BEE GEES: HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART

I finally got around to watching the HBO documentary on the Gibb brothers, "Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" and it's truly wonderful. The film by director Frank Marshall explores this Australian musical family trio from their early beginning singing tight harmonies as children before venturing to Britain to become considered the second coming of The Beatles and then making a name for themselves in the 1970's with their unique falsetto driven dance music.

There is a new interview with Barry, the last surviving member of the group that was made-up with the twins, Maurice (who died in 2003) and Robin (who passed away in 2012), who discusses in the film how they struggled with their fame and success which also put a great strain on their relationships with each other.

With archival footage and vintage interviews, the documentary covers the young brothers initially singing for pocket money before attracting enough attention to become professional. A planned move to Britain lead to Brian Epstein, who managed the Beatles, passing their demos on to Robert Stigwood in 1967. The flamboyant, Australian-born manager/producer took on Bee Gees as clients and helped guide them to charting success in the UK and America with the songs, "New York Mining Disaster 1941", "Holiday", "Massachusetts", "Words" and "To Love Somebody" which had been originally written by the brothers for Otis Redding.

In 1975, Stigwood encouraged Bee Gees to move towards the hot new sound in music, disco. During recording in Miami, Barry discovered his falsetto which would create the distinctive sound heard on the songs, "Jive Talkin'", "Nights on Broadway" and "You Should Be Dancing". Stigwood, who had moved in to film production, got Bee Gees to do work on the soundtrack for an upcoming John Travolta movie, "Saturday Night Fever". Although they were only supposed to do one song, Bee Gees ended up working on the entire album. The soundtrack became one of the best-selling albums of all-time with forty million copies sold and the singles written by the Gibb brothers, "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "How Deep Is Your Love" and "If I Can't Have You" (performed by Yvonne Elliman) all reaching number one in the US. And while Bee Gees became one of the major performers riding the disco wave, finding incredible acclaim and pop chart success, they were stunned by the extreme backlash to their music and rapid decline in popularity near the beginning of the 1980's. 

"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" is a fascinating film (which also touches on the brief yet substantial music career of their younger brother, Andy who died in 1988 at the age of thirty after years of substance abuse) that covers the brilliant highs and tragic lows of a group that I don't believe has ever been fully appreciated for their contributions to popular music. While watching the doc, you listen to one amazing song after another that highlights the astonishing songwriting craft of the Gibb brothers, leaving no doubt about the importance and enduring legacy of the Bee Gees.



And the now seventy-four year old, Barry Gibb has released a new album, "Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook, Vol. 1". This first collection features eleven classic Bee Gees songs that have been reimagined as country numbers. Gibb has recruited several musicians to join him for duets of these tunes like Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow, Little Big Town, Jason Isbell and fellow Aussies, Keith Urban and Olivia Newton-John. Have a listen to a few of the tracks:

MY FAVORITE MOMENTS IN MUSIC OF 2020

I know I'm not the only one glad to see 2020 come to an end. It was a rough and difficult year in many ways but thankfully we had music to help us get through.

And to bring an official end to 2020, here are a few songs that I loved from last year that I didn't get a chance to highlight:

THE RETURN OF DANCE MUSIC

There is no doubt that 2020 was a very challenging year. But thankfully we had music to help soothe us throughout these turbulent last twelve months. One of the highlights was the resurgence of dance music which has always brought joy and comfort during difficult times. This music was certainly important during the AIDS crisis and it's not surprising that dance is the direction that people gravitated towards this year, even though you couldn't get anywhere near a dance floor.

There were several great albums released; Lady Gaga's "Chromatica", Jessie Ware's "What's Your Pleasure", Dua Lipa's "Future Nostalgia", Charli XCX's quarantine-created album, "how i’m feeling now" and Kylie Minogue's aptly titled, "Disco" to name just a few that unabashedly made dance a central part of their sound. 

Vulture has assembled twenty-one of the best dance songs from 2020 that looked back on classic disco for inspiration and delivered fresh, reflective sounds that briefly assisted in helping us forget about all of the troubles happening in the world.

Click below to read the article:

The Best Dance and Disco Songs of 2020

50 BEST CHRISTMAS SONGS OF THE LAST 50 YEARS

Whether you like them or not, 'tis the season for Christmas songs to be played on an endless, relentless loop. You will hear the same songs involving 'ole Saint Nick, a deformed reindeer, a jolly, talking snowman and chestnuts roasting over an open fire many times over from a wide variety of musicians covering these tunes. Some of these versions are certainly better than others but it's really the songs themselves that take us back to memories of the childhood excitement on Christmas morning and the family coming together to celebrate the holiday.

The Christmas Songbook, which are now cherished classics, where largely written throughout the 1940's, '50's and '60's. There are more recent songs that have become Christmas standards like "Wonderful Christmastime" from Paul McCartney, Wham!'s "Last Christmas", The Carpenters', "Merry Christmas, Darling" and of course, Mariah Carey's '90's holiday earworm, "All I Want For Christmas". The Los Angeles Times has complied a list of what they consider to be the best songs of Christmas over the last fifty years. It is a diverse collection made up of songs, old and new, covering various genres of music. Some of these songs I am very familiar with while others I had never heard before but they are all great songs to help celebrate the holiday.

Click below to read the article:

50 Best Christmas Songs of the Last 50 Years

And here are a few of my favorites from this list with some that might be far lesser known:

39. Pet Shop Boys - "It Doesn’t Often Snow at Christmas" (1997)



28. Tracey Thorn - "Maybe This Christmas" (2012)



23. The Jackson 5 - "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (1970)



13. The Waitresses - "Christmas Wrapping" (1981)



5. Joni Mitchell - "River" (1971)

CHARLEY PRIDE (1934 - 2020)

Charley Pride, one of the very few African-American artists to find great success in country music, passed away on December 12th. The eighty-six year old singer died from complications of COVID-19 and he had recently made his last appearance performing during this year's Country Music Awards on November 11th where he was finally honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Pride was born in Sledge, Mississippi, one of eleven children to poor sharecroppers. When he was fourteen, Pride was given his first guitar by his mother and self-taught himself how to play. And while he loved music, baseball was his first passion. Following his older brother, Mack, Pride played in the Negro American League as a pitcher. After being drafted in to the US Army in 1956, he tried to return to baseball but an injury that occurred while he served prevented him from pitching at his best.

Pride soon turned to music, performing country music around the Memphis area when his demos got in the hands of musician, Chet Atkins. He helped get Pride signed to RCA Records in 1966. His first few singles failed to chart but he finally hit with the song, "Just Between You and Me", which reached the top-ten on the Billboard Hot Country chart in 1967. His race certainly created some initial resistance by some audience members at the time but eventually his talent won them over.

Pride would become the second African-American singer to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, following founding member, DeFord Bailey who last appeared in 1941. During his career, Pride went on to have fifty-two Billboard top-ten country hits with thirty reaching the top spot. Some of his hits include "I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me", "I'd Rather Love You", "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone", "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore", "I'm Just Me", and "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" with this number one song in 1971 has since become his signature tune.

Pride is survived by his wife, Rozene who he married in 1956. They had two sons, Kraig and Dion, and a daughter, Angela.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

After spending time making holiday music, mentoring aspiring singers on "The Voice" and dabbling in country-pop with her fiancé, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani is returning to her musical roots with the sounds of her band, No Doubt. The singer has just dropped a new song called, "Let Me Reintroduce Myself". This self-referential track, set to a ska beat, announces that this is not a comeback for Stefani but simply about reminding people she's still around. And while it's a clever idea, I don't think the song is strong enough to get Stefani comfortably back on the charts. But perhaps it still might introduce her to a new generation of fans. Check it out and judge for yourself:

Aluna Francis is one half of the British electronic duo, AlunaGeorge with George Reid who burst on to the scene in the US with a remix by DJ Snake of the single, "You Know You Like It" in 2014. After working with Reid for over ten years, Francis decided to take a break and create music on her own. Aluna has released her debut solo album, "Renaissance" and this collection dives deeper in to the roots of dance music, reaching back to African rhythms, funk, early 80's house and garage music. Aluna explores the history and contributions of Black artists in the genre and how dance is much more than EDM. It's an interesting album, filled with unexpected beats and sounds working very well together.





Here are a few new Christmas videos for your holiday enjoyment:







And finally in the category of "If It ain't broke, remake it", Todrick Hall has reworked his hit COVID-inspired tune and video, "Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrubs" in to a holiday-themed new version entitled, "Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees". Sure, it's a little lazy but still quite fun and clever. And the video will put you in a good mood and deliver a some much needed Christmas spirit.

AMERICA'S MOST BELOVED DIVAS

In the latest issue of New York Times' magazine, T, they celebrate three of the most iconic women in music; Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton and Patti LaBelle. They started their journey in to the business around the same time but each would find fame and success at different points of their careers.

Streisand would first be noticed on the theatrical stage before conquering pop music and film. Parton began under the guidance of musician, Porter Wagoner before striking out on her own and becoming a major player in country music. And LaBelle was part of a girl-group, finding brief success before venturing off as a solo artist and reaching incredible heights as one of the greatest voices in r&b.

Each of these gifted and talented performers have remained greatly admired musicians, with the magazine offering profiles on these women that examines their lives, careers and continued influence on audiences.

Click below to read the articles:

NYT magazine: Celebrating Three of America’s Most Beloved Divas