Bee Gees Single Just Misses Anniversary

If the new single by the Bee Gees had debuted one week earlier, it would have been nicely timed to mark the exact 30th anniversary of the first appearance on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart by the brothers Gibb.

“New York Mining Disaster 1941 (Have You Seen My Wife, Mr. Jones)” entered the chart at No. 79 the week of May 27, 1967.

Even though the entry of “Alone” (Polydor) is off by one week, there are still plenty of reasons for Bee Gees fans to celebrate. The first single from “Still Waters” earns Hot Shot Debut honors by opening at No. 34. That’s good enough to instantly make it the most successful Bee Gees single of the ‘90s, based on its first-week chart performance.

Only one Bee Gees title in the past 14 years has charted higher, and that was “One,” which peaked at No. 7 in 1989. In the past 18 years, only two Bee Gees singles have fared better than “Alone.” In 1981, “He’s A Liar” peaked at No. 30.

Few of the acts that shared the Hot 100 with the Bee Gees their first week on the chart are still active or could have dreamed of careers that would last more than 30 years.

It’s great to have the brotherly harmonies of Barry, Robin and Maurice back on the chart as they begin their fourth decade on the Hot 100 with a song that has the potential to be one of the biggest of their 42 chart singles.