Top 10 Bee Gees Songs

The Bee Gees singing at a microphone
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The Bee Gees were the most successful artists of the 1970s and the most successful brother pop group of all time. Learn about their 10 best songs in this carefully curated list.

10
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"Lonely Days" (1970)

Album art for the Bee Gees - "Lonely Days"

Polydor

"Lonely Days" is one of the most obviously Beatles-influenced Bee Gees hit singles. It incorporates the shift between slow, swaying verse and uptempo, beat-heavy chorus that was common on the Abbey Road album. The Bee Gees say that they wrote "Lonely Days" and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" the same day after the group reunited following their late 1960s breakup. Barry Gibb said that "Lonely Days" was written in about ten minutes.

"Lonely Days" became the Bee Gees' first top 5 pop hit in the US. It was less successful in the UK peaking at #33 on the pop singles chart. The album that included "Lonely Days" was titled 2 Years On in reference to the time passed since Robin Gibb left the group after their Odessa album. 2 Years On reached #32 on the US album chart.

09
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"How Deep Is Your Love" (1977)

Album art for Bee Gees - "How Deep Is Your Love"

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The Bee Gees were working on the follow up to their 1976 album Children Of the World when their manager and film producer Robert Stigwood called asking for songs for an upcoming movie. "How Deep Is Your Love" was one of five songs forwarded to him, even though the group originally intended to give the song to Yvonne Elliman to record.

The Bee Gees recorded "How Deep Is Your Love?" for the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever and released their own music video for the track. The song became the first of six consecutive #1 hit singles in the US for the group and set a record for the longest time spent in the top 10—17 weeks. "How Deep Is Your Love?" won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals. It also hit #3 on the UK pop singles chart and reached the top 10 in many different countries around the world. Barry Gibb has stated that this is his favorite of all of the Bee Gees' songs.

The British boy band Take That recorded a version of "How Deep Is Your Love" in 1996, and it went to #1 on the UK pop singles chart.

08
of 10

"Tragedy" (1979)

Album art for Bee Gees - "Tragedy"

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For the album Spirits Having Flown—the follow up to Saturday Night Fever—the Bee Gees attempted to move away from identification as a disco act. The album returns to a stronger R&B influence. The album went straight to #1 on the US album chart. In addition to "Tragedy," it included the #1 pop hit singles "Too Much Heaven" and "Love You Inside Out."

The Bee Gees wrote both "Too Much Heaven" and "Tragedy" in the same afternoon while taking an afternoon off from filming the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. That evening they wrote "Shadow Dancing" for their brother Andy Gibb. That made three #1 hit songs written in one day and "Tragedy" was the fifth of six consecutive #1 hit singles for the Bee Gees. The 1979 Bee Gees TV special detailed the recording of the song and showed how Barry Gibb created the explosion sound effect with his own voice.

07
of 10

"I've Gotta Get a Message To You" (1968)

Album art for Bee Gees - "I've Gotta Get a Message To You"

Polydor

The unusual lyrics for "I've Gotta Get a Message To You" detail a man awaiting his execution for killing his wife's lover, and he begs the chaplain to deliver a message to his wife. Robin Gibb wrote them following a quarrel with his wife, but the group intended the song for legendary soul singer Percy Sledge (ultimately, Percy Sledge did record "I've Gotta Get a Message To You" in 1970).

"I've Gotta Get a Message To You" was a top 10 pop hit in the US and went all the way to #1 in the UK. The song was included on the album Idea. It was the Bee Gees' third consecutive top 20 charting album in the US. It also included a second top 10 pop hit single "I Started a Joke."

During the recording of the album, the group was experiencing conflict and would fall apart completely after their next album Odessa.

06
of 10

"Nights On Broadway" (1975)

Portrait of the Bee Gees

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

"Nights On Broadway" was the follow up single to the Bee Gees #1 hit single "Jive Talkin'." It uses Barry Gibb's falsetto extensively and represents the group's movement in the direction of early disco. Barry Gibb stated in an interview on the Larry King Show that the song came to him in a dream. While the song was being recorded, legendary producer Arif Mardin asked if any of the Bee Gees could scream in falsetto during the main chorus to make the song more exciting. From that recording, Barry Gibb learned that he had a powerful falsetto range and his discovery led to its extensive use in later Bee Gees recordings as a trademark sound for the group.

"Nights On Broadway" went to #7 on the US pop singles chart. It was the first time the group had back to back top 10 pop hits since 1968. Both "Jive Talkin'" and "Nights On Broadway" are included on the album Main Course.

05
of 10

"To Love Somebody" (1967)

Album art for Bee Gees - "To Love Somebody"

Polydor

The Bee Gees' manager Robert Stigwood reportedly asked the group for a Sam and Dave style soul song to give to Otis Redding to record and the result was "To Love Somebody." Unfortunately, Otis Redding died before he could record the song. The Bee Gees released their own single version of "To Love Somebody" and it went to #17, becoming their second pop hit single in the US. Since then, the song has become a contemporary pop standard with recordings by more than 100 other artists. Among those are Nina Simone's late 1960s version that went to #5 on the UK pop singles chart and a Michael Bolton recording that went to #11 in the US in 1992.

"To Love Somebody" was included on the Bee Gees first internationally released studio album titled Bee Gees' 1st. The overall style of the record was psychedelic pop. The album cover was designed by Klaus Voorman who was noted for designing the Beatles' Revolver cover. Bee Gees1st also included the group's first hit single in the US "New York Mining Disaster 1941." The album peaked at #7 on the US chart.

04
of 10

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (1971)

Album art for Bee Gees - "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart"

Polydor

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" was one of two songs, along with "Lonely Days," written by Barry and Robin Gibb immediately after the Bee Gees got back together following a breakup. It was reportedly offered to Andy Williams initially, but the Bee Gees ended up recording it themselves. Robin Gibb memorably kicks off the vocals singing the first verse and "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" became the Bee Gees first #1 pop hit single in the US. It also peaked at #4 on the adult contemporary chart and earned the group a Grammy Award nomination for Best Vocal Performance By a Duo, Group, or Chorus. 

Although written at the same time as the song "Lonely Days" which was included on the album 2 Years On, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" did not appear until the next album Trafalgar. The album was a collection of ballads and reached #34 on the US album chart.

03
of 10

"Stayin' Alive" (1977)

Album art art for Bee Gees - "Stayin' Alive"

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"Stayin' Alive" was among the first set of songs that the Bee Gees wrote for producer Robert Stigwood and his Saturday Night Fever movie. Its use in the opening sequence of the movie helped make the song a signature hit for the Bee Gees and forever identify it with the emergence of disco into the pop culture mainstream.

Barry Gibb said that "Stayin' Alive" was written to capture the emotions connected with survival on the streets of New York. It grew out of a song the group had already written called "Saturday Night," but they didn't want to use that title being cognizant of the Bay City Rollers' recent hit "Saturday Night."

While "Stayin' Alive" was not originally intended as a single, it hit #1 on the pop singles chart in the US and sold more than two million copies. It reached #4 on the UK pop singles chart and #1 in many countries around the world including Australia, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa. In addition to its success on the pop chart, "Stayin' Alive" hit #3 on the disco chart and #4 on the R&B chart.

02
of 10

"Jive Talkin'" (1975)

Album art for Bee Gees - "Jive Talkin'"

RSO

"Jive Talkin'" marked the Bee Gees move in a distinctly R&B influenced direction, which was put together with producer Arif Mardin. The ultimate sound was a prototype for the disco to come. The rhythm of "Jive Talkin'" was reportedly modeled after the sound the group's car made crossing the Julia Tuttle Causeway connecting Miami with Miami Beach. The song was consequently originally titled "Drive Talking."

"Jive Talkin'" reached #1 on the US pop singles chart, the first Bee Gees record to do so since 1971, and was considered a major comeback record for the group. "Jive Talkin'" hit #5 on the UK pop singles chart.

"Jive Talkin'" was the first single from the Bee Gees album Main Course. The collection of songs was heavily influenced by the rising disco sound. Main Course also included the top 10 hit "Nights On Broadway" and "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)" which hit #12.

01
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"You Should Be Dancing" (1976)

Album art for Bee Gees - "You Should Be Dancing"

RSO

"You Should Be Dancing" established the Bee Gees as disco stars. It was the third #1 pop hit single by the group and the first to prominently feature Barry Gibb's falsetto on lead vocal. Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills and Nash participated in the recording of "You Should Be Dancing" adding to the dense percussion mix.

"You Should Be Dancing" is the only Bee Gees song to hit #1 on the dance chart, and it spent seven weeks at the top. The song reached #5 on the UK pop singles chart.

"You Should Be Dancing" was the first single from the Bee Gees' album Children Of the World, the group's first album after leaving Atlantic Records, and the first recorded without Arif Mardin after two consecutive albums with the legendary producer at the helm. The Bee Gees decided to produce the album themselves along with engineer Karl Richardson and arranger Albhy Galuten. That team became responsible for some of the Bee Gees' biggest hits.