Bee Gees is a music group founded in 1958. Her team included brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb. The trio were particularly successful as a popular music ensemble of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as outstanding performers of the disco era in the mid and late 1970s. The group sang recognizable three-part tight harmonies; Robin's distinct vocals were the hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound in the mid-1970s and 1980s. The Bee Gees wrote all their hits, and also wrote and produced some major hits for other artists. The Bee Gees are commonly referred to as "Kings of Disco" by many critics, media and other artists.
Born on the Isle of Man, England, the Gibb brothers lived in Chorlton, Manchester, England until the late 1950s. There, in 1955, they formed the skiffle / rock and roll group Rattlesnakes. The family then moved to Redcliffe, in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia, and then to Cribb Island. After hitting their first charts success in Australia as Bee Gees from "Spicks and Specks" (their 12th single), they returned to the UK in January 1967 when producer Robert Stigwood started promoting them. The soundtrack of "Saturday Night Fever" by Bee Gees (1978) would be a turning point in their careers as both the film and the soundtrack had a cultural impact on the whole world, adding to the appeal of the disco scene. They have won five Grammy Awards for Saturday Night Fever, including Album of the Year.
The Bee Gees have sold over 120 million records worldwide (estimated at over 220 million), making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997; Brian Wilson, the historic frontman of the Beach Boys, another "family act" featuring three harmonious brothers, presented the award for the "First British Harmony Family". The Bee Gees Hall of Fame quote says, "Only Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney have exceeded Bee Gees sales." The Bee Gees is the third most successful band in Billboard history after Beatles and the Supremes.
After Maurice's death in January 2003, at the age of 53, Barry and Robin withdrew the group's name after 45 years in business. In 2009, Robin announced that he and Barry had agreed that the Bee Gees would re-form and perform again. Robin died in May 2012 at the age of 62 after a prolonged battle with cancer and other health problems, leaving Barry as the only surviving member of the group