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.

 

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Teri DeSario--Yes, I'm Ready (1979)

     Of all of the artists I've blogged about over the last 18 months, Teri DeSario has to be one of the most interesting artist from a creative standpoint.
     Upon graduation from high school in Miami, she played recorder and harp for a medieval/renaissance group called, the "Early Music Consort", from 1970 to 1977. She wanted to expand into other music, so along with husband Bill Purse, they formed "Abacus" which explored folk and jazz. It was during this time she was approached by Barry Gibb who had heard some of her music was knocked out by her voice. He had written a song for her, "Ain't nothing Gonna Keep Me From You".
     The song made it to the charts, and it was during this time that she bumped into an old high school mate, Harry Wayne Casey from KC and the Sunshine Band. They decided to record together and the result was a #2 hit for them in late 79/early 80. "Yes, I'm Ready", was originally recorded by Barbara Mason in 1965.
     They went on to record another duet, "Dancin' In the Streets" in the summer of 1980, she went into Contemporary Christian Music for a number of years before leaving that as well.

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The Bee Gees--Night Fever (1978)

     Today is Barry Gibb's 65th birthday, and it's time to give him some props....

      I've never been a fan of 70's era disco, but it's not without it's charms, and although it turned into a record producer's version of spam, at it's peak it could be innovative (not to mention fun). Enter The Bee Gees. They had a long career by the time and at least to the public had dissipated from the popular music landscape. During this time however, they had continued to put out quality albums, and write...for themselves and for others. For those who were fans, the beginnings of what was to be the disco era Bee Gees could be found in the 1974 album, "Mr. Natural", when they shed the previous styles that they had been known for and sang in a looser style, with the tempo and tenor of the album was more upbeat.

      The next album, 1975's "Main Course" was the breakthrough. For those who think that Saturday Night Fever "made" the Bee Gees need to go here. They fully embraced the surfacing disco movement, but with a major difference. The Gibb brothers' writing skills had always been good, but by this time a new and exciting musical movement meshed perfectly in a way that gave some intelligence and depth to what was considered just glorified dance music.  

     The real songwriting leader during this time was Barry, and 1977/78 was his year. Consider that from December of 77 to September of 78, the charts were ruled by song written by the eldest brother. This is the list of No. 1's he had during this time:
  
     "How Deep is Your Love"
     "Stayin' Alive"
      "(Love is) Thicker Than Water"
      "Night Fever"
      "If I Can't Have You"
     "Shadow Dancing"
     "Grease"

     In fact, Gibb holds the record for consecutive #1's on the charts with six. Looking back 30 years later, there is a lot of dreck associated with disco music, and I'd be the first to point it out. But for anyone who is still not a believer, the Bee Gees (and the songwriting of Barry) was not only the class of the era, but produced arguably the best music of the 70's.

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