The List: The very best songs of Robin Gibb

Robin Gibb, a member of the Bee Gees pop group that he co-founded with his twin brother Maurice and elder brother Barry, died on Sunday after a battle with cancer. Maurice died in 2003 following emergency abdominal surgery to repair a twisted intestine. This week, The List chooses the top 10 songs predominantly sang by Robin Gibb with the Bee Gees and in his solo career.

• 10. Holiday (1967) — This charming and haunting song reached No. 16 in the U.S. charts. It appeared on the album “Bee Gees’ 1st” album. The song was prominently featured in the Korean film “Nowhere to Hide.”
  “It’s something I thinks worthwhile, If the puppet makes you smile, If not then you’re throwing stones, Throwing stones, throwing stones.”
• 9. “Boys Don’t Fall In Love” (1984) — This catchy techno-pop dance track from Robin’s solo album “Secret Agent” rose into the Top 40 on the pop charts and the top 10 on the dance charts.
  “Baby said you got to be a lover one way or the other. Nobody wins without once givin’ in so don’t cry now.”
• 8. “Please” (2003) — In the same week as Maurice’s sudden death, Robin’s solo album, “Magnet,” was released in Germany on Jan. 27, 2003, and worldwide shortly afterward. “Please” was the opening track on the album and it is about loss. When he later performed it, it was clear he was singing it for his brother.
  “Please tell me how I’ll ever get over you, Though I know you’re gone, can’t believe that it’s true, Please tell me how to ever stop waiting for you.”
• 7. “And the Sun Will Shine” — Robin provides the lead vocal in this sad and haunting Bee Gees’ ballad that was on the band’s “Mythology” album.
  “And the rain will fall, it falls for you. And the clouds will break into tears, you should be here standing so near to me.”
• 6. Juliet (1983) — This bouncy romantic dance song from Robin’s second solo album, “How Old Are You?” was a huge hit in Germany, Switzerland and Italy, in the summer of 1983.
  “I was an average guy in a world of empty dreams. You’ve broken down all the walls with your love.”
• 5. “I Can’t See Nobody” (1967) — This song appeared on the “Bee Gees Ist” album, which was actually the band’s third studio album. Robin is the lead vocalist.
  “I walk the lonely streets, I watch the people passing by, I used to smile and say hello, guess I was just a happy guy.”
• 4. “I’ve Just Got To Get A Message To You” (1968) — The song appeared on the album “Idea” and reached number eight on the U.S. pop chart. Robin, who wrote the lyrics of the song, recorded this classic with the British Army band called “The Soldiers” to raise funds for military families in the U.K.
  “I’ve just got to get a message to you, oh la, oh la. One more hour and my life will be through, oh la, oh la.”
• 3. (The Lights Went Out In) “Massachusetts” (1967) — The song came out on the “Horizontal” album. It hit No. 1 in the UK and No. 11 in the U.S. It was the second song ever to be played on Britain’s Radio 1, after the Move’s “Flower in the Rain.” It was intended to be recorded by the Seekers. When the band wrote the song they had never yet been to “Massachusetts,” they just simply liked the word.
  “Feel I’m goin’ back to Massachusetts, Something’s telling me I must go home.”
• 2. “I Started a Joke” (1968) — The song appeared on the album “Idea.” According to Robin, the melancholic melody of the song was inspired by the sounds on board an airplane. It was not released as a single in the U.K. but reached No. 6 in the United States.
  “I started a joke, which started the whole world crying, but I didn’t see that the joke was on me, oh no.”
• 1. “Saved By The Bell” (1969) — A beautiful and haunting song. It reached No. 2 in the U.K. but was not released as a single in the U.S. It was Robin’s first solo single hit, appearing on his solo album “Robin’s Reign,” and according to The List, his greatest song.
• “Saved by the bell on your own carousel. Now who can tell, if you’ll love that man as well. Now I’ll walk down our great lane.”

Bonus track: “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (1971) — Robin begins the song before brother Barry takes over. This was the Bee Gees’ first No. 1 hit in the U.S.
“I can think of younger days when living for my life, Was everything a man could want to do.”

Complied by John Haydon
Sources: YouTube and Wikipedia.

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