Night Fever

For the UK television programme, see Night Fever (TV series).
"Night Fever"

UK 7" single
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track
B-side "Down the Road (live)"
Released 7 February 1978 (1978-02-07)
Format 7" single
Recorded c. April 1977, Château d'Hérouville, France and
September 1977, Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida, United States[1]
Genre
Length 3:32
Label RSO
Writer(s) Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s) Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson
Certification Platinum (RIAA)[2]
Bee Gees singles chronology
"Stayin' Alive"
(1977)
"Night Fever"
(1978)
"Too Much Heaven"
(1978)
Music sample
"Night Fever"
Saturday Night Fever track listing

"Night Fever" is a disco song, written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film Saturday Night, but singer Robin Gibb expressed hesitation at the title. Stigwood liked the title Night Fever but was wary of marketing a movie with that name.

The B-side was a live version of "Down the Road" in 1977, previously released on Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live.

Inspiration and writing

When Bee Gees manager Robert Stigwood was producing a movie about a New York disco scene, the working title for the film at that time was Saturday Night as Stigwood asked the group to write a song using that name as a title, but the Bee Gees thought it was a dumb title, but they had already written a song called "Night Fever". The group convinced Stigwood to use that and change the film to Saturday Night Fever.[3]

The string intro of "Night Fever" was inspired by "Theme from A Summer Place" by Percy Faith, according to keyboardist Blue Weaver when he was performing it one morning at the sessions and Barry Gibb walked in and heard the new idea for this song.[3] As Weaver explains the history behind this song:

...'Night Fever' started off because Barry walked in one morning when I was trying to work out something. I always wanted to do a disco version of Theme from A Summer Place by The Percy Faith Orchestra or something - it was a big hit in the Sixties. I was playing that, and Barry said, 'What was that?' and I said, 'Theme from A Summer Place', and Barry said, 'No, it wasn't'. It was new. Barry heard the idea - I was playing it on a string synthesizer and sang the riff over it.[4]
Blue Weaver

Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb completed the lyrics for "Night Fever" sitting on a staircase (reminiscent of their first international hit "New York Mining Disaster 1941" which was written also in a staircase back in 1967).[4]

Recording

The Bee Gees began recording this song by April 1977 in France and finishing it in September the same year. A demo of "Night Fever" with some instrumental and vocals heard on it exists and was now available to download on Rhino Records' website.[1]

...For 'Night Fever' the group had the hook-line and rhythm - they usually pat their legs to set up a song's rhythm when they first sing it - and parts of the verses. They had the emotion, same as on the record. We put down drums and acoustic guitar first, so the feel was locked in. The piano part was put on before the bass, then the heavy guitar parts. We had the sound, but we needed something there to shake it so we used the thunder sound.[4]

Legacy

It also replaced Andy Gibb's "Love Is Thicker Than Water" at number one and was in turn replaced by Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" - all of which were written and produced by the Gibb brothers. It would be the third of six consecutive US #1s for the band, tying The Beatles for the record for most consecutive #1 singles. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1978, behind Andy Gibb's "Shadow Dancing."[5]

"Night Fever" topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, their third UK number one, and in the US it remained the number one Billboard Hot 100 single for over two months in 1978. In addition to Saturday Night Fever, the song has also appeared in the movie and on the soundtrack for Mystery Men. The song is listed at number 38 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.[6]

Music video

A music video was made for the song in 1978, but not shown to the public until 2004. It features the brothers singing the song in a darkened studio, layered over background video filmed while driving along "Motel Row" on Collins Avenue, a three-mile motel strip in what is now Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.[7] Most of these motels are now closed or demolished, including several whose names are reminiscent of Las Vegas resorts (Castaways, Desert Inn, Sahara, Golden Nugget).

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 7
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 4
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 3
Brazil[11] 1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[12] 1
Canadian RPM Top 30 Playlist[13] 13
Canadian RPM Top Singles[14] 1
China[11] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 6
France (SNEP)[15] 20
Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 2
Irish Singles Chart[17] 1
Italy (FIMI)[18] 5
Japan (Oricon)[19] 3
Mexico (Mexican Airplay)[20] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[24] 2
South African Chart[25] 2
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 3
UK (Official Charts Company)[29] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[30] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[30] 3
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles[30] 8
US Cash Box[31] 1

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Italy (FIMI)[32] 69
Chart (2012) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[33] 108

All-time charts

Chart Position
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 38

Year-end charts

Chart (1978) Position
US Cash Box[34] 98

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[35] Platinum 150,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Gold 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[37] Platinum 2,500,000[38]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Covers

Texan punk rock band The Dicks covered this song on the B-side of their 1980 debut single "Hate the Police" under the title "All Night Fever". In 2008, Australian singer and songwriter Tina Arena performed a cover version of "Night Fever" for the French film Disco. In 2012, the song was featured in the sixteenth episode of the third season of Glee.

References

  1. 1 2 Brennan, Joe. "Gibb Songs : 1977". Columbia University. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  2. "RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Bee Gees Platinum Singles". RIAA.com. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Night Fever by Bee Gees". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Melinda Bilyeu, Hector Cook, Andrew Môn Hughes. The Bee Gees. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  5. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1978
  6. 1 2 Bronson, Fred (2 August 2012). "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  7. "Bee Gees - Night Fever (Video)" on YouTube. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Austriancharts.at – Bee Gees – Night Fever" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Bee Gees – Night Fever" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. 1 2 3 "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 3" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  12. "Night fever in Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  13. "Bee Gees cuts from Saturday Night Fever in Canadian Top 30 Playlist". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  14. "Night fever in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  15. "Night fever in French Chart" (in French). Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013. You have to use the index at the top of the page and search "Bee Gees"
  16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bee Gees – Night Fever". GfK Entertainment.
  17. "Night fever in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 10 July 2013. 2nd result when searching "Night fever"
  18. "The best-selling singles of 1978 in Italy". HitParadeItalia (it). Retrieved 10 July 2013.
    29. Night fever - The Bee Gees [#5]
  19. Danyel Smith, ed. (1978). Billboard 2 september 1978. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  20. Danyel Smith, ed. (1978). Billboard 12 august 1978. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 10 July 2013. NB : "Night fever" is mistakenly called "Saturday Night fever" on this magazine
  21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bee Gees search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bee Gees – Night Fever" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  23. "Charts.org.nz – Bee Gees – Night Fever". Top 40 Singles.
  24. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bee Gees – Night Fever". VG-lista.
  25. John Samson. "Night fever in South African Chart". Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  26. Danyel Smith, ed. (1978). Billboard 8 july 1978. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  27. "Swedishcharts.com – Bee Gees – Night Fever". Singles Top 100.
  28. "Swisscharts.com – Bee Gees – Night Fever". Swiss Singles Chart.
  29. "1978 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 29th April 1978". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  30. 1 2 3 "Saturday Night Fever [Original Movie Soundtrack] awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  31. "Cashbox Top 100". Cashbox Archives. 18 March 1978. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  32. "Indice per Interprete: B". HitParadeItalia (it). Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  33. "Lescharts.com – Bee Gees – Night Fever" (in French). Les classement single.
  34. "Cashbox Top 100". Cashbox Archives. 24 June 1978. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  35. "Canadian certifications – Bee Gees – Night Fever". Music Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  36. "British single certifications – Bee Gees – Night Fever". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Enter Night Fever in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  37. "American single certifications – Bee Gees – Night Fever". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 March 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  38. Grein, Paul (26 August 1978). "Billboard Vol. 90, No. 34". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). Retrieved 8 June 2012.

External links

Preceded by
"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" by Andy Gibb
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
18 March 1978 – 6 May 1978
Succeeded by
"If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman
Preceded by
"Emotion" by Samantha Sang
Cash Box Top 100 number-one single
18 March 1978 – 6 May 1978
Succeeded by
"If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman
Preceded by
"Emotion" by Samantha Sang
Canadian RPM number-one single
1 – 29 April 1978
Succeeded by
"If I Can't Have You" by Yvonne Elliman
Preceded by
"Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" by Brian and Michael
UK number-one single
29 April 1978 – 6 May 1978
Succeeded by
"Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M
Preceded by
"Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" by Brian and Michael
Irish Singles Chart number-one single
29 April 1978 – 13 May 1978
Succeeded by
"Rivers of Babylon" by Boney M
Preceded by
"Stayin' Alive" by Bee Gees
Spanish number-one single
19 – 26 June 1978
Succeeded by
"Cara de Gitana" by Daniel Magal
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