By Claire Osburn
A&E Editor
After countless hits, accolades, producer credits, major life events and five children, Bee Gee’s rock star Barry Gibb is in the midst of his first-ever solo tour and shows no signs of slowing down.
“Having lost all my brothers and dealing with that factor of life, the idea of seizing life is now more important than anything else,” Gibb said in an exclusive interview with Sidelines. “I seize life, and I sleep late.”
When Barry Gibb and his brothers, twins Robin and Maurice, came onto the music scene more than five decades ago, they were labeled as a comedy trio. The boys were 12 and 9 when the band formed.
“I think a lot of success that we had was almost lucky or accidental,” Gibb said. “We were always searching, and we never really had an identity, never really knew who we were … We didn’t even know we were a pop group when we were kids.”
Gibb graced the university with his celebrity presence recently and lectured and performed for students and community members in Tucker Theatre.
He played solo acoustic renditions of classics, such as “To Love Somebody” and the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road.” Before the performance, Gibb toured the Center for Popular Music.
“Apart from [visiting MTSU], I’m gonna hang out with TG Sheppard and Kelly [Lang] and hope to see Ricky Skaggs while I’m in town because he’s a great friend, and hit the record store,” Gibb said. “I love early bluegrass, so, for me, that’s what I gotta go find, any chance I get.”
While Gibb is a music icon on the outside, in reality he is a down-to-earth guy, who possesses a pure, unconditional love for his craft.
“I think the reason that we did make so many good records was because we never stopped; we never wanted to be out of the studio,” Gibb said. “We would spend hours and hours in there playing around and adding harmonies.”
This love continues today, not only through touring, but with writing and recording new material.
“At the moment, we’ve been in my studio at home, so I’m back to analog,” Gibb said. “I’m sort of leaping out of the digital world and going back to how I used to make records, which is multi-track tape and Ampex and actually having faders and a console. I don’t like Pro Tools. I gotta get back to the white noise, that’s what I call it.”
In the meantime, the touring will continue.
Even as a seasoned stage veteran,
Gibb still gets nervous about performing live.
“‘Terrified,’ I think, is the better word. Like the bullfighter gets terrified going into the ring,” Gibb said. “Just keep doing it. You never get over your nerves. [After] the first couple songs you start to get comfortable and the more comfort you get, the less nervous you are. Try to make friends with your audience as soon as you can.”
The legend also offered advice for aspiring musicians.
“Wanting it badly enough that nothing is going to get in your way and being completely determined in what you’re doing and having your own opinion of yourself and not allowing other people to tell you whether or not you’re good or bad, just get on with it,” Gibb said.
“So many people told us we weren’t gonna be successful, so many, and they were experts, so be careful of the experts.”
It’s a good thing Gibb followed his own advice. Now, new and longtime fans have the opportunity to see him perform. The current performances may vary from those in the early days, but family still remains an essential part of music for Gibb, with his son Stephen and Maurice’s daughter Samantha joining him on tour.
“Its a whole different stage of life, and Maurice’s daughter, she’s a wonderful singer, and Steven’s an incredible lead guitarist, and also a wonderful singer, so it’s just like the evolvement of the family. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Gibb said.
No matter who is on stage with him, Gibb always tries to please the audience and continue making music.
“I’m out there trying to continue the lifespan of the music, that’s what I care about,” he said.
Where will they be touring? USA I hope. Would really love to hear and see them perform.
Where will they be performing? USA I hope.