Top 40 has been the main hit list in the Netherlands since 1965. In the Today section we look back at events in pop music that happened exactly X years ago. In this episode of Today: number 1 ranking for the Bee Gees with Stayin’ Alive.

In the period 1967-1969 Good grief no less than ten top 3 hits in a row. Four of these ten took first place: Massachusetts, World, Words, and Don’t Forget To Remember. The Gibb brothers were certainly not looking forward to January 1, 1970, because emulating the 1960s was an almost impossible task. The Bee Gees weren’t successful in that regard. In the autumn of 1970, Lonely Days was a huge success, but otherwise a bottom 10 ranking was the highest achievement for the Australian brothers in the new decade. However, in 1978 this changed, albeit with some luck.

That year, the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever, which had premiered the previous year, was released. Initially, How Deep Is Your Love was to be released as a single as the only song from the soundtrack. The ballad reached number 15 in 1977. However, the general public heard a piece of Stayin’ Alive in the Saturday Night Fever trailer and they desperately asked radio stations to play the record. That happened and eventually this recording was released as the second single from the soundtrack.

Stayin’ Alive is quite different from almost all previous Bee Gees singles. Although the previous hits had a very sweet character, this hit song is a disco record Barry, Robin And Maurice Gibbs Sing with your head voice from beginning to end. This worked phenomenally for the Brothers Gibb, because op April 8, 1978 Stayin’ Alive rose to first place. This was the Bee Gees’ fifth number 1 hit and their first since Don’t Forget To Remember in 1969. 1978 was the year the Bee Gees came back.

This was especially true on the Billboard Hot 100. From February 4 to May 13, the consecutive number 1s in the United States were Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees, (Love Is) Thicker Than Water by Andy Gibb (the younger brother of the Bee Gees), Night Fever by the Bee Gees and If I Can’t Have You by Yvonne Elliman (original by the Bee Gees). Barry Gibb wrote the hits Stayin’ Alive, Night Fever and If I Can’t Have You with his Bee Gees mates Robin and Maurice, while he co-wrote Andy (Love Is) Thicker Than Water. This makes Barry Gibb the only one to date to have written or co-written four consecutive American number 1 hits.

As time went by, this gave rise to mixed feelings within the brothers. On the one hand, Stayin’ Alive ushered in a new period of success for the Bee Gees, but on the other hand, the group is now regularly classified as a disco group, with most of their material outside the Saturday Night Bar fever soundtrack having nothing to do with disco.

This happens more on April 8th
1967: On the same day that she entered the Top 40 with her song Puppet On A string, Sandie Shaw won the Eurovision Song Contest in bare feet. This was the first time in the festival’s eleven year history that England had won. Three weeks after his win, he rose to first place in the Top 40.
1972: The Talk Of All The USA from the Middle Of The Road rose to the top spot in the Top 40. It is now the third consecutive Top 40 hit for the British pop group to reach first place. Soley Soley and Sacramento were the previous two. Successor Bottoms Up remains stuck at number 5, leaving the count at three.
2001: Emma Bunton becomes the fourth Spice Girl to score a number 1 solo hit in the UK. He did this with What Took You So Long
2017: 2Pac, Joan Baez and Pearl Jam, among others, were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Born today:
1935 – Ted De BraakMajeure Joke Team
1938 – Hannes Schlader78 years old when he died, Die Bambis
1942 – Roger ChapmanFamily
1947 – Steve Howe, Yes | Asia
1947 – Meaning of Kraayeveld71 years old when he died, Bintangs
1948 – Patty Pravo,
1951 – Mel SchacherGrand Funk
1953 – Hugo SinzheimerMeteor
1962 – Izzy StradlinGuns n’Roses
1963 – Julian Lennon,
1969 – Dulce Pontes,
1972 – Paul Miles-Kingston,
1975 – Annette,
1975 – Paul BukensRaccoon
1976 – Bart KierCaught red-handed
1982 – Henry Van LoonDoeMaarDave
1999 – Yade Lauren,

Today at number 1:
1967 – 1 (1) This is my song– Petula Clark (Vogue\Pye), 2 weeks at number 1
1972 – 1 (2) All America Talks– Middle Of The Road (RCA), 1 week at number 1
1978 – 1 (2) Stay alive– Bee Gees (RSO), 1 week at number 1
1989 – 1 (1) Everything Can Make Someone Happy– René Froger & Het Goede Doel (CNR), 3 weeks at number 1
1995 – 1 (1) Alice, Who is X and Alice? (Living Next Door to Alice)– Gompie (RPC), 5 weeks at number 1
2000 – 1 (1) freestyle– Bomfunk MC’s (Epidrome), 3 weeks at number 1
2006 – 1 (1) Here now– Raffaëla (Zomba), 3 weeks at number 1
2017 – 1 (1) Your shape– Ed Sheeran (Asylum), 12 weeks at number 1

(08/04/2023)