Play your favorite Bee Gees song. What catches your attention first? In the opening moments of “Survival,” “Night Fever” or “More Than a Woman” before the golden harmonies of the Gibb brothers come in, it’s likely the disco backbeat that runs through the entire song. And you can thank the late Dennis Brion for that.
Brion, who died at the age of 76 on Nov. 14, according to New York TimesHe joined the Bee Gees in the early 1970s and remained in the band until 1980 – a period that perfectly matches the band’s most successful period. His drumming was essential to the Bee Gees’ bold leap into the disco years, providing a constant pulse for some of the decade’s most successful songs.
In fact, the drum part in the three songs mentioned in the first paragraph of this story came from a single session in 1977 at a chateau in France. Working with the Bee Gees on their songs for the movie Saturday Night FeverBrion recorded his part on “Night Fever” before leaving the studio for a family matter. Engineer Carl Richardson then used the most advanced studio techniques of the time, literally cutting a small section of tape and turning it into a physical loop to provide the drum part for “Stayin’ Alive” and “More Than a Woman.” “This was only done to overcome the absence of Dennis Brion for a few days, but the effect was a stunning mechanical beat,” Bee Gees biographer Joseph Brennan wrote. “Although this became boring later in dance music, it was new in 1977.”
In a rather depressing twist, Brion wasn’t the only Bee Gees drummer to die this month. The times Colin “Smiley” Petersen, who played in an earlier incarnation of the band, died on Nov. 18 at the age of 78. Petersen was the first full-time drummer for the Bee Gees, joining the band in 1967 and establishing the band through Beatlesque pop music. Years. His drumming can be heard on early classics including “To Love Somebody,” “I Should Send You a Letter” and “I Started a Joke.” He also played on the Bee Gees’ ambitious 1969 double LP. Odessabefore the band split up later that year. When they reunited again in 1970 to begin a new phase of their career, Petersen was off the field.
“I wasn’t the most technically skilled drummer, but I think sometimes less is more,” Petersen said in a 2022 interview with the British music podcast. Strange Drink. “When you’re limited, you have to be creative – just like Chuck Berry, who made magic with just a few strings. For me, it was always about serving the song.”
Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb founded the Bee Gees as young men in Australia and led the group to some of the biggest successes of the 20th century. Maurice died in 2003, and Robin died in 2012, leaving Barry as Gibb’s only remaining brother.
Talking to Rolling StoneFrom Josh Eells in 2014, Barry Gibb opened up about their complicated story and shared his regrets about his sometimes distant relationship with his siblings: “There were too many bad times and not enough good times. A few more good times would have been great.”
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