To Love Somebody (song)

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"To Love Somebody"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Bee Gees' 1st
B-side "Close Another Door"[1]
Released June 1967
Format 7", 45rpm
Recorded April 1967
Genre Blue-eyed soul, baroque pop, psychedelic pop, soft rock
Length 3:02
Label Polydor (United Kingdom)
Atco (United States)
Spin (Australia)
Writer(s) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
Producer(s) Robert Stigwood, Ossie Byrne
Bee Gees UK singles chronology
"New York Mining Disaster 1941"
(1967)		 "To Love Somebody"
(1967)		 "World"
(1967)
Bee Gees US singles chronology
"New York Mining Disaster 1941"
(1967)		 "To Love Somebody"
(1967)		 "Holiday"
(1967)
Alternative cover
Japanese cover for "To Love Somebody"
Japanese cover for "To Love Somebody"

"To Love Somebody" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Produced by Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967.[2] The single reached No.17 in the United States and No.41 in the United Kingdom. The song's B-side was "Close Another Door".[1] The single was reissued in 1980 on RSO Records with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as its flipside.[3] The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine's "100 Best Tracks of the Sixties".[4] It was a minor hit in the UK and France. It reached the top 20 in the US. It reached the top 10 in Canada.

The song has been recorded by many other musicians, including Nina Simone whose version reached No. 5 in the UK in 1969, Michael Bolton whose recording reached No.11 in the US and No.16 in the UK in 1992.

Origins and lyrics

At the request of Robert Stigwood, the band's manager, Barry and Robin Gibb wrote "To Love Somebody", a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals, for Otis Redding.[5] Although Redding came to see Barry at the Plaza in New York one night. Robin claimed that "[Otis Redding] said he loved our material and would Barry write him a song".[6]

The Bee Gees recorded "To Love Somebody" at IBC Studios, London in March 1967 and released it as a single in mid-July 1967 in the US. Redding died in an aeroplane crash later that year, before having a chance to record the song. The song was recorded around April 1967 with "Gilbert Green" and "End of My Song" at the IBC Studios in London, England.[7]

Robin said, "Everyone told us what a great record they thought it was, Other groups all raved about it but for some reason people in Britain just did not seem to like it". Barry said "I think the reason it didn't do well here was because it's a soul number, Americans loved it, but it just wasn't right for this country".[8]

Barry Gibb explained in a June 2001 interview with Mojo magazine:

It was for Robert. I say that unabashedly. He asked me to write a song for him, personally. It was written in New York and played to Otis but, personally, it was for Robert. He meant a great deal to me. I don't think it was a homosexual affection but a tremendous admiration for this man's abilities and gifts.[9]

The simple title refrain of the chorus, "You don't know what it's like, Baby, you don't know what it's like, To love somebody...the way I love you" has the effect of being at once heartbreaking and triumphant, a self-pitying put-down to an unrequited love. "There's... a certain kind of light that never shone on me... You ain't got to be so blind, I'm a man, can't you see what I am?, I live and breathe for you, But what good does that do, If I ain't got you?".[10]

Personnel

Charts

Cover versions

One of the most famous Gibb compositions, "To Love Somebody" is now considered a pop standard and has been covered by many artists including Eric Burdon and the Animals, Rod Stewart, Janis Joplin and Australia's Johhny O'Keefe.

Michael Bolton version

Chart (1993) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 11

Michael Bublé version

Chart (2013–14) Peak
position
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[20] 13

Movie appearances

"To Love Somebody" has been used in several movies including I Love You Phillip Morris, Y Tu Mamá También, Melody, The Wrong Man, My Entire Life and 50/50.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Show 49 - The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: With an emphasis on Donovan, the Bee Gees, and the Who. [Part 6] : UNT Digital Library
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Môn Hughes (2004). The Bee Gees: Tales of the Brothers Gibb Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-1-84449-057-8, p. 134.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 3 February 2014.

External links

Preceded by Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single (Michael Bolton version)
14–21 November 1992		 Succeeded by
"I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
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