Tragedy: The Ballad of the Bee Gees Paperback – June 14, 2016

This is a book I'm trying very hard to be fair with in reviewing. It's difficult because the theme is supposed to be about the tragedies that befell the Gibb brothers after all their amazing success. It doesn't really address that issue in a major way, the book is more of a recap of the Gibb history and what could be an interesting thesis to explore is only touched upon in a peripheral way. Not that the book isn't worth a read; the author does manage to include some information I hadn't read previously in other books. But, it misses the mark on why thing started to go horribly wrong for the brothers, starting with the 1988 death of their brother Andy, just five days after turning 30 years old from a heart related ailment.Barry, Robin and Maurice were an amazingly creative musical force, from the 1960s to the early 2000s. Had death not claimed brothers Maurice (in 2003) and Robin (in 2012), one suspects the brothers operating as the Bee Gees would still have been a musical force to be reckoned with, despite the personal troubles they experienced in the early 2000s. Whatever troubles befell the brothers, they always seem to rally and get past what it was that had created an impasse for them. Barry and Robin had a volatile relationship within the group as songwriters and singers, each of whom sought to have as many of their songs included as possible, as well as consideration for the A-side of singles. Maurice, the brother who was the man in the middle, was often the one who broke the tie. He was also described as the glue. His own creativity was often sacrificed for the good of the group and he didn't always get a vocal on every album, which he should have. He also never got an A-side, despite having sung the lead on a few songs that should've been considered.Ironically, what separated the Gibb brothers from all the other acts, family or otherwise, was their unique harmonies and the unique feature of blending two or all three of their singing voices together on one song, with it sounding as though it was just one voice singing. They did that time and time again and while it was easy to spot some of the blended voices, other times it was more difficult. You could almost always spot a dual blended lead from Barry and Robin, but it was less so with Barry and Maurice. They were often said to have soundalike voices. Even more interesting was when all three voices blended into what sounded like a one voice lead. The brothers did it effortlessly.The tragedies that befell the group, aside from the health problems that claimed Andy, Maurice and Robin included the group's original break in 1969, when Robin briefly left the group because he felt his music was being passed over in favor of Barry's. Maurice was the true victim of his songs being passed over or holding back if it meant keeping the peace. Andy felt unworthy and unsure of his success because Barry wrote and produced many of his songs, although Andy himself was a songwriter. His record label (same as his older brothers) always went with brother Barry's songs for singles rather than Andy's own songs. Andy also felt his success was because of his older brothers and not because of his own efforts. Barry and RSO meant well but the focus should've been on picking Andy's songs to be his singles and seeing where things went from there.Maurice likewise felt unworthy of his part of the success in the group, even though he didn't have that many lead vocals, from the 60s to the early to mid-70s, he supplied much of the instrumentation heard in the Bee Gees' songs. Of the brothers, he played the most instruments. He was credited on albums as playing bass, all kinds of keyboards (piano, organ, mellotron, synthesizer, Moog), lead and rhythm guitars, mandolin, lute, percussion, harmonica and reportedly, even the drums. It's possible he played other instruments not mentioned on a Bee Gees album. As a vocalist, his voice was that of a tenor baritone, although he sang some high harmonies (in Barry's falsetto range) and some bass notes. He also arranged the songs and came up with the chord progressions for the songs Barry and Robin came up with, as well as his own songs. He deserved recognition for his contributions to the Bee Gees' records. He also deserved to have a lead vocal or two on each album. That he didn't wasn't the fault of Barry and Robin, but of Robert Stigwood's. Stigwood considered the brothers to be the equivalent of the Beartles but Maurice was more a silent Bee Gee than George Harrison was a silent Beatle. Harrison always had a vocal or two on each Beatles album.And then we have Barry's tragedy, which was that at the time of each of his brother's deaths, he was not on speaking terms with them. God only knows what that did to Barry as there's no question he loved his brothers. Andy's and Maurice's deaths were unforeseeable. Barry had no way of knowing that was going to happen. He had no way to make peace with them and put whatever trouble there was behind them. He shouldn't feel guilty. With Robin, it was more known that he was ill but he kept his family in the dark for so long as to his condition, that Barry only had a short time to spend with his remaining brother and say goodbye. I truly hope Barry has found peace. He and his brothers have legacy that many envy.And this book again isn't a bad book, just doesn't tackle the main theme. Still worth a read, though.Many have believed that because they achieved success, fame and fortune, that they were also cursed because of it. I remember reading that Robin and Barbara, the mother of the brothers, both felt there was a curse that came with the success

Not for the first time, the main character in a Bee Gees biography is Andy Gibb. I now know several people who he dated that I was unaware of. His sad fall from grace is chronicled very closely meanwhile, actual Bee Gee Robin's addiction problems as well as his solo work in the '80s merit one sentence apiece. If you were not aware how the Gibbs themselves described their songwriting process you'd be forgiven for thinking Barry did everything while one of the shiftless twins occasionally strolled into the studio when the mood struck and added some minor detail to the brilliant big Bros masterpiece. The book claimed to address the relationships among the brothers which is something that I have always found fascinating because I don't know why the twins always did what Barry thought was best. I remain unenlightened because early on we are told Barry was always the big brother and leader, the issue is never referred to again. I'm at a bit of a loss as to why the author even chose his subject because he doesn't really seem to like them or their music very much and no new information or insight is given. His writing style is not painful but it's not scintillating either. It's a short book and if you are just becoming a Bee Gees fan you'll get the basics about them or Barry and non-Bee Gee Andy anyway. You might not even notice the twins until Maurice starts waving a gun or Robin replies to Barry in maybe 3 words. As has been pointed out there's nothing that can't be found on line and most of it will be more accurate.

I initially thought the “tragedy” in the title was a bit much, but there is indeed a tragic bent over much of The Bee Gees’ story. After the rush of their first fame in the late 60s, sibling rivalry and egos drove a wedge between alpha male Barry and the more sensitive Robin, which never really healed. Their low career point in the early 70s finally ended with their R&B transformation in the mid 70s and the cultural zeitgeist that was Saturday Night Fever, only to end abruptly with the disco backlash which had them blacklisted from American radio and made them the butt of endless jokes. As if this wasn’t enough, the untimely death of younger brother Andy, who was practically handed teen idol fame by doting brother Barry, but lacked the coping skills to withstand the pressures, affected the brothers deeply. Their talent and perseverance got them to the top, but they struggled to receive the respect their amazing musical catalogue deserves. This was a good read and a good addition to any fan’s library.

So many sources of biographical content on the BeeGees - media interviews and fan club PR - but not one biography that is truly authoritative as the BeeGee brand is carefully managed. No personal interviews are available to this author or any other whether family or sidemen. Jeff Apter's job was to write "Tragedy" and he comments that he spent seven years combing through older biographies as well as media and magazine interviews. He did a serviceable job. I would give this 3 1/2 stars. There is another bio, David Meyer's The BeeGees; The Biography published around the same time. Meyer is also a writer for hire and used the same resources which limit his and Apter to more of music critic than biographer. Meyer's voice has more wit, some pages had me laughing out loud. For that reason alone, I would rate Meyer's a 4 star read.

I like this book as it begins at the start of their lives and goes through all of trauma hardships and hard work they did to achieve their success

From start to finish one very good read and informative 5 stars

It read like an extended Wikipedia entry; it had all the facts, figures and places but lacked somewhat for style. It was written in a casual, bloke-in-a-pub, 'here, have a pint' kind of way. If you're looking for raw data, this will suffice. If you're looking for anything more, it won't.

Interesting biography. I love the Bee Gees music and felt I wanted to know more about them, especially their early life in Australia. Enjoyed this book which gives a lot of detail on this part of their lives & career, as well as the later periods, including all the heartbreaking, bad things that happened to the family. As Barry is the only brother left I wish he would write his own autobiography, giving his take on things. This is the next best thing. Well researched and written in great detail in an easy to follow style. Recommended for any fans of this band who wants to know more about them.

Tragedy the ballad of the Bee Gees ist ein tolles Buch über die Bee Gees. Es ist inenglisch geschrieben und hat super Photos. Es paßt prima in meine reichhaltige Bee Gees Sammlung.Einfach Klasse.