Barry Gibb

Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, born on 1 September 1946 at Jane Crookall Maternity Home in Douglas, Isle of Man, is a British musician, singer, and songwriter whose career has spanned more than 70 years. The son of Hugh Gibb, a drummer, and Barbara Gibb (née Pass), both natives of Manchester, he has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry, with his paternal grandfather Hugh Gibb Sr. having been born in Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1892. He has an older sister, Lesley Evans. His middle name Alan honored his father's youngest brother, who died in infancy, while his third name, Crompton, was given in reference to a claimed ancestral connection to Samuel Crompton. No Broadway credits are on record for Gibb.

As a young child in Douglas, Gibb survived a serious accident when, at nearly two years of age, he knocked over a hot teapot and sustained severe scalds that required approximately two and a half months of hospitalization at Nobles Hospital. On 22 December 1949, his younger fraternal twin brothers Robin and Maurice were born. Gibb began school on 4 September 1951 at Braddan School, subsequently attending Tynwald Street Infants School in 1952 and Desmesne Road Boys School from his seventh birthday in 1953.

When the family returned to Manchester in 1955, Gibb and his brothers formed a skiffle group called the Rattlesnakes, with Gibb on vocals, lead guitar, and slide guitar, alongside Robin and Maurice on vocals and acoustic guitar, and friends Paul Frost and Kenny Horrocks also contributing vocals. By 1957 the group was performing material by Cliff Richard, Paul Anka, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers, and their first professional engagement took place on 28 December 1957 at the Gaumont Cinema. The group subsequently performed under the name Wee Johnny Hayes and the Blue Cats, appearing regularly in a talent contest called Minor 15 at Princess Club in Chorlton.

In August 1958 the Gibb family emigrated to Australia under an assisted migration scheme, departing Southampton aboard the ship Fairsea. The brothers began performing between races at the Redcliffe Speedway in 1959, where their performances attracted the attention of radio deejay Bill Gates, who took particular interest in Gibb's original compositions, including "Let Me Love You" and "(Underneath the) Starlight of Love." Gibb left school in September 1961, after which the family relocated to Surfers Paradise, where the brothers performed at hotels and clubs along the Gold Coast during the summers of 1961 and 1962. The family moved to Sydney at the start of 1963.

The brothers, now performing as the Bee Gees, were signed to Festival Records and assigned to the Leedon label. Their debut single, "The Battle of the Blue and the Grey," was written by Gibb, as were all of the group's singles released between 1963 and 1966. In July 1963, Australian recording artist Lonnie Lee recorded "I'd Like To Leave If I May," described as the first rock and roll recording of a Gibb composition, released on Leedon Records. During the same period, Gibb's songs were recorded by Australian artists including Trevor Gordon, Noeleen Batley, Anne Shelton, April Byron, Ronnie Burns, and Lori Balmer. His composition "One Road," recorded by Jimmy Little in 1964, reached number two on the Australia New South Wales Chart and number 32 on the Kent Music Report charts. Another 1964 composition, "I Just Don't Like to Be Alone," recorded by Bryan Davies, reached number 25 on the New South Wales chart. In 1966, Gibb received the annual Radio 5KA award for best composition of the year for "I Was a Lover, A Leader of Men."

The Bee Gees returned to the United Kingdom in early 1967, passing a live audition with Robert Stigwood on 24 February of that year, the same day "Spicks and Specks" was released by Polydor as a single in the UK. Stigwood became the group's manager, and drummer Colin Petersen and lead guitarist Vince Melouney subsequently joined, with the expanded lineup recording their first international LP, Bee Gees' 1st. The album's second single, "To Love Somebody," on which Gibb sang lead vocals, has since been covered by hundreds of artists. Around this time, Gibb and Robin also wrote "Cowman, Milk Your Cow," recorded by Adam Faith with the Gibb brothers providing backing vocals. In 1967, Gibb was introduced to John Lennon by Pete Townshend at The Speakeasy Club in London.

The Bee Gees became one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popular music, and Gibb is recognized for his wide vocal range, including a high-pitched falsetto. As a songwriter, he shares with John Lennon and Paul McCartney the record for most consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number ones, each having achieved six. In total, Gibb has written or co-written sixteen Billboard Hot 100 number ones. Guinness World Records lists him as the second most successful songwriter in history, behind Paul McCartney.

In 1994, Gibb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame alongside his brothers Robin and Maurice. In 1997, the Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2007, Q magazine ranked him 38th on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers." He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2002 New Year Honours for services to music and entertainment, elevated to Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to music and charity, and made an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia on 27 January 2022.