Maurice Gibb
December 22, 1949 – January 12, 2003
Maurice Gibb was an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer who, along with his twin brother, Robin Gibb and younger brother Barry Gibb, made up the Bee Gees. The group went on to become one of the most popular and successful bands of all time and almost single-handedly sent disco into the stratosphere during the late ’70s. But don’t hold that against them. They have sold in the neighborhood of 225 million albums throughout their career. And their younger brother, Andy Gibb, had a successful career as a pop musician as well. While Maurice was still just a child, the Gibb family moved from the Isle of Man to Australia where the brothers Gibb, or Bee Gees, formed their band. Maurice primarily handled the arrangements, played lead guitar and other instruments, and sang harmony vocals, which of course, the group was very famous for. After relocating back to England in 1966, the Bee Gees began getting noticed. Their early albums were more English folk rock and progressive than their late ’70s disco output, and their first album of significance, 1967’s Bee Gees 1st (which it wasn’t) can easily stand along any number of the great British Invasion albums of its time. The album ultimately cracked the Top 10 in both America and the UK. Their later pre-disco albums leaned more rock and even progressive at times. In 1977, the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever was released, and with several Bee Gees tunes on it, their lives changed. The album sold over 15 million copies, and although it didn’t “invent” disco, it certainly helped bring it to the suburbs of white America. Over the next year and a half, the Bee Gees earned six consecutive #1 singles – holding the record until Whitney Houston came along. After disco crashed during the ’80s, the Bee Gees took a long break during which Maurice worked on solo releases by Barry and Robin while producing other projects. The group reunited during the ’90s and again, the 2000s to respectable success, both on record and on tour. Their final live performance as a trio came in 2002. In his later years, Maurice took up paint ball and even opened a paintball equipment store near his Florida home. On January 12, 2003, Maurice Gibb died from complications of volvulus, or a twisted intestine. He was 53.
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