Bee Gees hit #1 with “How Deep Is Your Love”

How Deep Is Your Love Bee Gees

Writer(s): Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Maurice Gibb (see lyrics here) First Charted: September 24, 1977 Peak: 13 US, 14 CB, 13 GR, 2 HR, 14 RR, 16 AC, 3 UK, 16 CN, 3 AU, 5 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.7 US, 1.02 UK, 3.64 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 5.0 radio, 635.80 video, 500.38 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” may be the song most associated with disco, but it was the group’s previous single, “How Deep Is Your Love,” which kickstarted the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that made disco the juggernaut it became. “How Deep Is Your Love” reached #1 a week after the debut of the Saturday Night Fever movie. SF It was followed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 by two more Bee Gees songs (“Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever”) and Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You.” Even this many years later it ranks second only to The Bodyguard as the best-selling soundtrack of all time with 25 million worldwide. “Deep” was also significant in that it ended Debby Boone’s 10-week reign at the top of the charts and became the first song to spend 17 weeks or more in the top 10 since Chubby Checker’s “The Twist.” It held the record until Boyz II Men’s 19-week run in the top ten with “End of the Road” in 1992. The Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb has said it is his favorite Bee Gees’ song. WK Robert Stigwood, who manged the Bee Gees, tapped them to contribute songs to his Saturday Night Fever movie. The group was tempted to give this song to Yvonne Elliman, but Stigwood said, “You’ve got to do this song yourself; you should not give it to anybody.” WK When the song, which Billboard described as a “warm tender ballad,” WK reached #3 in the UK, Barry said, “With all the new wave and punk rock out, I would have thought something like ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ wouldn’t have a chance.” WK The song won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Group. Resources: SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Pages 172-3. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/23/2020; last updated 4/12/2023.