To Be or Not to Be (song)
"To Be or Not to Be" is a rock and roll number recorded by the Bee Gees written by Barry Gibb released on the album The Bee Gees Sing and Play 14 Barry Gibb Songs (1965).[1] The song's title was named after the famous opening phrase of a William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. The song shows some influence from 1950s rock and roll.
Recording and releases
It was the last song recorded for the album around October 1965 in Festival Studio in Sydney after "I Was a Lover, A Leader of Men", "And the Children Laughing", "I Don't Think It's Funny" and "How Love Was True". The session was produced by Bill Shepherd. The song features a piano solo in the instrumental break but the pianist, like the drummer, was uncredited. Robin sang lead on the second verse with Barry taking the lead for the rest.[2]
This song was one of three new songs recorded for the album, the other tracks had already been released as a singles between 1963 and 1965.The song's original duration was 2:10 on the 1963-1966 Birth of Brilliance the duration was 2:11.[3]
Personnel
References