WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
Boomer Duets Triplets: Bee Gees – Islands In The Stream
byVanderleunonOctober 20, 2021
Yes, they wrote it. The Bee Gees wrote over one thousand songs. This one they wrote for Kenny Rogers but Kenny didn’t like singing it by himself. Then somebody said, “Hey, Dolly Parton’s somewhere around the studio. Let’s get her to sing along.”
And she did. And he did. And they did. And then Everybody sang along. You know it, my friends. Sing it. Sing it out. It will enhance your day in ways you cannot know yet, so sing it and go see what’s out there. Sail away with me to another world and we rely on each other. Ah ha.
One might wonder, considering how many songs they wrote for themselves, if it required a mental shift to write a song intended for a single singer. But they were very successful in both songwriting roles.
Barry, the last surviving Gibb brother, must get royalty checks with 20-page memos.
brinsterOctober 21, 2021, 3:39 AM
They did this song joyfully, and in turn gave the audience that same joy.
ghostsniperOctober 21, 2021, 4:51 AM
Before he got all famous:
I woke up this mornin’ with the sundown shinin’ in
I found my mind in a brown paper bag within
I tripped on a cloud and fell-a eight miles high
I tore my mind on a jagged sky
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in
I watched myself crawlin’ out as I was a-crawlin’ in
I got up so tight I couldn’t unwind
I saw so much I broke my mind
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
Someone painted “April Fool” in big black letters on a “Dead End” sign
I had my foot on the gas as I left the road and blew out my mind
Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
JackOctober 21, 2021, 8:42 AM
I like a few of the BG’s songs but that high falsetto thing they usually tossed into the mix made me think of Tiny Tim being slowly squashed under a large truck. Try to sing those phrases yourself and you’ll get the idea.
I saw Kenny Rogers and the First Edition in college in 1969 and I kind of remember it but I do recall that everyone liked his signature song, Just Dropped In. Rogers grew up dirt poor but he possessed pretty good vocal chops and managed to get out, a complete success story with dozens of great singers and musicians and an amazing entertainment icon until sex raised its ugly head and he was picked off for setting up an 800 number so that he could call women for phone sex. Additional charges followed for his extended efforts to goad women into boinking him.
I never understood that….a leading contender for manly-man crooning resorting to that kind of thing when he knew without a doubt that he had an endless list of willing women. Go fig….
VanderleunOctober 21, 2021, 10:16 AM
A real roue is never concerned about the willing women, he wants the unwilling women. Nothing to figure, that’s just how some men are made.
I always had a soft spot for Andy Gibb, the youngest of the four brothers. Drugs did him in—or so it was said. True enough, years of cocaine had weakened his heart. But what destroyed it was his breakup with Victoria Principal. He died of a broken heart. Gibb was 30 years old.
Appreciative ReaderOctober 21, 2021, 3:09 PM
Come to find out that when they wrote the song, and before pitching it to Kenny Rogers, The Bee Gees intended an R&B vibe. They recorded it that way for their greatest hits album “The Record.”
Different! So good! Robin really shines.
Notice the last verse with “ghetto superstar.” Years later a rapper, Pras Michel, parlayed that verse into a top 40 rap song “Ghetto Supastar (That Is Who You Are).”
Check the song credits and you’ll see B, R, and M Gibb.
The Bee Gees were so versatile. A great song is a great song!
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
One might wonder, considering how many songs they wrote for themselves, if it required a mental shift to write a song intended for a single singer. But they were very successful in both songwriting roles.
Barry, the last surviving Gibb brother, must get royalty checks with 20-page memos.
They did this song joyfully, and in turn gave the audience that same joy.
Before he got all famous:
I woke up this mornin’ with the sundown shinin’ in
I found my mind in a brown paper bag within
I tripped on a cloud and fell-a eight miles high
I tore my mind on a jagged sky
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in
I watched myself crawlin’ out as I was a-crawlin’ in
I got up so tight I couldn’t unwind
I saw so much I broke my mind
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
Someone painted “April Fool” in big black letters on a “Dead End” sign
I had my foot on the gas as I left the road and blew out my mind
Eight miles outta Memphis and I got no spare
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
I like a few of the BG’s songs but that high falsetto thing they usually tossed into the mix made me think of Tiny Tim being slowly squashed under a large truck. Try to sing those phrases yourself and you’ll get the idea.
I saw Kenny Rogers and the First Edition in college in 1969 and I kind of remember it but I do recall that everyone liked his signature song, Just Dropped In. Rogers grew up dirt poor but he possessed pretty good vocal chops and managed to get out, a complete success story with dozens of great singers and musicians and an amazing entertainment icon until sex raised its ugly head and he was picked off for setting up an 800 number so that he could call women for phone sex. Additional charges followed for his extended efforts to goad women into boinking him.
I never understood that….a leading contender for manly-man crooning resorting to that kind of thing when he knew without a doubt that he had an endless list of willing women. Go fig….
A real roue is never concerned about the willing women, he wants the unwilling women. Nothing to figure, that’s just how some men are made.
Good point.
The thing about great pop music is even though it’s pop music, it’s still great. Such heights are not often reached …
No version can top Rogers & Pardon’s rendition in the movie “Islands in the Stream.”
Oh you mean this one?
Yes! That’s the one!
Kenny was a little heavy then… but that’s the one.
I cherish that song and album… it’s on the top of my collection pile.
We’re here for you, Jack. We never close.
The Bee Gees wrote “To Love Somebody ” for Otis Redding but he died before he could record it.
I always had a soft spot for Andy Gibb, the youngest of the four brothers. Drugs did him in—or so it was said. True enough, years of cocaine had weakened his heart. But what destroyed it was his breakup with Victoria Principal. He died of a broken heart. Gibb was 30 years old.
Come to find out that when they wrote the song, and before pitching it to Kenny Rogers, The Bee Gees intended an R&B vibe. They recorded it that way for their greatest hits album “The Record.”
“Islands in the Stream”: https://youtu.be/zumqwkSq9YA
Different! So good! Robin really shines.
Notice the last verse with “ghetto superstar.” Years later a rapper, Pras Michel, parlayed that verse into a top 40 rap song “Ghetto Supastar (That Is Who You Are).”
Check the song credits and you’ll see B, R, and M Gibb.
The Bee Gees were so versatile. A great song is a great song!
Loved it. Thanks.