This is getting hard to believe.  Last Thursday, the world lost disco diva Donna Summer to lung cancer.  And, Sunday, we lost yet another disco icon.  Robin Gibb, who rose to fame as one-third of the group the Bee Gees, passed away from colon and liver cancer at the age of 62.  The Bee Gees were as much a part of the landscape of 1970's disco and dance music as Donna Summer was.  In fact, more so. Throughout their chart reign, they landed 43 hits inside the Billboard Top 100 and scored nine #1's!  Their soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever spent 24 weeks atop the album chart in 1978.  In addition to having hits of their own, the Gibb brothers were prolific songwriters and wrote HUGE hits for other artists as well.  In the wake of Robin's passing, I decided to comb through their catalog and share my five favorite Bee Gee's songs . . . either performed by them or written by them for other artists.  I absolutely LOVE these songs.

#5-  Too Much Heaven-  Bee Gees

Absolutely one of my favorite ballads of the 1970's.  It reached #1 in 1978, and there's a fun and little-known fact about the single.  The B-side, a song called "Rest Your Love on Me," reached the Top 40 on the U.S. country chart! 

And, speaking of country . . . did you know the Bee Gees wrote this song??

#4-  Islands in the Stream-  Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

That song was one of the biggest hits of 1983 and reached #1 on three different charts.  It topped the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the Billboard Country and Billboard Adult Contemporary charts!

#3-  A Woman In Love-  Barbra Streisand

The Bee Gees had a couple of HUGE hits with Barbra Streisand's help.  "Woman In Love" (written by Barry and Robin Gibb) spent three weeks at #1 and remains Barbra Streisand's final chart topper.  She also had a huge hit with "Guilty" and that duet (with Barry Gibb) reached #3.

#2-  To Love Somebody

For my money, the Bee Gee's "To Love Somebody" is one of the GREATEST songs ever written.  And there have been dozens of great performances of it because of the song's message and genius crescendo.  The most recent GREAT performance was Joshua Ledet's on American Idol and that version is proof of just how enduring the music and legacy of the Bee Gees remain.

#1-  If I Can't Have You- Yvonne Elliman

For me, this is THE best song of the disco era.  And while the Bee Gees recorded their own version of it, it was Jesus Christ Superstar diva, Yvonne Elliman, who truly gave it wings and let it fly.

So, the music world has taken yet another hit.  The Bee Gees are down to a single member . . . 65-year-old frontman, Barry Gibb.  His brother Maurice passed in January of 2003.  And now Robin is gone to soon as well.  The comforting news is that the Bee Gees are leaving behind a songbook that defined generations and continues to inspire up-and-coming artists.  While Robin may no longer be with us on Earth, his spirit is on our songs and souls.

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