"To Love Somebody" is a song written by
Barry and
Robin Gibb. Produced by
Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the
Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967.[6] The single reached No. 17 in the United States and No. 41 in the United Kingdom. The song's B-side was "
Close Another Door".[7] The single was reissued in 1980 on
RSO Records with "
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as its flipside. The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine's "100 Best Tracks of the Sixties".[8] It was a minor hit in the UK and France. It reached the top 20 in the US. It reached the top 10 in Canada.
At the request of
Robert Stigwood, the band's manager,
Barry and
Robin Gibb wrote "To Love Somebody", a soulful ballad in the style of
Sam & Dave or
The Rascals, for
Otis Redding.[10] Redding came to see Barry at the Plaza in
New York City one night. Robin claimed that "Otis Redding said he loved our material and would Barry write him a song".[11]
The Bee Gees recorded "To Love Somebody" at IBC Studios, London with "Gilbert Green" and "End of My Song" in April 1967 and released it as a single in mid-June. Redding died in a plane crash later that year, before having a chance to record the song.
Robin said, "Everyone told us what a great record they thought it was, Other groups all raved about it but for some reason people in Britain just did not seem to like it." Barry said, "I think the reason it didn't do well here was because it's a soul number, Americans loved it, but it just wasn't right for this country".[12]
Barry Gibb explained in a June 2001 interview with Mojo magazine:
It was for
Robert (Stigwood). I say that unabashedly. He asked me to write a song for him, personally. It was written in New York and played to Otis but, personally, it was for Robert. He meant a great deal to me. I don't think it was a homosexual affection but a tremendous admiration for this man's abilities and gifts.[13]
Reception
Billboard described the single as a "smooth, easy beat ballad" that "should put them right back up there at the top of the Hot 100."[14]Record World said that it "is well written; the group, the Gee Bees [sic], sing it well."[15]
Personnel
Barry Gibb – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
American singer
Michael Bolton covered and released it as a single from his 1992 album Timeless: The Classics. His version reached number 11 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 and became his fourth single to peak at number two in Canada, his highest position in that country. It is also his highest-charting single in France, where it reached number seven.
1990:
Jimmy Somerville released a version that reached number 8 in the United Kingdom, becoming his most recent Top 10 entry in the UK.[55] It also charted highly in several other countries, reaching number 7 in Ireland[56] and attaining high positions in Austria, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.[57]
1991:
Rita Marley covered the song in her album We Must Carry On, released on May 14, 1991.[58][59]
^"The Year in Music 1993"(PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 52. 25 December 1993. p. YE-46.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
^Janjatović, Petar (2007). EX YU ROCK enciklopedija 1960–2006. Belgrade: self-released. p. 207.
^Drake, Howard (2020).
"The Sweet Inspirations Albums (Top Albums)". Music VF, US & UK hits charts. VF Entertainment. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.{{
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link)