The Bee Gees: A Musical Family, 1940s-1950s PDF

Though the Bee Gees wrote and recorded music for over 40 years, their origin story begins even earlier. The three brothers displayed a remarkable aptitude for songwriting and their trademark harmonies even as young boys. And before any of the Gibb children were born, their father was making his livi...

Though the Bee Gees wrote and recorded music for over 40 years, their origin story begins even earlier. The three brothers displayed a remarkable aptitude for songwriting and their trademark harmonies even as young boys. And before any of the Gibb children were born, their father was making his living on stage, albeit on a smaller scale than his superstar sons would decades later.   Hugh Gibb, Jr., was a working musician, forming his own Big Band and playing drums in night clubs, hotels and ballrooms throughout England and Scotland. In 1941, Hugh spotted a young woman dancing in the crowd of a Manchester ballroom. When he got a break, he asked her to dance. She introduced herself as Barbara Pass and three years later, they were married. In 1945, they welcomed their first child, daughter Leslie Barbara.   Hugh soon accepted a steady gig playing at a hotel on the Isle of Man, a popular vacation island located in the Irish Sea between Ireland and Great Britain. It was there, on September 1, 1946, that the eldest member of what would become the Bee Gees was born. Barry Alan Crompton Gibb was given the middle name Alan for Hugh's late brother, and Crompton for Gibb ancestor Samuel "Sir Isaac" Crompton, credited with inventing the spinning mule. On December 22, 1949, twins Maurice Ernest and Robin Hugh were born. First came Robin, then Maurice a half hour later. Maurice and Robin were not identical twins and, in fact, all three brothers had very different personalities. Maurice was the comedian, while Robin was noted for his vast imagination and penchant for writing. Barry was often quiet, but very ambitious. According to Barry, he accidentally poured a pot of scalding tea on himself when he was just one year old, which he believes may have contributed to his personality.   "Although I don't remember it, I must have gone through extreme agony at some point," he said in an interview with David Leaf for the group's 1979 biography. "That might have made me a fighter or more determined to survive or make it. It might sound corny as hell, but it is the only thing I can attribute my optimism to."   Early on, the three brothers showed a strong connection to music, singing in perfect harmony with one another. By the mid-1950s, the boys were borrowing their older sister's records---Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Tommy Steele---and miming to the music using fake guitars they'd made out of boxes.   This hobby would lead to the brothers' very first public performance in 1956 at The Gaumont, a nearby movie theater where children were allowed to pantomime songs on stage before Saturday matinees. The brothers practiced with two neighborhood friends, Paul Frost and Kenny Oricks, calling themselves The Rattlesnakes. Yet just before their big debut, the sound tech dropped and shattered Leslie's record. Though only Barry had a real guitar, they decided their debut would not be thwarted. They went on and sang the song with only Barry's strumming for musical accompaniment. What song it was, exactly, no one can remember, but Robin recalls that the kids in the theater loved it.