WISH YOU WERE HERE
BEE GEES
SONGWRITERS: BARRY
GIBB; MAURICE GIBB & ROBIN GIBB
COUNTRY: U. K.
ALBUM: ONE
LABEL: WARNER BROS RECORDS
GENRE: DISCO
YEAR: 1989
The Bee Gees were a music group formed in
1958, featuring brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The
trio were especially successful as a popular music act in the late 1960s and
early 1970s, and later as prominent performers of the disco music era in
the mid- to late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight
harmonies; Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals
were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid- to late 1970s and
1980s. The
Bee Gees wrote all of their own hits, as well as writing and producing several
major hits for other artists. The Bee Gees have occasionally
been referred to as the Kings of Disco.
Born on the Isle of Man to English parents, the Gibb brothers lived in Chorlton, Manchester, England
until the late 1950s. There, in 1955, they formed the skiffle/rock and
roll group the
Rattlesnakes. The family then moved to Redcliffe,
in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland,
Australia, and then to Cribb Island.
After achieving their first chart success in Australia as the Bee Gees with
"Spicks and
Specks" (their 12th single), they returned to
the UK in January 1967, when producer Robert Stigwood began promoting them to a worldwide audience. The Bee Gees' Saturday
Night Fever soundtrack (1977) was the
turning point of their career, with both the film and soundtrack having a
cultural impact throughout the world, enhancing the disco scene's mainstream
appeal. They won five Grammy Awards for Saturday Night Fever, including Album of the
Year.
The Bee Gees have sold over 120 million
records worldwide (with estimates as high as over 220 million), making them
among the best-selling
music artists of all time. They were inducted into
the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1997; the presenter of the award
to "Britain's first family of harmony" was Brian Wilson,
historical leader of the Beach Boys, another
"family act" featuring three harmonising brothers. The Bee Gees' Hall
of Fame citation says, "Only Elvis Presley,
the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have outsold the Bee Gees." The Bee Gees are the third most
successful band in Billboard charts history after the Beatles and the Supremes.
Following
Maurice's sudden death in January 2003 at the age of 53, Barry and Robin
retired the group's name after 45 years of activity. In 2009,
Robin announced that he and Barry had agreed that the Bee Gees would re-form
and perform again. Robin died in May 2012, aged 62, after a prolonged period of
failing health, leaving Barry as the only surviving member of the group.
One is the Bee Gees'
eighteenth studio album (sixteenth worldwide), released in April 1989 (August
1989 in the United States).
After the European success of their previous
album, E.S.P.,
the Gibb brothers began to work on the One album in early 1988. In March, their
brother Andy suddenly died
and the Bee Gees took a break until November when they returned to the studio
to complete the album, but this time they shifted to Mayfair Studios in London. The style of One was more melancholic than E.S.P., and
heavily influenced by the loss of their brother. The album was dedicated to Andy
and the song "Wish You Were Here" was written as a tribute to him.
The
album was co-produced with Brian Tench, who had worked with them on the
previous album. Related session outtake "Shape of Things
to Come" was written for the Bee Gees' contribution to the 1988 Olympics
album called One Moment in Time released the same year.
The
album had varying degrees of success across the world. In Europe, the album
reached the top 10 in Germany and Switzerland and reached the top 40 in the UK
and France. North American audiences had still not embraced the
Bee Gees as they were still regarded as a disco group and the album failed to
reach the top 40 in the US and Canada, despite the success of the title track reaching No. 7 in the US and No. 11 in Canada. Other singles from the album
included "Bodyguard" and "Tokyo
Nights". In the UK, none of the singles from the album reached the top 40.
You're living your
life
In somebody else's heart
My love is as strong
As oceans are far apart
A summer song keeps
playing in my brain
And I feel you and I see your face again
There's no escape, I lost everything in losing you
Ahh, I wish you were
here
Dryin' these tears I cry
They were good times
And I wish you were here
Calling my name
But you're dealing with a man insane the cost
How hopelessly I'm lost
I tried to throw your love away
But I can't let go
And so I awake
In somebody else's dreams
(It's not what it seems) it's only a lie
I've yet to decide who's real
The blood red rose
that will never die
It'll burn like a flame in the dark of the night
I'm not afraid
I'd give everything if you hear me there
Ahh, I wish you were here
Dryin' these tears I
cry
They were good times
It's that time of year for being alone
But you're dealing with a heart of stone
Try to kiss and say goodbye
Try to throw our love away
And that storm will blow
Wish you were here
Wish you were here
But you're dealing
with a heart of stone
Try to kiss and say goodbye
Try to throw our love away
And I can't let go
They were good times
And I wish you were here
Yes, I wish you here.
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