Bee Gees single by single thread

I love Emotion. Bought the single. It would have been perfect for Olivia, but she was otherwise tied up with Grease. Emotion would have come out just as the SNF stuff was starting to hit. Great timing, though I think the song would have done well whenever it was released.

The Destiny’s Child version was monumentally hideous. A masterclass in oversinging with those awful women all trying to out bellow each other. The song is barely recognisable after they’ve done with it.. I question if it’s even the same melody!

 

Add in the finagle factors, and three Bee Gees and three Andy Gibb songs are in the top 10.

Using only the raw points, Elton's biggest hit was "Philadelphia Freedom" (#61) and McCartney's was "Silly Love Songs" (#138).

 

Odd that all of these songs come from a fairly small sliver of the decade, time wise. Nothing from 1970-1975? Most are from 1978-9.

 

Turnover on the Hot 100 slowed down significantly in the latter half of the decade. The same was true with radio in general, as it became slower to add new songs to playlists.

 

The Billboard charts underwent changes in tabulation several times in it's history which affected statistics. Add to that the fact that songs tended to rise and fall quickly in the first half of the decade. There were a few years in the mid 70s where more than 30 singles hit the top.

 

A lot of people thought this was a new Bee Gees song and Samantha Sang wasn't too happy about it.

It got played so much on radio that I got sick of hearing it.

Even today, you can still find many sealed copies of the album. Larry Uttal probably thought it would sell through the roof.

 

Bee Gees were huge in 1978, but the songs they wrote and/or produced were bigger. I think. "If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman, "More Than A Woman" by Tavares, "Grease" by Frankie Valli, and Andy's solo hits, were also prominent the year.

 

Emotion is a beautiful song but so overdone it is almost a parody today,one barely knows there was a singer other than Barry on it.
It was another magical moment in its day but the Samantha Sang original has not aged well I think.

 

I never realized this one came out so early - I always thought of it as a late-'78 hit.

"Emotion" is a beautiful, high-drama, very R&B ballad - not surprised Destiny's Child was able to have a hit with it decades later. Sang gives a lovely, smokey, exceedling sexy performance on the song, but unfortunately she couldn't quite bring the drama the chorus required. Enter a multitracked Barry Gibb, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he made this thing a huge hit with that high-drama chorus, but also a curse because he totally blows Samantha off of her own record, poor thing.

I think if you want to know the genesis of Bee Gees fatigue, "Emotion" might be it. It was bad enough they were having their own hits, and hits with Andy, but now that reedy falsetto was suddenly blowing up on sexy songs cooed by women. Too much!

We had the single when I was a kid. I loved it and still do. It's a great melody, and the production is fine. I would however love to hear a version that was cooed all the way through, sans Bee Gees falsetto. I think it woulda been a hit...just not as big a one. Sang sounds a bit like a sexier, sultrier Helen Reddy, with that sometimes-swallowed quality to her vocal, but the effect isn't quite as pronounced as with Reddy. I'm actually surprised she didn't crack the top 10 after this - she had a great voice for adult contemporary, although listening to her cover of the old Gibb tune "Charade", she made some...um...unfortunate vocal arrangement and phrasing choices I think.

 

Unit sales peaked around '78/'79, before the recession kicked in. So I'm not surprised '77-'79 saw a peak in monster hits as well. I don't think we'd reach late-'70s unit sales figures again until 1990, and that was in part thanks to enormous catalog sales - people rebuying old albums on CD and, to a lesser extent, cassette.

 

Fantastic melody - just like Andy's "I Just Want To Be Your Everything", I was too young to realize all these songs that I loved were written and produced by the same brothers!

 

Samantha Sang and the Bee Gees went way back.

Under the name Cheryl Gray, she recorded a few singles in Australia. Moving to England, she signed with Robert Stigwood, who changed her stage name to Samantha Sang (she has Chinese roots, and Sang is a name from that side of her family). In 1969, Barry Gibb produced two songs he and Maurice wrote during the period when Robin was no longer a Bee Gee, but Barry and Maurice still were. Those songs, "The Love of a Woman" and "Don't Let It Happen Again," were issued as a 45 by UK Parlophone and US Atco; the latter appears not to exist except as a promo. Later in 1969, Sang recorded two more Barry-Maurice songs for a possible followup single, but they were never released. Sang then had to leave England and return to Australia because of visa issues.

Between 1970 and 1976, Sang didn't release much material. She was with Polydor in Australia, but as best as I can tell, she had two singles, one of which was also a promo in the States, and an album.

In 1977, she re-connected with Barry Gibb, visiting him in France during the Saturday Night Fever sessions. He then sent her a demo of "(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away." About a month later, Sang flew to Miami and, instead of recording that song, Barry gave her a new song called "Emotion." Interestingly, this song was released as "Emotions" (plural) in the UK, but as a singular title everywhere else.

Considering that Sang was a free agent when she made "Emotion," it's interesting that she ended up on Larry Uttal's Private Stock label rather than RSO. Joe Brennan theorizes that it was part of the licensing deal that allowed "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy & the Big Apple Band, a Private Stock master, to appear on the SNF soundtrack album. However she ended up on that label, this likely hurt Sang's career, because Uttal was a singles man and had never fully adapted to 1970s industry reality that albums were where the money was. Even though Private Stock had two huge hit singles in 1978 -- "Emotion" and the Michael Zager Band dance-floor smash "Let's All Chant," which sold a lot of 12-inch singles -- the label didn't survive to the end of the year.

After the demise of Private Stock, Sang ended up on United Artists for one album, and then had a 1981 single on the U.S. dance label Sutra.

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In this period, the Bee Gees could do no wrong. I always knew that, even though it sounded otherwise, "Emotion" was not a Bee Gees record, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps I heard it first on American Top 40 and Casey Kasem back-announced the artist, but it might have already been a hit in Philadelphia before it got that high. I'm just not sure at this late date.

As I mentioned with "How Deep Is Your Love," the Gibbs had so many high-quality songs in 1977-78, most of which were all over the radio, too, that it's easy to take them for granted. "Emotion" is yet another one in that category.

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Even though Samantha Sang was a music veteran by 1977, Billboard reviewed "Emotion" in its November 12, 1977 issue under the "First Time Around" heading: "Bee Gees Barry and Robin Gibb aid this silky songbird with background vocals as well as the lyrics. The overall feel of the song is flavored with a distinct Bee Gees sound." Cash Box had "Emotion" second among its non-spotlighted singles in the November 12 Picks of the Week, right behind "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel: "Ms. Sang's bell-clear vocal is perfectly suited to this easygoing tune, co-written and co-produced under the creative guidance of Barry Gibb. You'll hear him among the backing vocalists as well, part of a delicate combination that is already appealing to major top 40 stations."

Basically, the only thing that kept "Emotion" from hitting #1 across the board were other Barry Gibb productions. As it was, the song peaked at #1 in Cash Box the week ending March 11, 1978, between "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" and "Night Fever." It peaked at #2 in Radio & Records and #3 in both Billboard and Record World.

"Emotion" peaked at #5 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. Finally, it crossed over to the R&B charts, where it peaked at #21 in Cash Box, #42 in Billboard, and #46 in Record World.

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"Emotion"/"When Love Is Gone" was released on Private Stock PS 45,178 on or around November 1, 1977, based on when the trades reviewed it. The matrix numbers are PVT 1407 and PVT 1408, respectively (some copies have the latter as PVT 1408 RE on the label and some don't, though all three copies I own have the RE in the trail-off wax).

There are two basic varieties of the 45: First pressings have the brown label that Private Stock used from 1974 to the end of 1977; second pressings, probably after the first of 1978, contain Private Stock's new "New York harbor" label. Numerous pressing plants manufactured "Emotion" 45s; two that are identified on the labels are Specialty, with the letters "SP" after the record's matrix number, and Bestway, with the letters "bw" after the matrix. Copies also came from PRC, CBS Terre Haute, Monarch, and at least one, perhaps two, other plants. I've seen at least 11 different variants, five with the brown label and six with the New York photo label.

Promos have "Emotion" on both sides, mono/stereo, on white labels; they were pressed by Specialty.

"Emotion" was certified Gold on February 9, 1978 and Platinum on April 21, 1978 in an era when a single had to sell two million copies for platinum status.

 

I was 6 and slowly becoming aware of pop music when I first heard "Emotion". By then, I had heard "Staying Alive" and I knew it was by some group called The Bee Gees. Because Barry's voice was so prominent on this record, I thought "Emotion" was a Bee Gees song. A couple of years later, my father purchased an easy listening compilation that featured artists such as Johnny Mathis, Ray Conniff and Andy Williams. "Emotion" was on there as well and it was then that I found out who the artist was.

 

Winter 1978 and The Bee Gees are dominating the music world with sales and chart accomplishments surpassing even The Beatles. This was Barry Gibb's shining hour and boy did he deliver. Knowing his falsetto sound was selling records, he used it exclusively on pretty much everything he touched. Unfortunately, the public became weary by late '79, but for now, he was on top of the world.

 

I am with you on the DC remake,and it falls in with my general dislike of covers that try to convey a different meaning then the original such as Turn The Page by Metallica.

 

By chance, I was aware that this song wasn't a Bee Gees record as well, and I was only 7 years old and not even really familiar with the Bee Gees at this point. The reason why I knew was because I saw the premier of the video clip on some music awards program on TV (evening hrs with family), and even though my recollections are vague- I'll never forget the debut of this song. Wish I could remember what show it was..

 

For my money, Samantha Sang's "The Love of a Woman" is about as good as it gets for a Bee Gees song with all the right touches.

 

Great post as usual! Lots of info I never knew, particularly her history with the group. Interesting about that Michael Zager track as it barely reached the Top 40. I'm guessing the 12 inch sold a lot of copies which wasn't reflected on the singles chart?

 

Wow - the 100-99-98 method really does reward longevity, doesn't it? I think this list is proof as to why bonus points were needed. Is it really fair to say a No. 7 record (I Go Crazy) or a No. 16 (Why Me) was bigger than a 10-week No. 1 (You Light Up My Life)? Probably not.

While bonus points are likely needed, Billboard's method of adding 100 bonus points for hitting No. 1 is ridiculous. It gives too much weight for hitting No. 1, when in reality, there may not be that much of a difference between No. 1 and No. 2 in any given week. I think a more fair system might be something like this:

No. 1 - 110 points
No. 2 - 104
No. 3 - 100
No. 4 - 98
No. 5 -96

on down. That would extra reward for records which made it the highest.

Are these bonus points not enough? OK, maybe. But 100 is way too much.

Years ago I bought a chart book from a company called Chartmasters (not sure if they're still around or not). They devised a system where each week a song was at No. 1 it got more bonus points, because (in effect) it was cut off from moving higher, even if it may have been still gaining in overall popularity. For example, it might go like this:

1st week at No. 1 - 100 points
2nd week - 110 points
3rd week - 120 points, etc.

I can't remember if this method also applied to No. 2 songs that got stuck behind long-running No. 1s for several weeks.

Maybe there's no perfect method, but there has to be a better way of rewarding chart performance without favoring just the songs that were on the longest than some of the systems I've seen devised.

 

I must admit, I never really liked the Samantha Sang version or the brothers version. I actually really like the Destiny's Child version (which I find ironic since I really, REALLY don't like Beyonce).

I remember when that came out lol. It's STILL hilarious!

 

Want to hear something you've almost certainly never heard?

This 1964 Leedon single by Aussie comedian Syd Wayne allegedly features the Bee Gees on backing vocals, on both sides. While there's no confirmation of this (this single's never mentioned on Bee Gees discographies or anything), a listen to both tracks makes it fairly obvious that the Gibbs are singing - Barry and Robin even get a spoken part on the first track!

Side A: "Where's Old Charlie Gone?"
21 - Bonus - Syd Wayne and the Bee Gees (unconfirmed) - Where's Old Charlie Gone [256].mp3

Side B: "She's Apples"
22 - Bonus - Syd Wayne and the Bee Gees (unconfirmed) - She's Apples [256].mp3

Surprised "Where's Old Charlie Gone?" didn't end up as one of the songs the Bee Gees sung on 'Bandstand' - it's very similar to "My Old Man's A Dustman"!

 

Incidentally - the only rip I could get of this insanely rare disc had a layer of static over it (which you can tell builds throughout "Charlie")... if I sent the original files to someone, anyone think they can do a better restoration job?

 

Tavares - More Than a Woman (1977)

Released: November 1977
B-side: Keep in Touch (US), We're Both Ready for Love (UK)
Charts: #7 (UK), #32 (US), #29 (Canada), #34 (Netherlands)

 

"More Than a Woman" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb[2] for the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It became a regular feature of the group's live sets from 1997 until Maurice Gibb's death in 2003 and was often coupled with "Night Fever".

Recording and release
The Bee Gees started to record it from February to March 1977 in Le Château, Hérouville in France, continued it in Criteria Studios in Miami in April, and later in September, the song was finished in Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles.

The soundtrack includes two versions — one by the Bee Gees and the other by Tavares. Both versions are featured in the film as well. The song has been recorded and performed by various artists but in different forms. The song wasn't released as a single in the US and the UK but only in some other territories (in Italy it peaked at number 4 in September 1978). Despite of that it has remained a staple on radio and is one of their best known songs. An abridged live version of the song performed by the Bee Gees in 1997 is available on both the DVD and CD versions of One Night Only.

The song has also been included on Bee Gees compilations such as Tales from the Brothers Gibb and Their Greatest Hits: The Record. The very first British pressings of Their Greatest Hits: The Record featured the song with a mastering fault, with the audio noticeably dipping to the right briefly during the first verse. This was corrected after several thousand copies had been distributed.

Tavares version
"More Than a Woman" was also recorded by Tavares in 1977, and also appeared in Saturday Night Fever and on the soundtrack album. Their version charted at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart.



911 version
In 1998, British boy band 911 recorded "More Than a Woman" for their third studio album There It Is. Released as the first single from the album, this version was the highest-charting cover of the song in the UK, debuting and peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart on 18 October 1998. The song was the band's highest-charting single in New Zealand, peaking at number 8 during its second week on the RIANZ chart; it spent seven weeks in the top 20 altogether.

More Than a Woman (Bee Gees song) - Wikipedia

 

The Bee Gees version