For this week’s #MusicMonday feature, I created a video playlist that features The Bee Gees. My friend Ann and I exchanged videos of early Bee Gees (or so we thought) by Messenger. She shared “Words” and I shared “To Love Somebody.”

I found the video for Time is Passing By on YouTube. The video dates back to 1960, and might be The Bee Gees’ debut on TV. This was seven years before they broke internationally. Barry Gibb was 13 or 14, and the (fraternal) twins Robin and Maurice were 10 or 11. To put this into perspective, Barry turned 76 on September 1, 2022.

I’ve also added The Bee Gees’ induction into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. Barry described The Bee Gees as the “enigma with a stigma,” perhaps because of the backlash after Saturday Night Fever. We were oversaturated by The Bee Gees and the songs that they wrote for others.

There are other surprises, including:

• Maurice’s appearance with his former wife Lulu for a duet of First of May.
• Maurice and Robin as contestants on The Dating Game. (The third contestant is champion swimmer Don Schollander, shortly before going to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City).
• Robin’s funeral procession, where his coffin is carried in a glass carriage led by high-stepping black horses. People follow the carriage on foot. Not surprisingly, Barry gets cheers when he walks by.

Fittingly, Brian Wilson inducted The Bee Gees into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. He too sang and harmonized with his brothers Carl and Dennis. Like Barry, he is the eldest brother who has outlived his younger brothers. 😢

Be sure to watch and listen to the whole playlist!