Singer in Popular Vocal Group Bee Gees Dies of Heart Attack

Broadcast: Jan 12 2003

 

53,Maurice Gibb, sang high-pitched backing vocals², and played bass³ and keyboards for the trio, which also included his twin Robin⁴ and older brother Barry. Maurice died Sunday in a Miami Beach, Florida hospital. He had been admitted Wednesday and underwent emergency surgery Thursday for a blocked intestine⁵. Maurice also suffered ¹⁾cardiac arrest prior to the operation.

The group's name, Bee Gees⁶, was an ²⁾abbreviation for Brothers Gibb. Known for their vocal¹ harmonies, the Bee Gees became musical icons⁷ during the disco era of the late-1970s for their contributions to 1977's Saturday Night Fever, an album that included the hits, "Night Fever", "More Than A Woman", and "How Deep Is Your Love."

With more the 40 million copies sold worldwide, Saturday Night Fever remains⁸ the best-selling movie soundtrack album of all-time.

Born in England, Maurice was part of a musical family. In addition to his brothers, their father, Hugh, was a ³⁾bandleader. Mother Barbara was a former singer. A younger brother, Andy, had a successful solo career in the late 1970s and early 80s before dying in 1988 of a heart ailment⁹ at age 30.

The Gibb Brothers began performing in 1955 as a novelty act between shows at Manchester, England movie theatres, miming¹⁰ along with songs played on a ⁴⁾phonograph. When the records got broken, however, the trio began singing for real, and received a rousing response from the audience.

The Gibb family moved from England to Brisbane, Australia in 1958. Barry Gibb began writing songs. By 1962, the brothers had adopted the Bees Gees name, gotten their own local television show in Brisbane, and landed a recording¹¹ contract.

In 1966, the Bee Gees returned to England, which by then, had become the center of the music world following the wild success of such British rock bands as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. After being signed to a contract by producer/record executive Robert Stigwood, The Bee Gees released a series of Top 20 songs, including "New York Mining Disater 1941", "Massachusetts", and "To Love Somebody." In 1971, the Bee Gees recorded what would become their first U.S. No. 1 song, "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart."

The Bee Gees popularity waned¹² in the early-70s, only to reach new heights later in the decade when the trio's sound evolved from ballads¹³ to dance hits as part of the disco craze. Spirits Having Flown, a 1978 follow-up to Saturday Night Fever, sold more than 20 million albums.

When the disco era ended, so did the Bee Gees string of hits. They remained active in the music industry in the 1980s by writing and producing songs for Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick. The Bee Gees also wrote "Islands In The Stream", the 1983 No. 1 hit recorded by country music superstars Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

The Bee Gees were 1997 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The trio continued to occasionally record and tour. Their last album, "This Is Where I Came In", was released in 2001. The Bee Gees run Middle Ear Studios, a music production company in Miami.

A statement from the Gibb family said, "His love, enthusiasm and energy for life remain an inspiration to all of us."

I'm Ed Kowalski.

1)    cardiac[5kB:diAk]n.强心剂, 强胃剂

2)    abbreviation[E7bri:vi5eiFEn]n.缩写, 缩写词

3)    bandleader[`bAnd9li:dE(r)]n. 伴舞乐队的指挥

4)    phonograph[5fEunE^rB:f]n. 留声机, 电唱机

 

 

 

 

1 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

2 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

3 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

4 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

5 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

6 gees   

n.（美俚）一千元（gee的复数形式）v.驭马快走或向右（gee的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• When the lunch bell rang, she peeled the gees and ate them. 中午吃饭铃响时她就剥开鸡蛋吃起来。 来自互联网
• How do you want you gees? 你要怎么样的蛋呢？ 来自互联网

7 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

10 miming   

v.指手画脚地表演，用哑剧的形式表演( mime的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The actor was miming the movements of a bird. 这位演员正在摹拟一只鸟的动作。 来自互联网
• Enneagram in Miming. A Silence Theatre production. 无声模式制作，用默剧手法介绍九型人格。 来自互联网

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

12 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。