Barry Gibb on the Bee Gees, Disco, and the Enduring Impact of ‘Saturday Night Fever’

Lauren Novak August 20, 3:31 pm

The Bee Gees, (Robin, Maurice, Barry Gibb), circa 1978, during St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band promotion — Everett Collection

When Barry Gibb looks back on the Saturday Night Fever whirlwind, he still can’t believe the phenomenon. What started with a few song titles scribbled down became one of the most defining cultural moments of the 1970s. As he explained in an interview with Manx Radio, the Bee Gees were already writing songs when producer Robert Stigwood called about a film project. “I had a song called ‘Staying Alive,’ I had a song called ‘Night Fever,’ ‘More Than a Woman,’ and ‘If I Can’t Have You,’” Gibb recalled. “Robert didn’t particularly like ‘Night Fever.’ I said, well, you know, you’re asking me and I’m just telling you these are ideas I have.”

Eventually, it was Stigwood who added the word “Saturday” into “Night Fever,” tying the soundtrack forever to the movie. The title of the film itself came from a newspaper article called “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night.” That headline inspired Stigwood, and with the Bee Gees’ music in place, the project took on a life of its own.

Saturday Night Fever John Travolta, 1977

Everett Collection

Even the song “Staying Alive” nearly took a different direction. Gibb explained that Stigwood wanted it changed to “Saturday Night” to tie it more directly to the film. But Barry refused. “The Bay City Rollers had a song out called ‘Saturday Night,’ and I didn’t want that to happen. I said, you’re kicking the nuts out of the song. The song doesn’t mean Saturday night. The song means all of us are trying to coexist. That’s what the song means.”

Looking back now, Gibb sees the Saturday Night Fever years as among the most rewarding of his life. “We had five songs in the top 10 in America. We had three songs in the top five in America. And you can’t ask for any more than that,” he said. Perhaps it all wouldn’t be possible without Gibb’s upbringing. He grew up on the Isle of Man and called the island “a sacred place.” He said, “The original inspiration for us was living on the Isle of Man,” adding, “there was always magic in the air.”