Three brothers who kept changing their sound

The Bee Gees began as a family act on the other side of the world from where they became famous. Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb were born on the Isle of Man and lived in Chorlton, Manchester, where in 1955 they formed a skiffle and rock and roll group called the Rattlesnakes. The family then moved to Queensland, Australia, first to Redcliffe and later to Cribb Island. There the brothers had their first chart successes as the Bee Gees, before returning to Britain in January 1967 under producer Robert Stigwood.

Their sound rested on tight three-part harmony. Robin's clear, vibrato-heavy lead marked their early hits, and Barry's R&B falsetto became the signature of the later 1970s. They wrote their own material and also wrote and produced hits for other artists. The 1975 album Main Course moved them toward a disco sound, and songs like “Nights on Broadway” and “Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)” belong to that turn.

Then came Saturday Night Fever in 1977. The film and its soundtrack had a cultural impact around the world and pulled disco into the mainstream, and the group won five Grammys for it, including Album of the Year. “How Deep Is Your Love” comes from that period. Spirits Having Flown followed in 1979 and carried songs such as “Love You Inside Out”. By the early 1980s their popularity had cooled, but a comeback began in the UK toward the end of the decade.

Nine Hot 100 number ones make them the third most successful band in Billboard chart history, behind the Beatles and the Supremes, and they entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. After Maurice died suddenly in 2003, Barry and Robin stopped performing as the group. Robin announced a reunion in 2009, but died in 2012. Estimates of their sales run from 120 million to 250 million records. Few groups have changed styles so often and stayed so unmistakable.