After causing night fans to disco fans in the 1970s, Barry Gibb of Bee Gees is returning to his first passion – country music.
The 74-year-old singer released a new album titled “Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook Vo.1”, a collection of Bee Gees songs reworked as duets with notable Nashville artists, including Dolly Parton and Keith Urban.
The last Gibb brother alive, who maintained the family’s musical legacy as a solo artist, emigrated from the UK to Australia as a child. However, Gibb told NPR on Friday that he has been in love with American country music for many years.
“From 9 or 10 years old,” explained Gibb. “It was really on my system and it never came out. Bluegrass and country music is what really interests me more than anything else. Since all my brothers were no longer with me, when I was alone, I was able to focus on , ‘Well, what is my passion? “
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Barry Gibb released a new album entitled “Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook Vo.1”.
(Photo by Dave J Hogan / Dave J Hogan / Getty Images)
According to the vehicle, Gibb’s son introduced him to Chris Stapleton’s music. It was then that Gibb contacted country music star producer Dave Cobb about working on a record together. Cobb was found to be a big fan of the Bee Gees.
Gibb admitted that he “didn’t have a sense of belonging” to release a country album early in his career.
“You know how it is in Nashville; it’s a tight circle, if you like,” Gibb told the outlet. “And it is a difficult place to penetrate, even if you love music and want to be there … if you enter another realm of music, you will have to work hard to be accepted.”
Despite his eagerness to follow the country world, Gibb acknowledged the important role the record played in music history – even after there was a massive backlash against him.
On July 12, 1979, shock DJ Steve Dahl of Chicago staged the famous “Disco Demolition Night”, reported the Los Angeles Times.
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LR: Brothers Robin, Barry and Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees.
(Hulton Archive / Getty Images)
“… There was something very beautiful and rhythmic about all that music in the late 70s, and for my life, I have no idea why anyone thought they should be censored, which it was,” said Gibb. “But it was a project – a little bit like making a movie. You become a character and try to fit in the soundtrack … But reinventing myself, for me, is the greatest fun of all.”
Gibb is grateful to breathe new life into his beloved songs in Nashville. However, his brothers always remained in his mind.
“Sure [I miss them]”, he said.” We spent more than 40 years around a microphone; how do you get over it Not you. But if I have the opportunity to be on stage, as far as I can tell, they are there with me. I can still smell the cologne Maurice used. When you’re close to a microphone, there are things you never forget. “
Nowadays, Gibb is determined to continue as an artist and present the music he created with his brothers to new audiences.
“This is the mission for me,” he said. “It’s not about me, it’s not about the Bee Gees. It’s just about these songs and how special they are to me. I want people to keep remembering them, and this was a way of doing that.”