Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 19:08:30 -0800
From: Jeff Wells | Block address
Subject: RE: MY Bee Gees Experience
To: beegees2099@yahoo.com
Reply-to: JWells@PrestigeMed.com

I've just visited your Bee Gees page and read through your entries. I found the story of your first Bee Gees experience (Paying the Price of Love) very similar to some of my Bee Gees experiences.

My first experiences were when I was ages 7-9 in the late 70's when the radio was virtually saturated with the sounds of the Brothers Gibb. Those were fond songs to me, but then I forgot about them until I was in my late teens. Throughout the 80's, I was a Depeche Mode freak, but one day in October 1987 I was riding in the car with my folks and a song that sounded so familiar bringing back vivid memories of my childhood came over the radio. I listened mesmerized to the radio speaker enjoying every bit of the familiar harmonies that were distinctly those of Barry Gibb. The song was over and was announced as "Emotion by Samantha Sang". I knew then that there was a virtual treasure trove of Bee Gees material that I could start digging up. I was at the time a Bee Gees ignorant. I decided to research the history of the Bee Gees, find out how many records that they had made, and collect all of the songs that I remember.

Not long after this momentous experience, I bought the newly released album "ESP". It took some time to get used to, but I enjoyed it very much. I then got their greatest hits album and Saturday Night Fever (all of the songs that I fondly remembered from foggy childhood memories). It was pure heaven to hear those songs again at a time when it was so uncool. Throughout 1988 I was totally into the Bee Gees. I looked for magazines with the Bee Gees, books with the Bee Gees, Billboard books with Bee Gees facts, etc. I was very isolated because #1 I was a teenage guy, #2 the Bee Gees were so uncool (the 80's were the backlash era), #3my friends would not understand my intense interest. So, I kept it to myself for a couple of years. In 89, they released "One" which brought them a top 10 hit and extensive media coverage. I went to my first Bee Gees concert in Los Angeles for the "One for All 1989" tour.

In the 90's, I grew up more and was not ashamed to share their music with my friends and co-workers. Their 1991 album "High Civilization" was a big disappointment, but their 1993 album "Size Isn't Everything" allowed me to share their music and "convert" some friends into casual Bee Gees fans (one of them is now a lifetime fan).

When "Still Waters" was released in 1997 there was a media blitz on the Bee Gees. I was in heaven again. I had the album expressed to me from a friend in Ireland two months before the US release. I immediately was pleased with the body of work and did not hesitate to share it with my friends. When their album charted in Billboard in May, it blasted onto the chart at #11! I went crazy! So many fans were now opening their ears and arms once again to the brilliant Brothers Gibb. My best friend is a Columbia Records recording artist whom I shared the album with and he was so impressed that he got the album too. The Bee Gees were the talk of my friends, and to this day, I do everything possible to remove the "disco" label from the Bee Gees. I remind my friends that they started their career in the 60's with Beatle-esque rock songs, evolved in the early 70's as a mellow ballad band, revitalized themselves in the mid 70's with R&B and Soul sounds and became a phenomena in the late 70's, then became writers and producers in the 80's (they just didn't disappear), and began recording again in the late 80's to the present although the US has ignored them until around 1997. I have even held a Bee Gees Night at my place where nothing but their 60's hits were played then we all sat by the TV to watch the excellent "VH1 Legends" episode featuring the Bee Gees. That was a very satisfying moment.

So, at this time I am just browsing for Bee Gees news about their forthcoming album. I think that next year will be huge for them with a new album, possibly some live performances, a new detailed biography, a possible TV miniseries, and possibly a new greatest hits album so that would make an incredible year. I actually went to see them perform the ONO show in Sydney Australia last March. It was the show of a lifetime to see them perform where they began their recording career in the beautiful new Olympic stadium packed with 66,000 other Bee Gees fans!

Right now I am visiting ebay daily looking for Bee Gees stuff. My main interest is collecting American Top 40 shows from March 1978. I recently won the auction for the March 18, 1978 show which is regarded as the week where the Bee Gees were at the peak of their career. To hear Kasey Kasem count down the top 40 songs that week is amazing. The Bee Gees were responsible for 6 songs on the countdown. The coolest part is when the top five songs are played. Andy Gibb is at #5, "Emotion" (featuring Barry Gibb) is at #3, Stayin' Alive is at #2 and Night Fever is #1. No other recording artist has dominated the charts like that since then (over 22 years). So many people do not realize just how dominant that they were during this period.

Anyway, I could go on and on. I figured that you would appreciate where I'm coming from as it seems that you have been through similar experiences. I hope to keep in touch with you to swap stories and news.

Sincerely,
Jeff