Bee Gees single by single thread

If you combine Cucumber Castle and Robin’s Reign into a double album, you get the Bee Gees’ version of the Beatles’ White Album.

 

"Don't Forget to Remember" is another Bee Gees 45 I bought sound unheard in the mid-1970s. I didn't know which side was the A-side, so for whatever reason, I played "The Lord" first. I thought it was decent, and I thought it fit in well with the "Jesus Rock" that was all over the charts in the 1969-71 years -- songs like "Jesus Is a Soul Man," "Spirit in the Sky," "My Sweet Lord," "Put Your Hand in the Hand," and the songs from Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell, not to mention unexpected hit versions of the traditional hymns "Oh Happy Day" and "Amazing Grace." These served as the precursor to what became known as Contemporary Christian music, though almost none of the "new" songs I mentioned have become part of the canon, for various reasons.

I'm not sure what took me so long to flip my 45, but I eventually did, and I recognized that "Don't Forget to Remember" was the better song. At the time, I didn't really see its relationship to country music, as in the 1970s I was mostly ignorant of it except for those songs that crossed over to the pop charts. It's interesting that, without Robin in the fold, Barry's long-time love of country came out in such a blatant way, not heard this strongly since the early Australian B-side, "Don't Say Goodbye."

This isn't one of the Bee Gees' greatest singles, but it's still pretty good.

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The U.S. trade papers had widely divergent opinions of the "new" Bee Gees sound.

Cash Box listed it seventh in its August 23, 1969 Picks of the Week column and wasn't impressed: "Operating in its new structure, the Bee Gees fade into a country ballad style retaining only a shadow of the team's former singularity. Gently tailored to easy-going pop and teen stations this becomes the group's first 'work' side in some while."

Record World reviewed it this way in its August 23 edition, "Another solid winner for the Bee Gees is this country-flavored ballad that's bound to break through."

Meanwhile, Billboard, reviewing "Don't Forget to Remember" a week later, in its August 30, 1969 issue, was positively bullish, as it put the new song in its Top 20 Pop Spotlight. The magazine wrote, "Exciting country-oriented ballad proves a potent followup to the Bee Gees' recent 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow' and should carry them straight to the top of the 'Hot 100.' Beautiful production work and arrangement."

The charts told the final story, as "Don't Forget to Remember" was the first across-the-board flop for the Bee Gees in the U.S. It failed to make the top 40 in any of the three trades, and in two of the trades, it wasn't even close. In Record World, it spent two weeks at #46 before dropping. In Cash Box, it reached only #63, and once again, Billboard was where it did worst, with a #73 peak. It spent five weeks on the RW chart and only three on each of BB and CB.

As the Bee Gees would not have a new single until 1970, it was an inauspicious way to end the sixties.

In local U.S. markets, "Don't Forget to Remember" got to #2 in Springfield, Massachusetts and #9 in Columbus, Ohio.

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Even though by this time in the UK, all the Bee Gees' group material was mixed to stereo only, the U.S. Atco 45s were released commercially in mono until the end of 1972.

Exactly where the mono version of "Don't Forget to Remember" originated isn't clear. The B-side, "The Lord," is listed as a "CSG Processed Mono Master," but "Don't Forget to Remember" is not. The two songs were sent to Atco on separate reels (more on which in a bit), which may explain the difference. But it's murky. The Atlantic labels are believed to have used the CSG process to create mono fold-downs long after the labels said so. But that doesn't explain the lack of a CSG credit on "Don't Forget to Remember."

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Released in early to mid August 1969, Atco 45-6702, "Don't Forget to Remember"/"The Lord," holds the distinction as the first U.S. 45, not including the two promo-only radio EPs, to use the name "Bee Gees" on the label, without the article "The" before it. From here until 1973, the group credit was inconsistent, with some 45s using "The Bee Gees" and some with "Bee Gees," until the article was dropped starting in 1974. Then it came back again in 1983, only to disappear again in 1987.

Again, three pressing plants pressed this 45: Specialty (SP), Monarch (MO), and one with no suffix on the label, probably Plastic Products. The exact credit on this 45 is "BEE GEES, Featuring: Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb & Colin Peterson" from SP and MO, and the same without the first comma on the presumptive Plastic Products edition.

Three different promos exist:

-- The first is the same pairing as the stock 45 in mono and exists from SP and presumably Plastic Products.

-- The second, made only by Specialty, contains a "Short Version" of "Don't Forget to Remember," trimmed to 2:59, on one side, and the full 3:27 version on the other. The words "Short Version" are in red on the label.

-- The third, which may actually be the second, also came from Specialty. It has the 3:27 version of "Don't Forget to Remember" on both sides, and both sides are in stereo!

Originally, the plan was to release "Don't Forget to Remember" with another new song, "I Lay Down and Die," as the flip side. Atco received both tracks on the same tape reel on July 11, 1969 and presumably gave matrix numbers to both. Before release, Polydor UK decided to put "The Lord" on the B-side instead. But Atco in Canada didn't get the memo, so Canadian 45s still contain "I Lay Down and Die." This unique early mix, with additional backing vocals not found on the Cucumber Castle album version, can only be found on the Canada single (catalog number ATCO-6702). This single is now a collector's item.

The matrix numbers of the sides:
69C-17334: Don't Forget to Remember (3:27)
ST-69C-17334: Don't Forget to Remember (3:27, stereo)
69C-17335 (?): I Lay Down and Die (original mix) -- Canada 45s don't list the U.S. matrix numbers, so this is a guess
69C-17481: The Lord
69C-17538: Don't Forget to Remember (2:59 short version)

 

The song that kept 'Don't Forget to Remember' from the top spot in the UK was 'Bad Moon Rising' by CCR. The same week, the previous number one, 'In the Year 2525' by Zager & Evans, dropped to number 3.

Official Singles Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company

 

There is another country-sounding song on Cucumber Castle, "Sweetheart", which was covered by Engelbert Humerdinck and was a decent hit for him.

However... even if the rest of the album had been crap, I'd consider it almost worth having for the song "I Lay Down and Die."

 

Which song kept it off the top of Springfield MA charts?

Just out of curiosity, where are you getting the local US chart info?

 

"Little Woman" by Bobby Sherman!

A website called ARSA (Airheads Radio Survey Archive). It's only as good as the submitted info, but it gives a rough idea of how popular, or otherwise, songs were on the radio.

 

Each of these singles has an interesting story.

I listened to "One Million Years" for the first time in preparation for this post. I know it's pretty basic, like "Saved by the Bell," but I found myself moved by it. Maybe at a different time, I might just have sit here as I listened, but now I want to dig out my long-buried 45 of the song (I actually do own it) and play it on my stereo.

I can understand why it wasn't a hit, because it kind of plods, and I can't imagine it on the radio next to other hits of its time (very late 1969 and early 1970). But it doesn't mean I can't really like it at first listen.

Like "Saved," "Million" features orchestra overdubbed onto Robin's demo, which again features a drum machine. Originally mixed only to mono, the song appears on West German copies of Robin's Reign in fake stereo. (It wasn't on the album in other countries.) The first stereo mix wasn't made until the 1974 UK budget release Gotta Get a Message to You, and that version had an alternate vocal take. The original version didn't appear in stereo until the 2015 Saved by the Bell anthology.

The flip side, "Weekend," is in mono, probably a fold-down, on the 45, and in true stereo on Robin's Reign.

This single was issued as a promo in the United States on Atco 45-6727 in December 1969. Specialty may be the only pressing plant where it was made. As mentioned, I do own one, but I can't remember when or where I got it. Stock copies are either nonexistent or extremely rare. (None is pictured on Discogs, 45cat, or eBay, and none is listed as having sold on the Popsike auction-result site.)

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"August October" was one of the last songs recorded for Robin's Reign, in October 1969. When the album was released in March 1970, it was issued as the first single (not including the months-old "Saved by the Bell"). The song is OK, I guess, saved by its brevity, but its superficial similarity to "Saved" can't be denied.

Because it came from the album, the 45 is a mono fold-down rather than a true mono mix. The B-side, "Give Me a Smile," was recorded at the same session as "Weekend" and also is a fold-down.

Once again, Atco assigned a catalog number (45-6737) to "August October," but is only known to have released the 45 as a promo. This time, white label versions are known to exist from both Specialty and Monarch. (This one I don't own.) Again, stock copies either don't exist or are outrageously rare.

Interestingly, Robin recorded versions of both "One Million Years" and "August October" in Italian for possible release in Italy, but they also didn't see the light of day until the Saved by the Bell collection.

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These would be the last solo Robin Gibb singles until 1978.

In early 1970, he recorded an album's worth of material that, along with Barry's and Maurice's solo LPs from the same year, was permanently shelved when the Bee Gees reunited. The new album might have been titled Sing Slowly Sisters, and its first single could have been a song called "Great Caesar's Ghost," the title of which no doubt was inspired by Perry White's favorite expression in the 1950s U.S. TV show The Adventures of Superman. But all of the material stayed in the can until the Saved by the Bell retrospective.

 

I like both those songs having first heard them on this that I got in the early 80s.

One Million Years is more complex lyrically and to me a nice song.
August October suffers from being a bit sing song in construction.

I need to to give another listen to Sing Slowly but dayum,the whole tone is just depressing.

 

What is track list on that comp? I saw it recently in the used bin but assumed it was a variation of Best of Vol 2 because of the cover photo.

 

Disque (that is how it is spelled in the centerfold)
A side...

Holiday
I`ve Gotta Get A Message To You
I Can`t See Nobody
Words
I Started A Joke
Spicks And Specks.

B side...

First Of May
World
Massachusetts
To Love Somebody
Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You
New York Mining Disaster 1941


Disque 2

A side...

Let There Be Love
I.O.I.O
Don`t Forget To Remember
Saved By The Bell
Lamplight
One Million Years

B side...

August October
Sweetheart
Railroad
I`ll Kiss Your Memory
Lonely Days
Tomorrow Tomorrow

 

Schmaltzy songs could do really well in New Zealand through the 1960s, 1970s and even into the 1980s. So it's no surprise that Don't Forget To Remember hit #1 on the New Zealand charts in December 1969 - their fourth and final #1 until the Saturday Night Fever phenomenon.

I can be a bit of a sucker for this kind of thing too, so it's no surprise that this is one of my favourite Bee Gees songs. It was still regularly played on the radio into the mid-1970s, which is where I first heard it.

 

This is a truly awesome thread. I remember another thread focusing on album by album but I can't find it even through the search option.
Could a kind soul please provide a link?

 

I like Don't Forget to Remember, but I don't recall ever hearing it as a single on the radio. I only discovered it when I bought Cucumber Castle, and it's a decent enough track to wrap up the LP.

That and If I Only Had My Mind on Something Else, which I presume will be addressed in this thread shortly ...

 

Not being much of an American country & western fan, "Don't Forget To Remember" is simply not my cup of tea. "The Lord" however, is a bit more entertaining. Very much in the same vein as what many other British acts would occasionally do during this period...namely, poke fun at American country & western. Similar records that immediately come to mind would be The Stones' "Dear Doctor," The Move's "Ben Crawley Steel Company," and The Kinks' "Willesden Green."

I'm hearing all of these for the first time right now, and none of them is making much of an impression on me. "August October" stands out slightly because it's a waltz. All the rest move at the same plodding tempo and simply don't sound much different from each other to my ears.

 

The second LP was what had been issued as Best of Bee Gees vol. 2 on the European continent in 1971 (Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy etc etc) a couple of years before the UK and the US would get a completely different vol. 2.

 

"Don't Forget To Remember" ~ The Bee Gees Album By Album Thread

 

In 1969, Puerto Rican singer José Feliciano covered two songs by the Bee Gees that became chart hits:

1) 'And the Sun Will Shine' (originally from 'Horizontal'), UK #25
2) 'Marley Purt Drive' (originally from 'Odessa'), US #70

 

You are a kind gentleman!

 

Both discs are Best of Bee Gees and Best of Bee Gees vol. 2 respectively, packaged into a double album.
Vol 1 is simply condensed pure genius

 

The next single listed on the Bee Gees' Wikipedia discography is 'Let There Be Love', the opening track from 'Idea'. However, I won't present it in detail because it was only released as a single in the Netherlands and Belgium. The release date was March 1970, the B-side was 'Really and Sincerely'. The single reached the Dutch top 20.





Let There Be Love (Bee Gees song) - Wikipedia

 

Let There Be Love is a great song. Dramatic and catchy. Great harmonies and solo leads from both Barry and Robin.

Apparently they included in their set list on and off for a while, like from this 1974 performance:

 

I'm a big fan of 'Cucumber', but I have a country vein or two in me though. Yeap, a shame Robin is not included,
but what I dig ultimately, is the sheer audio quality recording of the material.
I have no idea what studio or gear they were using, but the results are amazing to my ears.
One of my favourites actually is I.O.I.O, and I have no idea what it means at all!
I also really love 'if I only had my mind' very much!! and it's a huge disappointment not having
some Maurice lead vocals........ I love it when he gets a chance, I really dig his vocal.

 

If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else (1970)


Released: March 1970 (US)
B-side: Sweetheart
Charts: #91 (USA)

"If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else" is a pop ballad recorded by the Bee Gees. It was written by Barry and Maurice Gibb. It was the first track on the album Cucumber Castle. A remastered version was released in 1990 on Tales from the Brothers Gibb.

Recording
"If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else" was recorded on 25 September 1969 at the IBC Studios in London, same day as "High and Windy Mountain" and "One Bad Thing". On the next day (September 26) they recorded two new songs that were intended for the album, "Turning Tide" and "Sweetheart".

Release and aftermath
The song was released in the US as the follow up to "Don't Forget to Remember" but it failed to make any impact and stalled at #91. Following this, Barry and Maurice went their separate ways, both releasing solo singles with limited success. Barry and Robin reconciled in the summer of 1970 and the Bee Gees reunited later that year.

If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else - Wikipedia

 

It's worth mentioning that this dates from right around the same time that Maurice produced this hit for his wife. It is of a similar tempo to "If Only I Had My Mind On Something Else," but in my opinion (and obviously everyone else's at the time), a much stronger tune:

 

Great song, but strange to release an old song as a single then.

I wonder if that is why Let There Be Love show up on the Best of Vol 2 set? That was always strange to me.