Some people refuse to believe me when I tell them, but you can sometimes sway them if you pull up an interview with him and they introduce him as “Morris” Gibb. If that doesn’t do it, there’s a clip where he says it, but IIRC, it’s rather NSFW.
Minor nit-pick: “Spicks and Specks” was not “written for others.” The Bee Gees themselves recorded it ca. 1966. I believe it was their last hit in Australia before they broke worldwide with “New York Mining Disaster 1941.”
The Status Quo covered it a couple of years later.
It was even on the 1969 Best of the Bee Gees LP, but due to rights issues, a different song was substituted when the compilation was reissued on CD. The box set Tales from the Brothers Gibb includes “Spicks and Specks,” but it’s a live version rather than the original.
You guys are right; I missed it when I posted that. I should know; my mother is The World’s Biggest Bee Gees Fan In The World (emphasis on purpose). She had the album. And all the others; including the Streisand one (She and Barry are on the cover). I like the fact they wrote the Grease song, myself. You can even hear them singing in the background, briefly.
Also, Bee Gees doesn’t mean Brothers Gibb, at least it did not originally.
Here’s another list of people who did covers. It’s 4 pages long:
I think you will find that that is the standard British-English (and probably also Australian-English) way to pronounce the name. It is only Americans who pronounce it the French way.
And as long as we’re at it, it should be pointed out that the guys we know as Ray and Dave Day-veez here in the States are called Ray and Dave Davis in their native land.
Maurice was a very good musician, but was uncomfortable in the spotlight. He preferred staying in the background. He managed the band when they toured, working out arrangements and that sort of thing. He was also a tinkerer. He was constantly checking out new music and experimenting with different sounds.
He was also a peacemaker, and acted as a catalyst which allowed his two alpha male brothers to work together. Without his temperate personality, Robin and Barry would have undoubtedly remained estranged from each other.
Un-fun fact: He was a recovering alcoholic, and remained tight with his AA group until his death.
Fun fact: Mo’s daughter, Samantha, toured with her cousin (Barry’s son, Stephen) and her uncle Barry last year. She’s also a gifted musician and has a really nice voice.
