The 10 Best Songs Written by the Bee Gees – That Became Hits for Other Artists
Last October, in “8 Hits From the ’70s Written (And Then Given Away) by Famous Artists,” I included Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You” on the list and wrote, “The Bee Gees wrote so many songs for other people that I actually could have done this whole article about them.” Well, this is that article. And while last time I struggled to find eight good songs to write about by a variety of famous songwriters, finding 10 by the Bee Gees was no problem at all.
I probably don’t need any type of introduction to who the Bee Gees were, and suffice it to say that they had more than 30 Top 40 records, nine of which went to #1. That puts them in a pretty exclusive group, up there with the Beatles, Elvis, the Supremes, and a few others — very few others. But unlike many supergroups outside of the Beatles, the brothers Gibb wrote their own songs, which makes them elite indeed. Then when you consider they had such an embarrassment of riches that they were able to give other artists songs and then those artists had big hits, in that sense, I’m not sure anyone in the history of popular music can match the Bee Gees when you take all of these factors into account.
This week, I’m looking at what are, in my opinion, the 10 best songs written by the Bee Gees but recorded by other artists. Most were, in fact, hits — in some cases, the biggest hits those artists ever had.
1) “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” Al Green (1972)
As a rule, on this list I stayed away from songs that were Bee Gees hits first and then covered by other artists, but my initial selection is the one exception. The Bee Gees’ original version went to #1 in 1971, and Green released his cover on his 1972 album Let’s Stay Together. Oddly enough, Green, who from 1971 to 1975 had seven Top 10 hits and 14 chart records overall, chose not to release it as a single in the US. I’ll be honest and tell you I don’t remember encountering this version until I saw the movie Notting Hill (1999) and heard it used very effectively there, but I have a feeling I’m not the only person for whom that is true. Subsequently, Green’s version went from being a little-known album cut to being used in many films, including The Book of Eli, The Virgin Suicides, and Good Will Hunting, and so its renown seems more due to Hollywood than to its success on the charts. It is unquestionably an excellent version.
2) “Love Me,” Yvonne Elliman (1976)
Barry and Robin Gibb wrote this song and the Bee Gees included their version on their Children of the World album in 1976, but they didn’t release it as a single. Later that same year, Yvonne Elliman released “Love Me” as a single, and it went to #14 on the US. pop charts. It was Elliman’s first big solo hit and second Top 40 record (her first was “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar). As you’ll see below, it wouldn’t be her last hit, or her last song, written by the brothers Gibb.
3) “More Than a Woman,” Tavares (1977)
Written by Barry, Robin, and Maurice, “More than a Woman” was composed for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and although the Bee Gees did record it, and their version is heard in the film, they never released it as a single in the US. The Tavares version is also heard in the film, and it was released as a single. Although it only peaked at #32, their version was extremely well done.
4) “Grease,” Frankie Valli (1978)
Frankie Valli had a long and successful career as the lead singer for the Four Seasons and as a solo artist. Those Four Seasons hits started to dry up in the late ’60s, but then the group came to the forefront again in 1975 with “Who Loves You” and “Oh, What a Night.” As solo artist, Valli had been successful in the ’70s again, too, with several solo Top 10 hits in ’74 and ’75. But solo or with the group, it’d been a good two years since he’d had a Top 40 hit when he recorded “Grease.” Written by Barry Gibb, it was the opening song for the film of the same name, but the director of the movie didn’t like the song because it didn’t seem 50s appropriate; it didn’t matter because audiences loved it. With Barry Gibb singing backup and the legendary Peter Frampton playing guitar, the song shot to #1 in 1978. Despite the song’s overwhelming popularity, it would be the last Top 40 hit Valli would have other than a 1994 remix of “Oh, What a Night.”
Written by Barry Gibb, it was the opening song for the film of the same name, but the director of the movie didn’t like the song because it didn’t seem ’50s appropriate; it didn’t matter because audiences loved it. With Barry Gibb singing backup and the legendary Peter Frampton playing guitar, the song shot to #1 in 1978. Despite the song’s overwhelming popularity, it would be the last Top 40 hit Valli would have other than a 1994 remix of “Oh, What a Night.”
5) “Emotion,” Samantha Sang (1978)
Fellow Australian Samantha Sang had been around a while before “Emotion” became a #3 pop hit in 1978, she just hadn’t been all that successful. Nothing had even entered the Top 100 in the US. before Barry and Robin Gibb wrote “Emotion” for her, though it’s pretty hard to listen to this and argue that it’s actually not a Bee Gees song and Sang is along for the ride. Barry sings the chorus and in fact, it’s his voice that makes the song distinctive. Sang may have realized that because afterward, she decided not to record any more songs written by the Bee Gees because she wanted to make it on her own. She wasn’t successful; she had two more songs that made the Top 100 in the US. but not the Top 40, and that was it.
6) “If I Can’t Have You,” Yvonne Elliman (1978)
As I said above I’ve written about this one before, and there’s such an interesting story around it really never gets old (to me, anyway). For the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Elliman was supposed to have recorded “How Deep is Your Love” which is actually in keeping with “Love Me” and the ballads Elliman had recorded previously, thus suggesting those were her forte. In turn, the Bee Gees were going to do “If I Can’t Have You” for the soundtrack, but apparently producer Robert Stigwood decided “How Deep” was a better vehicle for the Bee Gees and switched it up.
“How Deep is Your Love” as recorded by the Bee Gees became the first #1 single from the album, but Elliman’s version of “If I Can’t Have You” became the fourth #1 off of the album and the first #1 from the album not by the Bee Gees. Listening to it today, you have to think it was better suited for Elliman’s voice, and all in all, I think it’s one of the best songs of the ’70s. It was her biggest hit and only #1 record.
7) “Hold On to My Love,” Jimmy Ruffin (1980)
In 1967, Jimmy Ruffin recorded one of the greatest Motown hits all of all time in “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” and although he had a few moderate US. hits for the label, he was never one of Motown’s headline acts. He jumped around to a couple of other labels in the ’70s, and was in danger of becoming an oldies act when Robin Gibb produced his 1980 album Sunrise, which included “Hold On to My Love.” Robin Gibb had co-written the song, and perhaps because of the presence of a co-writer who was not a Gibb brother, this song sounds less like a typical Bee Gees record than anything on this list. The song was successful nevertheless and was the first Top 40 pop record Ruffin had had in the US since 1967. It was only his second-ever Top 10 hit and, regrettably, his last.
8) “Woman in Love,” Barbra Streisand (1980)
Based on their own success and the work they were doing for and with others, by 1980 the Bees Gees were arguably the biggest act in the world. At the time, Barbra Streisand was, face it, in danger of becoming irrelevant. Yes, she’d had four #1 songs in the ’70s, but two were movie themes, and the other two were duets with younger, then more popular acts (Donna Summer and Neil Diamond), and her sales were no doubt buoyed by the adult contemporary market. Basically, if you take away duets and movie themes, in 10 years she’d had just a handful of Top 40 hits, only a couple of which made the Top 10. Unquestionably she was a very talented singer, but when you think of her work, “trendy” or “hip” are not words that come or came to mind. When I think of her, I think of the type of music my parents liked, not really popular music. In short, she was the antithesis of the Bee Gees at the end of the late ’70s.
In 1980, she asked Barry Gibb to write an album for her, which emerged as Guilty. “Woman in Love,” written by Barry and Robin, was the first single released from the album, and it became and remains the biggest hit she ever had, staying at #1 for three weeks. Oddly enough, reportedly she doesn’t like the song and almost never performs it live. Go figure.
9) “Heartbreaker,” Dionne Warwick (1982)
Dionne Warwick has a phenomenal voice, and she was fortunate enough to work with some of the best songwriters in the music business. Her interpretation of their music arguably made Burt Bacharach and Hal David the kings of ’60s adult-oriented pop music, and though the Bee Gees had all the fame they needed by the time Warwick recorded their song “Heartbreaker” in 1982, no doubt she made them a whole lot of money. Barry, Robin, and Maurice wrote the song together and admitted in some ways they wished they’d recorded it themselves. Nevertheless, they convinced Warwick it would be a hit and let her do it instead. Few people sang about heartbreak better than Warwick, and fittingly this song, with Barry on backing vocals, was one of her biggest hits.
10) “Islands in the Stream,” Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers (1983)
Could a song possibly be successful if the title came from an Ernest Hemingway novel, was written by disco’s biggest act, but was recorded by two country music superstars? In the case of “Islands in the Stream,” not only was it successful, but it reached #1 on the pop charts, sold two million copies, and went platinum. Rogers and Parton had already had pop solo #1 hits in the early ’80s when they collaborated on “Islands,” so maybe it wasn’t such a stretch after all. Written by all three brothers Gibb, Barry and Maurice also accompanied Rogers and Parton on the recording. It would be the last #1 pop song that Rogers or Parton would have.
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MR TADS