Bee Gees – “Stayin’ Alive” and “Words”

Last night in the car listening to someone talking on a CD I picked up the words “staying alive” and my mind immediately turned to the Bee Gees – born on the Isle of Man, they spent their childhood near Manchester, England and in Redcliffe on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia, before going on to become one of the top acts in the USA.

Saturday Night Fever album cover

The Bee Gees were really a Sixties band who reinvented themselves in the Seventies, beginning with “Jive Talkin'”, “Nights On Broadway” and “You Should Be Dancing”, and really taking off with songs like “Night Fever”, “Stayin’ Alive”, “How Deep Is Your Love” and “More Than A Woman” from the hit film “Saturday Night Fever” starring John Travolta.

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Kate Bush – “Wuthering Heights”

Kate Bush suddenly entered my consciousness – and presumably that of many others – in February of 1978 with her debut hit “Wuthering Heights”.

I was staying with my grandmother in Brighton, England, on my way back from Germany to New Zealand to finish my degree when I heard this magical voice on British radio, and I just had to get the album when I got back home.

Here’s the original, “white dress” version:

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The Eagles – “Ol’ 55” and “Desperado” (and “Already Gone”)

I first heard “Ol’ 55” from the Eagles in 1975 (I only found out just now, 35 years later, that it was actually written by Tom Waits…)

It was on an early album before they really took off and became mainstream after Joe Walsh joined them.

Here’s a live version from 1974:

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