Died On This Date (May 20, 2012) Robin Gibb / The Bee Gees

Robin Gibb
December 22, 1949 – May 20, 2012

Robin Gibb was an English singer and songwriter brother, Maurice Gibb and younger brother Barry Gibb, made up the Bee Gees.  The group is one of the most popular and successful 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 Robin 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.  Robin was considered the lead singer but Barry did sing lead on several of the groups hits, so he might say otherwise.  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 time Robin released a handful of moderately successful solo albums.  He also released solo albums during the early years of the Bee Gees.  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.   On May 20, 2012, Robin Gibb died of cancer surrounded by family.

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