The legendary Bee Gees is a pop music group that was formed by three brothers in 1958. The group consisted of Maurice, Robin, and Barry Gibb. Most of their profound success came in the 1960s and 1970s with a peak during the disco era in the latter part of the 1970s. This amazing group of brothers specialized in recognizable three-part light harmonies, which are harmonies where the chords have notes that are arranged within a tight or narrow range. Typically, there is no more than one octave between the bottom and top notes. The group is notable for Robin Gibb’s clear vibrato that served as a hallmark for their lead vocals in their earlier hits. Barry Gibb’s R&B falsetto was the group’s signature sound when they sang in the 1970s and 1980s.
One of the Bee Gee’s most popular songs was “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You,” which was released as a single in September of 1968. As one of their earlier songs, it was their second song to reach number one on the U.K. Singles Chart, and it was also their first top 10 hit in the United States. The lyrics of the song are about a man who is in prison awaiting his electrocution in the death penalty. He begs the chaplain of the prison to send a final message to his beloved wife. Robin Gibb and his brother Barry wrote this song, and he said that the man’s crime was murdering his wife’s lover. The lyrics don’t explicitly hint to the identity of the victim. Robin Gibb added that the song is about a man who only has a few hours to live. His final wish is that the chaplain passes on this urgent message to his wife.
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Robin said that when he and Barry were writing a song, they sat for hours trying to write it and holding their guitars, and nothing would happen. Then, in the last ten minutes, something sparked. The Bee Gees wrote a lot of songs for other artists, and “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You” was written with the artist Percy Sledge in mind for recording the song. Although Percy Sledge did end up recording “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You,” Atlantic Records didn’t issue his version in the U.S. at that time. This song is about a man who has done a bad thing, but he’s a human being who is in love with his wife.
As Robin Gibb said, this is a torch song, but within a “very sort of theatrical sense.” It’s about a man in a bad situation whose life is ending. Robin posed the question, “if this were true, what would they be saying.” Watch this legendary group sing this poignant song.