Barry Gibb--Shadow Dancing (1978)

     It seemed for a time in the late 70s that the Gibb brothers could do no wrong. The Bee Gees were flying high on the disco wave that was fueled to stratospheric heights by the soundtrack to "Saturday Night Fever". The three brothers were prolific songwriters and each contributed not only to their own performing careers, but wrote songs for many others during that period that were near the top of the charts as well. So when youngest brother Andy began performing, it wasn't surprising that his star began to take off as well.
      Not that he didn't have the goods. His voice either on his own or with any combination of his brothers fit in perfectly. I am not a huge fan of Andy's music, but found many times that his voice was a bit mellower than his older siblings, and therefore was very appealing. His first three songs that hit the charts in the US went to number one. The next three after that were top 10. My favorite of all of those songs was "Shadow Dancing" which was a true collaboration between all four brothers.
     The downturn of his success had to do with the same market forces that moved The Bee Gees off the charts. His intake of cocaine and alcohol which was masking depression was greatly effecting his work. Finally in the mid 80s after a stint at the Betty Ford clinic, he was beginning to make strides for a comeback. Unfortunately, he passed away from natural causes brought on by the drug abuse in 1988 at the age of 30.