Stayin' Alive Introduction
In a Nutshell
You may not know the name of the band who did it, but we're going to bet you know the beat and the dance moves. The Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" is disco at its finest—or a musical abomination, depending on whom you ask.Nobody can deny, though, that the Bee Gees were a powerful force on the late-1970s charts. The three brothers who started out singing soft rock harmonies edged their way into the American consciousness with tracks bursting with energy and catchiness, and when "Stayin' Alive" made it onto the soundtrack of the movie that brought disco to the masses, Saturday Night Fever, it was all over.
You won't be getting this song out of your head any time soon.
About the Song
| Artist | Bee Gees | Musician(s) | Barry Gibb (vocals, guitar), Maurice Gibb (vocals, bass guitar), Robin Gibb (vocals), Dennis Bryon (drums), Alan Kendall (guitar), Blue Weaver (keyboard) |
| Album | Saturday Night Fever | ||
| Year | 1977 | ||
| Label | RSO | ||
| Writer(s) | Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb | ||
| Producer(s) | Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson | ||
| Buy this song: Amazon iTunes | Try Listen and Learn (BETA) | ||
Shmoop Connections
Disco has inspired both love and hatred since its beginnings. When rock band Pink Floyd put out a single with a disco beat in 1979, some fans were livid.To be honest, we do sympathize with people who argue that disco was at times a little shallow and that some disco music sounded the same, but can't you say the same for almost any genre?
Disco was made for dancing, and, as dance music, it stole the show. We may not be hitting the club in polyester bellbottoms anymore, but elements of disco do live on in our popular music: check out the Pet Shop Boys' reworking of a Village People track, "Go West," or the energizing beat of Lady Gaga's smash hit, "Born This Way" (which also inspired its fair share of love and hate).
On the Charts
"Stayin' Alive" reached #1 on the charts in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa.The song is #191 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.