Robin Gibb, one-third of the Bee Gees, died on Sunday, May 19th. He was 62 years old. Robin was a founding member of the Bee Gees with his brothers Barry and twin Maurice. In 1994, the brothers Gibb were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the Grammy Museum.
As a group, the Bee Gees is one of the biggest-selling acts of all time, having sold well more than 120 million records. The group has had 15 top 10 records in the United States, including six consecutive No. 1 singles in the late ’70s, and won six Grammy Awards.
Robin Gibb not only co-wrote many of the Bee Gees’ best-known songs, he also sang lead vocals for the group in their formative years.
In 1967, the Gibb Brothers released their first album in England. Named Bee Gee’s 1st, the album had 14 tracks. One of the most popular tracks on the album was #10. It was called To Love Somebody and it became a huge hit for the group.
In May of 2003, Clay Aiken sang To Love Somebody as part of the Top 4 Show of season 2 of American Idol. All the American Idol judges, including Robin Gibb who was a guest judge for the evening, immediately praised Clay’s fantastic performance of the song. The live audience gave Clay a standing ovation for his performance.
That evening was one of the few times that I agreed with Simon Cowell’s comments about Clay’s performances. That night, Cowell said:
Clay, I think this is the third Pop Idol or American Idol I’ve done if you include the English one, and that’s probably one of the best performances I’ve ever heard throughout the competition.
I would love to hear Clay sing this song again. I think it really fits his vocal range and it certainly brought out strong emotions in Clay’s performance.
Were you watching Clay on American Idol when he sang this song? Is it one of your favorites too?