AllMovie

Factsheet

• Began singing in public with his brothers Maurice and Robin in 1955, when they sang between shows at movie houses in Manchester, England.
• Moved with his family to Australia in 1958; they returned to England in early 1967.
• Hired with his brothers in 1959 to sing between races at the Redcliffe Speedway, which was near their home in Brisbane, Australia. One of the racers liked what he heard and recommended them to a DJ friend, who in turn featured them on his radio show.
• Impressed Australian singer Col Joye in 1962 to such an extent that he arranged for Barry and his brothers to open for Chubby Checker in Sydney.
• With the Bee Gees, frequently appeared on Australian TV during the mid-1960s, even starring in their own TV special in 1964.
• After returning to England in 1967, the Bee Gees released a string of hit singles, beginning with "New York Mining Disaster 1941" that same year. They didn't score their first U.S. No. 1  until 1971, however, with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart."
• With the Bee Gees, helped popularize the nascent pop-disco sound in 1975 with the hits "Jive Talkin'" (No. 1) and "Nights on Broadway" (No. 7). 
• Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, which featured many Bee Gee songs, sold 30 million copies during the late 1970s and early '80s, quickly becoming the top-selling album in history (until Michael Jackson's Thriller came along).
• Scored six consecutive No. 1 singles in the late 1970s ("How Deep Is Your Love," "Night Fever," "Stayin' Alive," "Love You Inside Out," "Too Much Heaven" and "Tragedy).  
• Wrote the title song for the 1978 movie Grease.
• Coproduced and cowrote Barbra Streisand's 1980 Guilty album, which sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Other artists he's collaborated with include Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick.
• Inducted with the Bee Gees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.