Bee Gees Massachusetts 1967

Bee Gees Massachusetts 1967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk9bmuncB4Q 

The Bee Gees "Massachusetts" on french TV 1967.

Barry and Robin harmony

When the brothers (Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb) wrote the song, they had never been to Massachusetts. 

 

[Verse 1]
Feel I'm going back
To Massachusetts
Something's telling me
I must go home

[Chorus]
And the lights all went out down in Massachusetts
The day I left
Her standing on her own

[Verse 2]
Tried to hitch a ride
To San Francisco
Gotta do the things
I wanna do

[Chorus 2]
And the lights all went down in Massachusetts
They brought me back
To see my way with you

[Verse 3]
Talk about the life
In Massachusetts
Speak about the people
I have seen

 

[Chorus 3]
And the lights all went down in Massachusetts
And Massachusetts
Is one place I have seen

[Outro]
(I will remember Massachusetts)
I will remember Massachusetts
(I will remember Massachusetts)
I will remember Massachusetts
(I will remember Massachusetts)
I will remember Massachusetts

 

In this poignant song, the singer feels himself drawn back to Massachusetts, a state in the northeastern US.

 

It seems there is a girl at the heart of hit, one he "left her standing on her own."

The Bee Gees had never actually been to Massachusetts when they recorded this; they just liked the sound of the name.

 

The Seekers - Massachusetts (2002)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUfUNNN68eQ 

 

• Robin Gibb – lead vocal
• Barry Gibb – guitar, backing vocals
• Maurice Gibb – bass, piano, mellotron, backing vocals
• Vince Melouney – guitar
• Colin Petersen – drums

Behind the Track: ‘Massachusetts’

The Story behind the Bee Gees’ 1967 hit, “Massachusetts”

The Bee Gees’ first UK #1 was not originally written for themselves but was initially written to fulfill the Gibb brothers’ dream of writing a hit for The Seekers. The band was unsuccessful in getting the song to The Seekers upon their arrival in London and ultimately decided to record the song themselves.

 

The group wrote the single while on a boat in New York harbor as a challenge to themselves. Robin Gibb explained to Daniel Rachel, author of The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters, that it was a good exercise for the brothers. They had never been to Massachusetts before and the state’s name contained a lot of S’s, making it an unusual title.

 

 

Bee Gees - Massachusetts (One For All Tour Live In Australia 1989)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuoWykVNwyI 

 

Massachusetts (Bee Gees song)

 

"(The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb and released in 1967.  Robin Gibb sang lead vocals on this song and it would become one of his staple songs to perform during both Bee Gees concerts and his solo appearances. It later appeared on their 1968 album, Horizontal.

 

The song became the first of the group's five No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart, reached No. 1 in 12 other countries, peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually sold over five million copies worldwide. When the brothers wrote the song, they had never been to Massachusetts.  In a UK television special on ITV in December 2011, it was voted third (behind "How Deep Is Your Love" and "You Win Again") in "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song".

 

Writing and inspiration

The song was written in the Regis Hotel, New York City during a tour of the United States. The song was intended as an antithesis to flower power anthems of the time such as "Let's Go to San Francisco" and "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" in that the protagonist had been to San Francisco to join the hippies but was now homesick. The idea of the lights having gone out in Massachusetts was to suggest that everyone had gone to San Francisco.

There are two different memories, Robin remembers us doing it in a boat going around New York City. And I remember us checking in at the St. Regis with Robert, going to the suite, and while the bags were being brought in we were so high on being in New York, that's how 'Massachusetts' began. I think we were strumming basically the whole thing, and then I think we went on a boat round New York. I don't know if we finished it, but I think that's where the memories collide. Everybody wrote it. All three of us were there when the song was born.

— Barry Gibb

 

The song was originally intended for The Seekers. Upon arriving in London from Australia (following in the path of the Seekers, who had arrived several years earlier) the Bee Gees had been unsuccessful in getting the song to the group, so they recorded it themselves. During a chance meeting in London between the Seekers' lead singer Judith Durham and Maurice Gibb, Durham learned that "Massachusetts" was originally intended for her group and in 2003 the Seekers recorded the song as a tribute to Maurice following his death earlier that year.

 

The Bee Gees had never actually been to Massachusetts when they recorded the song; they just liked the sound of the name as it was unusual, containing a lot of S's.

Recording

"Massachusetts" was recorded on 9 August 1967, along with "Sir Geoffrey Saved the World", at the IBC Studios in London and finished on 17 August. Barry feels Bill Shepherd's orchestral score is perhaps the arranger's finest: "We never expected him to do that. Sometimes we would sing what we would [imagine] the strings doing. But in this case he did that himself, and I thought it was great. 'Massachusetts' was our first #1 in England".

 

*The IBC Recording Studios were independent recording studios located at 35 Portland Place in London, England.