Greetings,
So, last night, CBS aired a big old tribute to my beloved Bee Gees. Good timing, I'd say, since 50 years ago, they hit it big in the U.S., 40 years ago, they recorded the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and most importantly, 20 years ago, they released Still Waters, my favorite of their albums. Yes, that last one is most important.
Now, anytime a tribute...anything is done, I think that those who admire whomever is being tributed are a bit wary of how it all might turn out. I certainly was when I saw the line up for this. Some of the artists I trust to give a good performance, some of them I never heard of and some of them...yeah, no. But I was pleasantly surprised for the most part. So, let me do some rapid fire reviews of all the singin'.
The whole thing started with a medley, led by Demi Lovato, for some reason. Yeah, I am SO not a fan of hers. She sang "Stayin' Alive" as part of said medley, but then they let her sing again! "If I Can't Have You", the second time. WHY! Anywho, someone named Andra Day, who I've never heard of sang "Night Fever", and later she sang "Love So Right". Tori Kelly sang "Tragedy", and then they had her sing again, but the same song. Okay, then. And Little Big Town sang "How Deep Is Your Love?" Again, once as part of the medley and then once more later. What? Why are there repeats? The Bee Gees' catalog is huge. Anyway, I didn't mind those last three singing again, because I actually like how they sing. Moving on.
Ed Sheeran sang "Massachusetts", and whilst it started a little strange for me, he ended up doing a good job. Two Jonas brothers sang, Joe and his band DNCE performed "Night Fever" (again with the repeats!) and Nick did a tribute to Andy Gibb by singing "I Just Want To Be Your Everything". I will say, they hit the high notes extraordinarily well.
As I mentioned, I was not crazy about Demi Lovato, nor was I about the appearances of John Legend and Jason Derulo. Again, not a fan of either, but lucky for them, they were paired up with much better artists, Stevie Wonder and Tavares, respectively. Sorry, I don't mean to be mean, but I have to be honest. Now back to the good news.
Pentatonix did great with "Too Much Heaven" and Panic At the Disco, a band I had heard of but never really listened to, were amazing with "Lonely Days". Might have to look into them. They gave the country hit "Islands In the Stream" to Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini, more singers I've never listened to. But again, I was impressed.
The highlights for me, personally, were Katherine McPhee singing "Emotion" (better than Destiny's Child, FYI) and Keith Urban covering "To Love Somebody". And of course, Celine Dion had to make me cry whilst performing "Immortality", the song she recorded with the Bee Gees about 20 years ago. It was a bit of an 'In Memorium' moment for Robin, Maurice and Andy, as well as her brother and husband. Yes, a lot of tears with that one.
As far as non-singing appearances go, John Travolta participated a lot, telling some great stories about the Saturday Night Fever experience. And Olivia Newton-John spoke some lovely words about Andy, who she was great friends with. I'm so glad that he was talked about so much during this special. He deserves it.
But, of course, the best part was getting to hear Barry sing and talk about all the people who were a part of the success of the Bee Gees. And he acknowledged that some of their offspring were in attendance, though none of them performed. Why, I don't know, because I do know, for a fact, that some of their kids are insanely talented musicians. Oh, well. But we did get to hear him sing "Jive Talkin'" and "You Should Be Dancing" as well as "Stayin' Alive" with all the performers. Yeah, he's still pretty dynamic, even at the age of 70. Amazing.
All in all, the whole thing was pretty entertaining. It had some stumbles, like not performing anything from my favorite album and no mention of the sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Staying Alive. What's up with that? But most of the artists did a decent job. Honestly, considering how many songs the Bee Gees recorded, we might need to do this on a monthly basis. It could be a good tradition. I sure do a lot of wishful thinking, don't I?
Point is, I love the music that those three incredible men created. They have been one of the biggest inspirations to me as a writer and as a person. They gave us all so many gifts through those songs and how they achieved so much. I am eternally grateful to them.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
