Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb Dies at Age 53

Yahoo! News ^ | 1-11-03 | Yahoo! News

[brneyedgirl]

Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb Dies at Age 53

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - Maurice Gibb, a member of the famed disco band the Bee Gees, died Sunday at a Miami Beach hospital, his family said. He was 53.

Gibb, who joined with his older brother and his twin to harmonize their way to becoming one of the best selling musical groups ever, suffered cardiac arrest before undergoing emergency surgery for a blocked intestine.

He was admitted to Mount Sinai Medical Center Wednesday and underwent surgery Thursday.

Gibb played bass and keyboard for the group, whose name is short for the Brothers Gibb.

The Bee Gees — twins Maurice and Robin, and their older brother Barry — have lived in South Florida since the late 1970s. Their younger brother, Andy, who had a successful solo career, died in 1988 at age 30 from a heart ailment.

Known for their close harmonies and original sound, the Bee Gees are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and their 1977 contributions to the "Saturday Night Fever" album made it the best selling movie soundtrack ever with more than 40 million copies sold.

Among their disco hits on that album are "Stayin' Alive," "More Than a Woman" and "How Deep Is Your Love," and "Night Fever."

The group won seven Grammy Awards. The Bee Gees last album was in 2001, entitled "This Is Where I Came In."

The family emigrated from England to Australia in 1958, and the brothers soon gained fame as a teen pop group.

They returned to England in the 1960s, and their first four albums contained hits such as "1941 New York Mining Disaster," "To Love Somebody," and their first U.S. number one song, 1971's "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart."

The Bee Gees followed "Saturday Night Fever" with the 1978 album "Spirits Having Flown" which sold 20 million copies.

The brothers wrote and produced songs for Barbara Streisand, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick in the 1980s. They also wrote the Kenny Rogers (news) and Dolly Parton (news) hit "Islands in the Stream."

The Bee Gees released three studio albums and went on a world tour in the 1990s. The live album from the tour "One Night Only," sold more than 1 million albums in the United States.

The Bee Gees run a music production company in Miami called Middle Ear Studios.

[brneyedgirl]

How, terribly sad...

[Timesink]

duplicate thread

[tuna_battle]

Oh, come on -- the seventies were GREAT! DO THE HUSTLE -- da, da, da, da, da, da-da-da-da, da, da, DO THE HUSTLE! Van McCoy and his orchestra right? Right?! I'm 28 and I remember this stuff! That's scary. LOL

[ExSoldier]

Oh I don't know....my senior prom in gee....1975! Had a ton of their songs. I sorta grew up with them. This is very sad. Worse, I guess we're getting to those awful years when friends and family start dying. My sister, who is ten years older than my crickety 46, once said that if you can make it through your 40's and 50's then you should make it all the way to the 80's or even 90's. I think that's true.

[zarf]

Boneheaded comment.

A great one has passed. The Bee Gees made art in pop field....pretty tough to do.

He will be missed.

[Iscool]

The end of an era...Their early stuff was always my favorite..

[Types_with_Fist]

Maybe we will now be spared some of those Godawful songs.

That's terrible.

[Wondervixen]

Their Pre and Post Disco stuff was their best. Songs like "Fanny" and "Nights on Broadway" in the '70's and "Alone" in 2000 were great examples of perfect vocal hamonization!

[jwh_Denver]

How, terribly sad...

"In the event of something happening to me"

A not so well known fact is that disco was being played in clubs in New York City but it was the Bee Gees that came along with their gifted melodies and harmonization that brought it into the limelight. The music was pure dancing music and it brought it to an art form as displayed by "Saturday Night Fever". As quickly as it was accepted it was rejected but nevertheless the beat went on into the 80's. I believe the beat was partially to blame as it was the same 1 2 1 2 but other groups could not add to the mix the melodies the Bee Gees brought to it and thus it died.

As much as we all hate disco now, it was fresh and alive when "Stayin Alive" came out. Still one of my top 10 favorite songs.

Farewell

[kipj]

As much as we all hate disco now . . .

I believe that to be an incorrect assumption.

[norraad]

Yes, it's one of those strange things, we all love it, but many fear to admit it, what is that?

[Imal]

Too bad he was unable to manage "Stayin Alive" longer.

While I have never been much of a BeeGees fan, it truly grieves me when people die so young. A blocked intestine? Sheesh! What a bummer!

[RightOnline]

"Yes, it's one of those strange things, we all love it, but many fear to admit it, what is that?"

It falls in the category of "guilty pleasures".

In the '70's, you were generally either into rock or disco. I fell squarely into the rock camp (ok, still do....) as a rock guitarist. Despite my die-hard rocker status, and as much as I loathed most disco "music", the Bee Gees were more than a cut above. I may love an ear-splitting power chord.........but no one could harmonize like the Bee Gees. The fact that they were brothers seemed to give them one mind and two ears amongst them, and when they hit those gorgeous three-part harmonies, to this day they can send chills down my spine. If you're a musician, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

May the Good Lord take Maurice Home.....and may He bring peace and comfort to his brothers and the rest of his family. Deepest condolences from my family.

[Leisler]

Disco's out? No wonder my brown with white piping leasure suit isn't working with the babes.

[Fresh Wind]

I hated disco then, and I hate disco now (by whatever name you choose to call it), but somehow it doesn't seem so bad now looking up from the depths that rap and hippity-hop have sunk us to. Disco was just grease on the slippery slope. The Bee Gees were great in the 60's before they started their descent.

[joebuck]

You are absolutely correct. Although the Brothers Gibb were never really my cup of tea, (I too was firmly in the Rocker camp), I do respect their enormous talent as anyone who truly appreciates music would have to. The BeeGees have been writing and performing their music since they were in their teens and they succeeded in a variety of genres and eras. They wrote for and produced a number of other successful artists also. Their ability to harmonize is right up there with the Beach Boys and was second to none. These three brothers were a huge musical talent and the world of music is much the poorer for Maurice's passing.

[zarf]

The Bee Gees were master craftsmen.

Their songwriting was very sophisticated. and deceptively simple.

The songs written with brother Andy are small masterpieces.

[zarf]

Entirely disagree with your comment. The BeeGees got BETTER with disco and continued to do so AFTER disco.

The earned the title "artist" in a genre so full of mediocre material.

[RckyRaCoCo]

Songs like "Fanny" and "Nights on Broadway" in the '70's and "Alone" in 2000 were great examples of perfect vocal hamonization!

Couldn't agree more. Hated the whole disco scene but like the Beach Boys their innovation in harmonies made them unique conceptual artists. Very sad indeed.