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Barry Gibb’s Early Years
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The Bee Gees' Beginnings
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The Bee Gees Take Off in the 1960s
After that, there was no turning back: their popularity around the world soared as they churned out sweetly harmonized hits like “Massachusetts” and “Words.”
“We’re fully aware that our music is almost totally commercial. We write for the present,” Barry told PEOPLE.
But fame took a toll, too, and the brothers briefly split up at the end of 1969.
04of 10Barry Gibb Marries Linda GrayKeystone/Hulton Archive/GettyAfter he finalized his divorce from first wife Maureen Bates, whom he wed in 1966, Gibb tied the knot with former Miss Edinburgh Linda Gray (pictured) on Sept. 1, 1970.
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Barry Gibb Marries Linda Gray
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After he finalized his divorce from first wife Maureen Bates, whom he wed in 1966, Gibb tied the knot with former Miss Edinburgh Linda Gray (pictured) on Sept. 1, 1970.
05of 10Barry Gibb’s FamilyChris Barham/ANL/ShutterstockTogether, Barry and Linda have five children now ranging in age from 31 to 49: Stephen, Ashley, Travis, Michael and Alexandra.
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Barry Gibb’s Family
Chris Barham/ANL/Shutterstock
Together, Barry and Linda have five children now ranging in age from 31 to 49: Stephen, Ashley, Travis, Michael and Alexandra.
06of 10The Bee Gees in the 1970sThe Bee Gees.GettyThe ’70s saw the band take a musical turn, as theirSaturday Night Feversoundtrack released in 1977 cemented them in disco history.“The world wanted to dance,” the brothers told PEOPLE at the time. “Lawyers and judges and people who never buy albums, normally, were buyingSaturday Night Feverand taking dance lessons.“The album topped theBillboard 200in 1978 and won the group three Grammys, including album of the year. Casey Kasem ofAmerican Top 40dubbed them the “brothers with the platinum tonsils.“But with fame comes backlash, and former fans turned on the group as the disco boom faded.“To have the music loved so much and then rejected out of hand within a decade …,” Barry told PEOPLE in 1997. “You’re determined to show it’s not over.”
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The Bee Gees in the 1970s
The Bee Gees.Getty
The ’70s saw the band take a musical turn, as theirSaturday Night Feversoundtrack released in 1977 cemented them in disco history.
“The world wanted to dance,” the brothers told PEOPLE at the time. “Lawyers and judges and people who never buy albums, normally, were buyingSaturday Night Feverand taking dance lessons.”
The album topped theBillboard 200in 1978 and won the group three Grammys, including album of the year. Casey Kasem ofAmerican Top 40dubbed them the “brothers with the platinum tonsils.”
But with fame comes backlash, and former fans turned on the group as the disco boom faded.
“To have the music loved so much and then rejected out of hand within a decade …,” Barry told PEOPLE in 1997. “You’re determined to show it’s not over.”
07of 10Barry Gibb with Andy GibbRobin Platzer/GettyAs the brothers' star rose so did that of their younger brother Andy (center, with Maurice), who sometimes performed with the trio and even released several hits of his own, including “I Just Want to Be Your Everything.” However, the singer died on March 10, 1988, from complications related to drug addiction.He was 30 years old.“Andy is out there, somewhere,” Barry, who wrote many of his brother’s songs, told PEOPLE in 1989. “When you lose someone close to you, your concept of death is changed. You can’t believe it is just dust.“Andy’s death marked the first in a string of tragedies that would follow in Barry’s adult life.
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Barry Gibb with Andy Gibb
Robin Platzer/Getty
As the brothers' star rose so did that of their younger brother Andy (center, with Maurice), who sometimes performed with the trio and even released several hits of his own, including “I Just Want to Be Your Everything.” However, the singer died on March 10, 1988, from complications related to drug addiction.He was 30 years old.
“Andy is out there, somewhere,” Barry, who wrote many of his brother’s songs, told PEOPLE in 1989. “When you lose someone close to you, your concept of death is changed. You can’t believe it is just dust.”
Andy’s death marked the first in a string of tragedies that would follow in Barry’s adult life.
08of 10Barry Gibb as a SoloistLGI Stock/Corbis/VCG via GettyThe band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, long after Barry started on some solo work and again gained credibility for writing and collaborating with other stars, like Barbra Streisand on her 1980 albumGuilty.“He is the only person I know who can write songs, produce them and sing on them,” she told PEOPLE in 2005.
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Barry Gibb as a Soloist
LGI Stock/Corbis/VCG via Getty
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, long after Barry started on some solo work and again gained credibility for writing and collaborating with other stars, like Barbra Streisand on her 1980 albumGuilty.
“He is the only person I know who can write songs, produce them and sing on them,” she told PEOPLE in 2005.
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The Bee Gees Are Made CBEs
JOHN STILLWELL/AFP via Getty
“It’s bittersweet. It would have been wonderful for all three of us to be here,“Barry shared afterward, per CBS. “We have mixed feelings. Knowing Mo, this would have been right up his alley.”
He also shared that Maurice’s death marked a true end for the band. “We are not the Bee Gees now, in respect for Mo,” he said. “Maybe the time’s just right for a bit of free flight. Maybe at some point we will do something together.”
10of 10Barry Gibb NowNBC/NBCU Photo Bank via GettyThough Robin and Barry collaborated once in awhile in the years that followed, the Bee Gees officially came to an end in 2012 whenRobin died from cancer at the age of 62.Now 76, Barry continues to make music, releasing a country-tinged album entitledGreenfieldsin 2020 and participating in an HBO documentary about his life and fame,How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,that same year.“After Rob died, I just sat moping around thinking that was the end of it and I would just fade away,“he told theDaily Mailin 2016. But now, he has a different mantra: “Live in the moment. Grab every moment, because you see what happens.”
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Barry Gibb Now
NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Though Robin and Barry collaborated once in awhile in the years that followed, the Bee Gees officially came to an end in 2012 whenRobin died from cancer at the age of 62.
Now 76, Barry continues to make music, releasing a country-tinged album entitledGreenfieldsin 2020 and participating in an HBO documentary about his life and fame,How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,that same year.
“After Rob died, I just sat moping around thinking that was the end of it and I would just fade away,“he told theDaily Mailin 2016. But now, he has a different mantra: “Live in the moment. Grab every moment, because you see what happens.”
source: people.com
