How the Bee Gees influenced pop, rock, easy listening, country, even hip-hop.

How the Bee Gees Survived the Fall of Disco

How the Bee Gees Survived the Fall of Disco

Half a century of pop-chart history.
Sept. 28 2018 11:08 AM

Hit Parade: The Nights on Broadway Edition

How did the Bee Gees survive the fall of disco? The falsettos? The white suits? It was the songs.

The Bee Gees performing.
The Bee Gees performing on NBC's The Midnight Special in 1973.

NBC Television

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Those falsettos, those white suits, those toothy smiles—you think you know the Bee Gees. But their story goes back much further than the ’70s, and it’s full of twists. From their roots as an eclectic harmony band in Australia and their first wave of Beatlesque fame, through their domination of the disco revolution and their years as a punchline, the Bee Gees stayed alive because of the Gibb brothers’ harmonies and especially their impeccable songs. This month, Hit Parade traces the influence of the Brothers Gibb on virtually every popular genre, from pop to R&B, rock to easy listening, country to … yes, even hip-hop.