MURFREESBORO — Music icon Barry Gibb easily traced the genealogy of
the Bee Gees classic “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” for more than 900 fans
and friends at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre Monday night.
Poignantly
recalling his and his late brothers’ love for country music from their
Australian childhood, the singer-songwriter-producer gently began picking out a
Hank Locklin country classic on his acoustic guitar while talking with Beverly
Keel, chair of MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry.
“The first
country song I ever recall hearing was Johnny Tillotson’s [cover of] ‘Send Me
the Pillow That You Dream On,’” Gibb said. “We only got the one radio station
in Australia, and the people we heard classified as ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ were Roy
Orbison and Johnny Cash.
“‘Crying’
was the first record I ever bought. … We love country. It all comes from the
pathos. We always loved a sad story,” he continued, segueing smoothly into “How
Can You Mend,” the brothers Gibb’s first U.S. No. 1 single.
The
audience, which almost filled the 1,000-seat venue, rose and applauded Gibb for
one of several standing ovations offered throughout the evening. Many spent the
pre-show time singing along with Bee Gees hits on the PA system, and several
called out happily to Gibb as he related family tales, career recollections and
music history and played a handful of his hundreds of hits.
“What a
fantastic, happy crowd!” Gibb said with a wide smile.
Gibb,
one of the world’s most successful songwriters, has a career spanning more than
50 years. He recently concluded the European leg of his first solo tour,
“Mythology,” which commemorates his late brothers Robin and Maurice and
features performances by the next generation of Gibb musicians.
Monday
night’s visit to MTSU, part of the Department
of Recording Industry Chair’s Speakers Series, was the first time Gibb has ever sat down for a
public conversation and solo performance. John Merchant, a recording industry
assistant professor who toured with Gibb for years as part of his concert sound
production team, invited his former boss to MTSU.
Before the
Tucker Theatre event, professor Merchant’s colleagues Michael Fleming and
Matthew O’Brien introduced Gibb to several MTSU students who work on the student
record label, Match Records. Fleming also showed Gibb’s son and touring
partner, Stephen, and musical director Doug Emery one of the university’s
state-of-the-art recording studios inside the Bragg Mass Communication
Building.
Gibb and
his family and friends also toured the Center for Popular Music in the Bragg
building before the show, paying special attention to a colorful display of Bee
Gees and Gibb memorabilia prepared by cataloging librarian Rachel Morris.
“That is
GREAT!” Gibb said as he peered into the display case, grinning at several
unexpected items. “There are lots of memories right there for me, oh yeah!”
The artist
also was fascinated by the Center for Popular Music's compact-shelving storage
system, a customized archive that stretches more than 10.5 feet high to house
the center’s extensive collection.
In a
surprise announcement just a few minutes later in Tucker Theatre, the
university recognized Gibb as the inaugural Fellow of the Center for Popular
Music. You can read full details of that announcement at http://mtsunews.com/gibb-named-inaugural-cpm-fellow.
Gibb and his brothers have been topping the
charts since the 1960s, becoming the only group in pop history to write,
produce and record six straight No.1 hits. The Bee Gees had 16
Grammy nominations and nine Grammy wins.
Gibb also has had No. 1 songs in the 1960s,
1970s, 1980s 1990s and 2000s and is the only songwriter in history to write
four successive U.S. No.1 hits.
“It's
obviously not possible for us to cover your entire career in one night, so the
only solution is for you to come back again,” Keel said to the broadly smiling
Gibb after that presentation.
“You’re a
singer, a songwriter, a producer — most people would kill to have your level of
success in just one of those fields. You’re a triple-threat icon.”
“Well,
Maurice and Robin should be here tonight, too, but it’s just myself …” Gibb
said softly.
He began
smiling again as he launched into a list of artists he’d just seen inaugurated
into the Country Music Hall of Fame the night before and how much he enjoyed
their work.
“I love to
be around people whose work I admire. … And I love being here.”
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