"Someone Belonging to Someone" by Bee Gees

Song#:  1578
Date:  08/20/1983
Debut:  68
Peak:  49
Weeks:  6
Genre:  Pop, Adult Contemporary, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  The brothers Gibb made an attempt to recapture some of their Saturday Night Fever magic for the film's sequel Staying Alive. Their first single from the soundtrack, "The Woman in You," was a bit of a flop peaking at #24. As Frank Stallone was just entering the Top 40 with his soon-to-be Top 10 hit from the film "Far From Over," this second Bee Gees single was pushed out for release. The ballad did worse and couldn't even manage a Top 40 showing. Even AC wasn't all that interested and it peaked at #22. It would end up being the trio's last chart single for four years.

ReduxReview:  This song pretty much closed out an era for the Bee Gees. Even though they tried to make changes to their music, the disco backlash really took a toll and tossed their career in chaos. They kept going with solo projects and their highly successful songwriting/production work, but the Bee Gees name was pretty much mud by this time. They really needed to step back and reassess their career and direction. Their ambivalence towards the Staying Alive project and non-hit material seemed to help them decide to step away for awhile. It was a good choice, because if all they were going to do is shuffle off lackluster material like this ballad, there was no reason to go on. Just call it a day. Luckily they didn't and in a few years they would finally toss out some tasty tunes again. In the meantime, this tune (or any from the soundtrack, really) can be ignored.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  It's hard to believe now, but we almost missed out on all the Bee Gees hits from the 70s and beyond. Although they experienced some solid success beginning in 1967, by 1969 they called it quits. Internal struggles between the brothers and their individual contributions led to Robin quitting the trio for a solo career. Barry and Maurice continued on, but after recording their next album, the two brothers couldn't solve their issues and announced the end of the Bee Gees. The LP Cucumber Castle, featuring just Barry and Maurice, was issued early in 1970 after the split and was a failure in the US. Later that year, the brothers began to talk again and decided to get back together (I'm sure failed solo projects played a part in the decision). By the time 1971 arrived, they soared back into the Top 10 with the #3 "Lonely Days" and then proceeded to hit #1 with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." They never split up again.

_________________________________________________________________________________