Barry Gibb became a friend of Timberlake and Fallon by virtue of a continuing skit the two did on NBC’s Saturday Night Live over the past decade. With Fallon in the role of Barry and Timberlake in the role of the more slender, less hirsute Robin, the duo became the Bee Gees of the 1970s, complete with singing renditions of their hit songs. While the skits were parodies, the songs were sung amazingly well. Fallon has a decent voice and mimics well. Timberlake is an exceptional singing talent for any era.
The Saturday Night Live segments were so well received the surviving Gibb Brothers became fans. Robin and Barry appeared on Fallon’s show. In 2012, Robin passed away, leaving Barry the lone survivor. This set the stage for an eventual performance by Barry, Jimmy and Justin as the Bee Gees.
Fallon became the host of a late night show in 2009 which replaced Conan O’Brien’s time slot. After a slow start, he hit his stride and Timberlake became a big part of that. The duo had many performances together on Fallon’s show, with Bee Gees music always a big hit with fans and viewers. On one particular night, Barry Gibb was a guest and he sang a duo with Fallon. At a later date, Timberlake would join them.
In the last week of January this year, during the waning days of Fallon’s late night show, Barry Gibb appeared and performed on stage. The glow of joy on his face was a sight to behold for this Bee Gees fan of old. I remember them before they did disco. If you were an adult in the 1970s, you remember their poignant tunes which preceded disco. And you remember them because they became disco. Saturday Night Fever could not have been the film it was without the Bee Gees music.
It does my heart good to see a noble lion of entertainment from my youth reclaim some of his youthful success decades after he soared in popularity. It is equally charming that he has become fast friends with two of the emerging giants of entertainment.
The trio are charming, entertaining and enthusing. They make me want to get up and dance when they sing. They make me laugh every time they get together.
The Bee Gees names was taken from the “Brothers Gibb.” Two of the brothers have passed away. Two new “brothers” have emerged to join Barry. Somewhere in heaven, Robin and Maurice are smiling and singing - in high falsettos and close harmonies.
© 2014, Jim “Pappy” Moore,
All Rights Reserved.
Jim “Pappy” Moore is a native son of East Texas who still makes the piney woods his home. firstname.lastname@example.org