Few groups can boast having influence over an entire decade of music, but Bee Gees songs were dominant throughout the 1970’s. From pop ballads to taking over the disco scene, the trio of brothers found hits on the charts for years.
Music is subjective, so a top 5 is impossible to do with a group that had so many incredible records. The 5 songs on this list are some of their best for varying reasons, so let’s get started.
Night Fever
If you’ve ever seen Travolta bust out his disco moves in “Saturday Night Fever,” you’re definitely familiar with this song. Between the synthesizer in the background or the brothers’ voices, “Night Fever” was actually the reason for the film’s final title.
Not only was “Night Fever” one of the Bee Gees’ biggest forays into disco, but it landed them a spot at number 1 that year.
How Deep is Your Love?
Another one that made it onto the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack, “How Deep is Your Love?” was a completely different song from “Night Fever.” Full of melody and heart, the lead brother, Barry, considers this his favorite song that the trio did.
“How Deep is Your Love?” was in the top 10 for an astounding 17 weeks, which was a huge record. The accolades didn’t stop there, however, when the song won them a Grammy award the same year!
There have been covers by other artists since then, from Luther Vandross to Michael Bublé, but in 1996 a cover by the band Take That reached number 1 in Europe. The lyrics are so iconic that the song is still just as meaningful regardless of location or time.
You Should Be Dancing
For the impact and history alone, “You Should Be Dancing” belongs on this list. The Bee Gees left Atlantic Records and put out their own album with a small team, which was a huge risk. Little did they know that they would produce one of the biggest disco hits of all time!
The song is widely regarded as the track that made the Bee Gees a staple in the disco genre, with “You Should Be Dancing” being the only song the trio ever made that hit number 1 on the dance charts.
I Started a Joke
A complete flip from the disco and dance of “You Should Be Dancing,” “I Started a Joke” tells a very somber, personal tale of tragedy. Not only was this song one of their greatest ballads, but it featured a rare occurrence in their music: It only had one singer.
While “I Started a Joke” didn’t break the records and peak on the charts that other Bee Gees songs did, it allowed Robin Gibb to express a deeply personal story with his brothers as background vocals. It’s well worth a listen if you’re in the mood.
Stayin’ Alive
Going back to the “Saturday Night Fever” film comes the opening song that almost everyone on the planet knows: “Stayin’ Alive.” The record was never meant to be a single, having been written specifically for the film, but it ended up crashing through singles charts worldwide.
The uplifting vibe of the song is one of their most well-known instrumentals and the lyrics are a testament to survival, being written about the streets of New York.
“You Should Be Dancing” may have propelled the Bee Gees into the genre, but “Stayin’ Alive” cemented the trio in the disco hall of fame.
Honorable Mentions
Narrowing a list of Bee Gees down to 5 was incredibly difficult since their music was so diverse in style, tone, and instrumentals. With that in mind, some of their other iconic tracks are: “Man in the Middle,” “Jive Talkin’,” “Massachusetts,” and “To Love Somebody.”
