Nights on Broadway

"Nights on Broadway"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Main Course
B-side	"Edge of The Universe"
Released	September 1975
Format	7" 45 rpm
Recorded	20, 30 January 1975 Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida
Genre	Rhythm and blues funk pop
Length	2:52 (radio edit) 4:32 (album version)
Label	RSO
Writer(s)	Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s)	Arif Mardin
Bee Gees singles chronology
"Jive Talkin'" (1975) "Nights on Broadway" (1975) "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" (1976)

"Nights on Broadway" is a song by the Bee Gees from the Main Course album released in 1975. The second single released from the album, it immediately followed their number-one hit "Jive Talkin'". This track was credited to Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.

Recording

Recording this track started on 20 January 1975 and continued on 30 January, when they started to record songs for the album: "Jive Talkin'" (finished 2 February), "Songbird", "Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" (finished 19 February), "All This Making Love" and "Edge of the Universe".^[1]

Barry Gibb talked about "Nights on Broadway" on The Larry King Show on 2 February 2002:

"It came to me in a dream, there was a request by Arif Mardin, who was like an uncle to us, he was a great record producer during the song 'Nights On Broadway,' for the Main Course album, which is previous to the 'Fever' syndrome. And he said, 'Can any of you scream, scream in falsetto.' So, you know, give us an ad lib or a scream at the end. So from screaming, it turned into things like blaming it all."^[2]

Producer Arif Mardin asked if one of the Bee Gees member could do some screaming during the main chorus to make the song more exciting. In response, Barry Gibb began singing higher and higher, eventually singing it in a falsetto that was unexpectedly powerful. He had never known he had such an ability and Barry's falsetto became a trademark of the Bee Gees, although Maurice had been harmonizing in falsetto for years and did the shadow "blamin it all" part in falsetto, Barry recalled in a May 2001 interview with Mojo magazine "Arif said to me, "Can you scream?" I said, "under certain circumstances". He said, "Can you scream in tune?" I said, "well, I'll try"".^[2]

Release

"Nights on Broadway" reached number seven on the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, giving the Bee Gees back-to-back top 10 hits for the first time in seven years since 1968.

"Nights on Broadway" was edited for the radio, removing the slow section, and fades at 2:52. The version of this song on Tales from the Brothers Gibb was faster than the album, and fades at 4:25.^[1]

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1975–76) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] 67 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 15 Canada (CHUM)[5] 2 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6] 2 Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 17 Italy (FIMI)[8] 31 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 8 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 8 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 14 US Billboard Hot 100[12] 7 US Cash Box[13] 4 US Record World[14] 7

Year-end charts Chart (1975) Position Canada (RPM Top 200 Singles)[15] 35 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 92 US Cash Box[17] 58

Covers and sampling

• In 1977, Candi Staton released a version of this song that peaked at no. 6 on the United Kingdom Singles Chart in late Summer of that year^[18] and at no. 4 in Ireland.^[19] It omitted the slow-paced middle-eight which broke up the tempo of the Bee Gees' original.
• In 1997, a duet of Tom Jones with Paul Anka on Tom Jones compilation 3-CD set The Collection.
• In 1998, the song was sampled on the DMX track "The Convo" from the album It's Dark and Hell Is Hot.^[20]
• In 2008, the song was sampled by hip hop producer Jake One for his song How We Ride for his album White Van Music.^[21]
• Saturday Night Live uses the song as the theme to its sketch, "The Barry Gibb Talk Show", in its December 2013 pre-Christmas program with Gibb in a set-up "interview," but with different lyrics. Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, outgoing New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Justin Timberlake also appeared on the show, with Jimmy Fallon as guest host.

References

1. Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs : 1975". Columbia University. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
2. "Nights on Broadway by Bee Gees". Songfacts. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
3. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
4. "Ultratop.be – Bee Gees – Nights On Broadway" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
5. CHART NUMBER 983 – Saturday, November 22, 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 February 2006). CHUM. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
6. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4043a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
7. "Officialcharts.de – Bee Gees – Nights On Broadway". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
8. "Indice per Interprete: B" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bee Gees - Nights On Broadway search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bee Gees – Nights On Broadway" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
11. "Charts.org.nz – Bee Gees – Nights On Broadway". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
12. "Main Course – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
13. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending DECEMBER 6, 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 3 October 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
14. RECORD WORLD 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 August 2004). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
15. "Top Singles – Volume 24, No. 14, December 27, 1975". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
16. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1975" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
17. The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1975 at the Wayback Machine (archived 19 August 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
18. "1977 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive – 3rd September 1977". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
19. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
20. "DMX's The Convo sample of Bee Gees's Nights on Broadway". WhoSampled. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
21. "Jake One feat. Freeway's How We Ride sample of Bee Gees's Nights on Broadway". WhoSampled. Retrieved 14 July 2013.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics