Andy Gibb: Our Everlasting Love

Carolyn Cochrane 0:00

Hi everybody, and welcome to season 12 of the pop culture Preservation Society podcast. Before we begin, we'd like to say thank you to all of our longtime listeners for their unbelievable support of this little project that we started 165 episodes ago and welcome to all of you who are listening for the first time. We are so glad that you found us and to open this season we decided to go big or go home. We are celebrating one of the seven DS biggest crushes and biggest talents and an emotional two part tribute please enjoy and Welcome to Season 12

Michelle Newman 0:43

For sure I just want to be your everything is one of those songs that apologies in advance listeners that don't like this but gives me a funny a tingly feeling in my tummy. Because it takes me back I get I'm who's gonna do it. I'm mandolin I'm all of it. I can't even pick one because anytime I hear that song, I'm back in that house. I'm back. I feel like I can smell things I feel like or I'm in a car riding with my mom because it's on the radio. But just that fun. So this is a song that was saying come on get

Kristin Nilsen 1:21

the dog and this one will make you welcome to the pop culture Preservation Society. The podcast for people born in the big wheel generation whose dream vacation was a princess cruise, stopping in Acapulco comic San Lucas and Coronavirus.

Michelle Newman 1:42

With a drink on the Lido Deck. We believe our Gen X childhoods gave us quite unforgettable songs, stories, characters and images. And if we don't talk about them, they'll disappear like Marshall will and Holly on a routine expedition.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:56

And today we'll be saving one of Gen X's most legendary crushes the baby brother of the BGS who filled up the whole spotlight all by himself. Andy Gibb. I'm Carolyn.

Kristin Nilsen 2:09

I'm Kristen.

Michelle Newman 2:11

And I'm Michelle and we are your pop culture preservationists.

Speaker 1 2:29

So long you and we've been finding each other for so long.

Speaker 2 2:36

And the feeling that I'm feeling for you is more than stronger. Take it from me.

Speaker 1 2:43

It became a little more than your recipes and falling in love.

Kristin Nilsen 2:51

It's no secret to longtime listeners that Shaun Cassidy was my first crush. And it's also no secret that Andy Gibb was my second. The first crush is often your introduction to the idea of falling in love. And the second crush can double down on that experience and intensify it. You're a little bit older, you may be ready for a little something more. For me. I graduated to my 10 year old mines ultimate sexy time fantasy, a soft spoken and sweet but much hairier and again. The requests from listeners were getting louder and louder for us to do an episode on Andy Gibb because I'm not the only one who fantasized about walking around in a bathrobe with him. But this is a complicated story. We have such fond childhood memories. But that ended in heartbreaking fashion on March 10 1988 When Andy Gibb died so young at the age of 30. For me, that felt like the day in my childhood died, so we weren't sure how to approach it.

Carolyn Cochrane 3:48

And the other complicating factor was that Kristen had recently become acquainted with someone that most people were completely unaware of including me. And that's Andy Gibbs daughter, PETA Gibb Webber when PETA saw the video of Kristin reading her essay about receiving that wrong Andy Gibb album for Christmas, we know you've all seen it. And when Peter saw it, it warmed her heart. And she sent not just a message of support, but also a package of Gibbs themed goodies, all the way from Australia. And that opened the most surreal situation. Kristen was now just casually chatting with the progeny of her childhood crush, Andy Gibb. And you guys, I just have to let you know that when Kristen just shared this kind of casually in our writers group one day, it was just like, Yeah, I've been communicating with Peter Gibb Webber and this is Andy's daughter. And I was like, Wait, hold the presses. Like, I'm like jumping out of my seat. And she's just matter of factly telling us that. And you guys that kind of sums up how Kristen and I kind of react in these situations. You know, she's all kind of calm and cool and collected. And I'm like jumping up and down and I'm just shouting from the rooftops. So looking back, I actually thought this was the beginning of the seeds being planted for what we're doing today, this podcast just the different ways we approach these fun pop culture moments and the fact that you are friends now with PETA, his daughter is blows my mind. Yeah,

Kristin Nilsen 5:19

that's, that is probably true.

Michelle Newman 5:21

I'm going to ask you something that I know, all of our listeners are dying to know. And I'm dying to know. Can you tell us what some of the Gibb themed goodies were?

Kristin Nilsen 5:31

It was so nice. You guys. It was and I have to tell you, you know, you just talked about our different approaches to this Carolyn home calm, cool and collected. But I think I sat on my front step for like days and days and days waiting for the mailman to come by and bring me this gift from Australia. I was like a child. And when it did arrive, and I looked at the return address, and I go, okay, Peter, don't listen to this part. I saved the mailing address, I say, packaging, because it it was profound to know that, you know, here was his name here was his daughter, and then it landed here in my lap, and I can I can touch it. But to answer your question show, she sent me a package of CDs. The first one was Andy Gibbs Greatest Hits. The other one was a four disc set called mythology, which is each each disc was devoted to one give brother, and so there's one disc that's devoted entirely to Andy. And all of those songs were picked by PETA. She decided what songs went on that mythology CD. Wow. And then the last CD was by the Gibb collective, which is covers of BG songs and Andy Gibb songs by the children of Andy Gibb and the BGS. Talk about a profound experience. It was the first time that PETA was really included in the Gibb family. It was Samantha Gibb, who was the daughter of Morris, I believe, who decided it was time, and she reached out to PETA. And would she please be the representative for Andy? And Peter said yes. And she was able to contribute a cover of her dad song full for a night and it'll it'll choke you up. It'll choke you up.

Carolyn Cochrane 7:36

Powerful, it

Kristin Nilsen 7:37

was very powerful. So because of that relationship. I did not feel comfortable doing an episode on Andy Gibb without her blessing. And so I asked her, if we were to do an episode on Andy Gibb, what would you want that to look like? What would you want people to know? Because at the end of the day, these are real people that we're talking about their, their the fantasies and the performances that we hold dear, but we forget that they were actual human beings. And what PETA said first and foremost was this. He was more than a teen idol. He had a wife and a child that got left behind when his career exploded. It's very clear that she wants people to know the human side of Andy Gibb, not just the Tiger Beat version that that never could have acknowledged that he was her father, right? This is really interesting. She also wants us to go to bat for Victoria principal, who has often been painted as the villain in the Andy Gibb story.

Michelle Newman 8:32

Right. And so that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna pay tribute to this extraordinarily talented and charismatic man. We're going to celebrate his music. And we're also going to celebrate his humanity, some of which makes us sad, because it's not fair to his memory, or to the people he left behind to pretend that everything was all teen drains all the time. And it

Kristin Nilsen 8:57

was very difficult to go about doing that. When looking for sources, because of course, Andy Gibb was the subject of tabloid fodder for years. That's where a lot of our information comes from. And when you're looking for the information that is truthful, and yet honors him that's really hard to come by. And there's one book that I read, there's one biography of Andy Gibb that I read, and I just want to tell you, you guys, I wrote, I wrote about it in I have a book diary. I actually have a diary about the books that I read. And so here is what I wrote upon reading this biography of Andy Gibb. When I finished this book, I wished I'd never read it. I felt so sad about what was written here. And I was irritated by the things that this person insinuated without real evidence, I worried that my childhood crush would be ruined. But then I put flowing rivers on the turntable and the data. How do you write that in a dynamic data and so the data tons of love is thicker than water brought me to tears a huge Just smile, it was still there, the music brought it back. And that is a testament to what he created, that the music made all these people magazine stories and all the darkness and all the insinuations disappear, boom, gone. And again, I think you achieved what you wanted so badly to accomplish, to create music that transcends facts and figures and goes straight to your soul.

Carolyn Cochrane 10:21

Wow, that's powerful. And thank God

Kristin Nilsen 10:25

because I because the book has me.

Michelle Newman 10:29

And I think our job here today is to simply pay tribute with respect, like, certainly the hard times are part of his story. But I feel like we are anybody who wasn't close to him. We can't presume to make statements or assumptions. There aren't many people who know or knew his difficult truths, the motivation behind the mistakes as well as the very real disease he suffered from a very real illness. So I think we honor him by sharing our feelings today, but not writing any part of his story. That's

Kristin Nilsen 11:04

right. And we we can acknowledge two opposing truths that Andy Gibb was a well loved and treasured person by the people who knew him. And also that he caused a great deal of heartbreak for a lot of people, including his wife and daughter. And for those of us who fell in love with him in 1978, it's okay to hold on to those happy childhood memories. We just have to do so with the full truth and with compassion for everybody involved. It doesn't diminish my feelings for him. In fact, I think it increases my sadness over his death that he didn't get the chance to right the wrongs that he really wanted to make. Right.

Michelle Newman 11:36

And I say that a lot about things that happen in my own childhood. And, and I know I will, I'll talk about this in a little bit that I can I can relate to Peter a little bit, but I say what you just said, Kristen, at the end of the day, it's just sad. Yeah, it's not like there's no one's a villain. No one's no one's a bad person. It's just sad. It's what it is. Right.

Carolyn Cochrane 12:00

And I think for for me, personally, since I was just a fan in terms of I knew his songs. So I kind of sadly enough, probably believed what I read in People Magazine and all of those things. And even so before some of the salacious stuff. First of all, he was painted to us like this teen dream and you know, hung on people's walls and his, with that chest, you often talk about Christian and those piercing eyes. And so that was the image we have. And then all of a sudden, it's this other image. It's like, it was so fast, when in reality, it wasn't like that it made he he struggled. It sounds like a lot of his life, but we just put these people inboxes. So that, and the media really forms our perception, and then that perception becomes our reality. And we think, at least for me, well, that's fact that's how it was. And I'm that's why I'm so glad we're doing this episode. And I have a whole new appreciation, as you'll hear a lot throughout this episode for Andy and PETA, and everyone that was in his life.

Michelle Newman 13:07

Oh, for sure.

Kristin Nilsen 13:08

Because these were real people, in a lot of the sources that you can access, there's that you can feel a spirit of almost excitement in sharing something salacious. And that's what I was trying so hard to get away from. In this biography that I read, I'm sure that this person was being as journalistic as possible and trying to dig and dig and dig at the truth. But I'm sorry, you can't just interview a person and have them say one thing without then checking to see if that thing that they said was true. And I just felt like a voyeur. Like do I have? Do I have a right to this information? Is it does it help the world to have this information out there? Or does it just hurt people?

Carolyn Cochrane 13:47

This is again, the salacious, the sensationalism, all of that, that still sadly, you know, dictate so much of our social media and media in general. So God,

Kristin Nilsen 13:57

absolutely, it's all clickbait clickbait. And I'm sure that this journalistic person would claim Oh, no, I was trying to present him in the most positive light possible, my honest, so honest, yeah, honest, it wasn't a positive place.

Michelle Newman 14:11

You can't you can't No, you can't No, you can No, well,

Carolyn Cochrane 14:15

maybe the closest we can get to knowing some things is from PETA from his daughter. So thanks to PETA, we have some direction and how we're going to go about this episode today. We have a spirit with which we want to do this. But even more importantly, we have a source and it's really the most reliable source. Because this December, PETA launched her first and the only official Andy Gibb website, the only website that's created and maintained by members of his own family. And on this website, you hear straight from PETA, not the Enquirer or People magazine or TMZ. About her father's life and legacy. She wrote every word herself and it is the primary source for this episode. So please Just keep that in mind the listeners. That's where we went, we went to really the source. And I don't know about you guys, but when I went on the website, immediately the first picture I actually screenshotted it and sent it to Kristen and said, basically, I'm falling in love, like, picture. Yeah, it's a warmth just came through the screen. I have to read anything yet. I just felt like, oh, and then it just continued as I, you know, clicked on all the different tabs and saw all the photos, those candid photos, I'm just, I'm in love.

Kristin Nilsen 15:33

I mean, it's worth it even for what we're going to talk about what she wrote extensively throughout this episode, but go just for the photos. These are family photos. These are not photos from the media. Yeah. And you'll see things like a picture of, of PETA as a toddler being held up by her mother and looking at a photograph of Andy Gibb and his wife Kim, who has paid his mom in one of those silly old timey photographs to get at a carnival. And pitas little toddler finger is pointing at Andy, give her little pudgy finger, and it will just, it'll take your breath away.

Michelle Newman 16:10

The whole website is done with is so obviously done with such love and respect. And I agree, Carolyn, right. When I went to the website, which is official, Andy gibb.com, you'll feel that you feel a warmth, unlike a different website that if you know, just some fan put together I don't know. And they might have picked a lot of the same public pictures. I don't know. It was just I just felt it when I first went on. And yeah,

Kristin Nilsen 16:36

she's incredibly honest. She does not shy away from the story that we know of his death and things like that she you can tell that she's done a tremendous amount of work, like internal work so that she can be honest and open and loving and compassionate about the story of her life. I mean, how many of us can say that Andy Gibb is our dad. It's one person. It's just one person. And she had to grow up with that story and how to reconcile it and it sounds like she has. The other thing that you can find on this website is Andy Gibb merch so this is gonna be the only merch that is sanctioned by Andy Gibbs est. i Right now I'm sporting. Oh my god. I just, I Okay, I'm a little bit tongue tied about it because what it is is not just an Andy gift t shirt. It is a replica of the Andy Gibb t shirt from his tour. It's the Andy Gibb logo and it says on tour and you can see pictures of Andy Gibb all over the internet wearing this shirt and so I'm wearing it proudly today.

Carolyn Cochrane 17:37

I love it. Yeah. I need that font. I mean, that's just

Kristin Nilsen 17:42

I know it's iconic. Yep, it

Michelle Newman 17:43

is. Its icon like the Brady Bunch font. You know, we have some font that's the handicap font. How many people do know

Kristin Nilsen 17:50

that have their own font?

Carolyn Cochrane 17:53

Right, a whole nother level?

Kristin Nilsen 17:55

Yeah. So we have, we have the absolute closest source to Andy Gibb story to consult for this episode. So let's back up just a bit and explain how I came to know Peter. How did we find ourselves exchanging DMS with Peter Gibb, the daughter of one of the greatest teen idols and performers of the Gen X era? Hmm. So in February of 2020, I was a guest on a podcast called The for keeps podcast hosted by David Peter kowski. And he was interviewing me about my record collection. This is long before the pop culture Preservation Society existed. This is pre PCPs. And so much of my collection my record collection, is based on recollecting the album's of my childhood, so that naturally veered into discussions about my crushes, which led to a discussion of my public reading of an essay I wrote about getting the wrong Andy Gibb album for Christmas, and why that was a big deal. Hashtag, first crush. This is the essay that Carolyn talked about at the front at the top the video of me reading this essay, and because David is a very savvy interviewer, and he's a very kind and generous human being, he decided to send that recording that video recording of that reading to Andy Gibbs daughter, a person that he didn't even know existed, but he did his homework. And she graciously responded. And here's what she said.

Speaker 3 19:15

Hey, Kristen, this is Peter Gibb Weber from Sydney, Australia. And I'm the daughter of your hairy chested adolescent idol and YouTube. I know I'm not the real thing, but I just wanted to send you a great big hello and thank you on behalf of my father and my whole musical family, for your devotion to give music. I was lucky enough to get to see the YouTube clip of your live reading of your essay in Minneapolis and I not only loved it, but I also really related to it. I think when I was 10 my great love was Boy George and Culture Club. I was in love with Boy George and thought one day we could get married and wear makeup together. So I'm probably attached younger than you for my birthday. Around that time. I got a culture club cassette tape, and I played it until it broke and I think I've probably still got it somewhere in my garage. And we'll say Understand your disappointment in your parents mix up in purchasing you the flowing rivers album instead of the shadow dancing album. Because hairy chest and red satin shirts are everything. I hope you've developed the musical tastes to now realize that flowing rivers was by far the superior album. My father's hair was unfortunately not that feathery on that album cover as my mom had just tipped a bucket of water over his head. Anyway, it was great to hear your essay and to hear a little of how important my father was in your adolescence, I may just have a couple of little gifts for you to add to that record collection of yours in the near future. Bye for now.

Michelle Newman 20:32

Nipple lightning I, every time I hear that kita is so I just want to I want her to come hang out with us. She's hilarious. I also had a kind of a kind of count my Boy George crush on the DL, because you don't know what to do. Am I supposed to like him? But I know that he is really beautiful. Do you remember what went through your mind? Because I feel like when when David tells you he has a message from another mother, you're like, oh my gosh, that's so lovely. Thank you. Yeah, when you heard her say PETA give Weber Do you remember did all of the liquids in your body?

Kristin Nilsen 21:10

I remember so very specifically, because it was a very visceral thing that happened to me, my my throat caught like my throat, my throat just squeezed shut in recognizing who this person wasn't what she had done. For me. It was similar to me keeping the return address on the package that she sent me trying to trying to reconcile all the things that were happening, and I was so not only was I listening to the progeny of, of Andy Gibb, I was overcome with gratitude for how generous she was to do this for some rando. Right, she doesn't know me. And she clearly sounded so proud and full of love for her father, who, as you'll hear was not a person she spent a lot of time with growing up, right? So it's clear that she has found some peace surrounding her relationship with him. And she was happy to share that with me. And I felt so honored and lucky that by the luck of the draw of this dropped in my lap,

Michelle Newman 22:12

well, I think how many, many 1000s of people have come up to her when they find out who she is, and oh, I loved him, I loved him. And the fact that that clip got to her that then she watched it, and that she resonated with that your story more than any of these other, you know, middle aged women, though, who, who had his posters on their wall or whatever, there's a reason that that connection was made and can now forever, you have such a great connection with PETA

Carolyn Cochrane 22:41

in her message to you, you got that feeling. I mean, we had the part where she's grateful to you for your love of her dad and has all that to say, but then she's also like, I was somebody with a crush too. And he goes on, like, I'm kind of one of you. I'm a human with feelings of that, which I think, again, is so important. It gets lost in so much the way that all of this stuff is delivered to us in the right

Kristin Nilsen 23:07

way the whole story well, is is is rolled out. And I and it's also important to know that you mentioned Michelle, like all the people who must come up to her and say, Oh, I loved Andy Gibb. And although that's probably true, the opposite is also true. And that when she was a child, it was quite brutal out there. Because if you had a famous father, people were cruel. You think you're better than us? You know, are you they probably assumed she was rich. It was really quite horrible. And on top of that, she didn't have the advantage of having a relationship. No,

Michelle Newman 23:39

she didn't know. And and so the weight of that must have been excruciating times because she didn't she also didn't have any type of knowledge or stories of him really to be able to defend them, if that makes sense. So yeah, and

Carolyn Cochrane 23:52

it has to be hard to I mean, I think in Australia, probably because that's where she grew up. People might have known who she was there, but the message we were getting as fans here in America and maybe the rest of the world was that he didn't want to marry Natalie, kids. Like she didn't even think that's risk. That would be a horrible thing to be like, it's he's not even acknowledging me. My uncle's aren't talking. No one is saying that, that I exist. That had to be really like being

Kristin Nilsen 24:22

abandoned twice. Yes. Oh, it's terrible. Yeah. And so the fact that she can send a message like that I sometimes I wonder if maybe my appearance in her in her DMs or this, you know, video landing and maybe it landed at the right time in the journey of her healing, for her to be able to do that, right, because it certainly sounds like she has come to a peaceful place.

Michelle Newman 24:44

Yeah. What else I love about PETA is that she's doing this very quietly. She could absolutely be the type of person who would be like, I'm gonna capitalize on the fact that Andy Gibb was my father and I never got to see him and all this kind of stuff. And she's doing Weighing everything she's done with, like I said earlier with such love and respect for him and for herself, and for their family and for her mother. And so I really, I appreciate that. And I respect her so much for that. Yeah.

Kristin Nilsen 25:13

She's doing it with so much respect for all of those things that you mentioned, and protecting his legacy.

Speaker 1 25:36

The things you are to me, and that's a strange.

Michelle Newman 25:44

Well, who better to ask about Andy Gibbs biography than his own daughter, Peter. But like we've been saying, it's a complicated story. Like so many of us who came from divorced families, right. I'm raising my hand and I know a lot of listeners are as well. But like we've said Peter holds his story so lovingly, and tells the pieces that she finds relevant to the public who loved him. Here is how she begins the remembering Andy section on the Andy Gibb website, ancient Chinese philosopher Lao to I looked up how to say that by the way, Lao Tzu wrote of the dangers of too much too soon, the flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long could this thing be truer of anyone more than the late global singing star and all around entertainer Andrew Roy Andy Gibb. And Peter goes on to tell the story of how when Barry Robin and Morris began to find famous the BGS Andy was still a mischievous young child. And he became not only overshadowed but she says often overstimulated as he had along their stories of how he was kind of, you know, this mischievious, kind of very high energy, little boy, he was super close with Barry for his whole life. And for his 13th birthday, Barry bought him a guitar. And he quickly started playing in clubs, even moving to Sydney at age 15. To live with older sister Leslie, who I was about, you know, two weeks ago old when I learned that there was an older sister. And it was there in Sydney, where he found his greatest happiness. He's writing songs, being outdoors performing in the local clubs. And this was also the time in place, he met Kim reader who would quickly become his wife. They were married at just 18. Babies,

Kristin Nilsen 27:32

just I mean, literally, and that will come up more and more than they were just little babies. Well, and

Michelle Newman 27:39

I think it had a lot to do with the fact that he was going to America, and he didn't want to leave her. He was in love. He didn't want to leave her behind. And so I really feel like that was the first thing that fame, right? Yeah. Even though he had yet to really find it. I feel like that's the first thing that it cost him.

Carolyn Cochrane 27:57

And, you know, one of the other things that Peter writes, in that part where she's talking about him living in Sydney, and she said, that is where Andy found his spiritual home, and the outdoor lifestyle. And during his years in Australia really found his greatest happiness. As you said, Michelle, and I was thinking, really isn't that the ultimate kind of goal we all I have is to find our spiritual home, like the place where we can just exhale and be and feel so comfortable. Kind of like this is why I'm here. This is where I'm supposed to be. But my soul is at home here of the

Kristin Nilsen 28:31

things that I've read Pete is the only one to talk about the things that were truly important to him as a person that didn't have anything to do with performing or being in show business. Right. She She says that they they met at a dog show

Michelle Newman 28:45

at a dog show. Gotcha.

Kristin Nilsen 28:47

Gotcha. And that was, this is a continuing thread because Peters mom did show dogs. Andy sister Leslie also had show dogs. So they meet up this, they're not just going to like the civic center to see dogs, they're actually there because they're highly invested in it. PETA is also has show dogs to this day has showed dogs and it will become clearer as you look through his life through a different lens. He loved animals so much, and this is not something you're going to read in People Magazine. But I've always said that. I do not trust people who don't love animals. I just don't. How could you

Michelle Newman 29:23

write? And if people that are mean to animals? Oh

Kristin Nilsen 29:26

good. Yes. And if lions put in, in worldwide crush, I very much on purpose put in this little nugget about how Rory Calhoun, the teen idol gets a new puppy. And then he's all over his social media with loving up on his new puppy and there's a poster of him loving his new puppy. Because that to me is the sign of a loving person. Something Absolutely

Michelle Newman 29:48

yeah. Right. Absolutely. And

Carolyn Cochrane 29:50

I just want to chime in with one more thing that she had shared that he really he also really loved fishing. And there is if this is not a reason to go onto the website It needs to be in the photo section. What's your gonna say? Is the probably the best photo in the whole bunch. But Andy is holding up a large catch that he had procured from the, from the ocean, I'm assuming. And he's barely wearing anything and it's quite attractive. What else am I gonna say?

Kristin Nilsen 30:22

It's just say it's quite attractive. I don't know how else to put it. I'm not gonna be salacious about it. It's just you're just gonna say

Carolyn Cochrane 30:29

I think one of the reasons beyond the fact that he is just hot and looks really nice in the Speedo. I think again, he's in his element. He's doing his thing that he really loves. And I think that comes through in this photo and in his eyes and you know, it's not posing somewhere. It's like, I'm where my soul is at peace and happy. Carolyn,

Kristin Nilsen 30:51

you are so right, because I have never in my life enjoy looking at a man in a Speedo. I have always thought is disgusting and rude and get over yourself. But that photo will warm your heart. Yeah, I'm gonna say warm your heart like 900 times. I'm really sorry.

Carolyn Cochrane 31:05

and warm. Some other parts of you as well. Yeah, maybe it starts with your heart. Everything starts with the heart.

Kristin Nilsen 31:13

I think it's interesting to note too that you know in her in Pietas honesty, she talks about how you mentioned he was mischievous you and she also says he was overindulged and that he was overshadowed. She's very honest about all of these things. And remember, he was the baby baby, not just the baby, but possibly, you know, the bonus child at the end of the train by what 13 years, a big big chunk. And so I think that the Bee Gees were already in their own element. And then you got this tail end kid and he's just going to travel around the world tailing behind the super famous rich people. And I think maybe his parents had had enough of naughty children. And there might not have been a lot of guardrails for him though. He was clearly very loved by his family, but I don't think there were a lot of guardrails. Did

Michelle Newman 32:01

you guys so there's a VH, one behind the music special from us at 9797 97. Anyway, the Gibb mother is interviewed quite a bit and I saw her face lights up when she talks about Andy and I think you're right, Kristen. I think he was the baby and you know, when he's, you know, a toddler and stuff, the Bee Gees are becoming quite famous. Yeah. Well, mama and papa give I don't really know their name. So I'm just a call mom. Are you okay? Yeah, Barbara and him. Barbie, if you are following him around. I mean, they seem like a great close family. Again, I'm not going to presume anything. But they seem because they're following them around. They're going to talk a little Andy with them. Well, Andy is trying to get attention or whatever, because he sees the brothers getting attention. And you're right. I think maybe Barbara was like, Oh, he is a handful. But you know what? That little like, boys? Oh, boy. Yeah. But I just, I just got a really I got a feeling of so much pride and love. Yeah, from her when she spoke of it. Yeah.

Kristin Nilsen 33:03

I could speculate till the cows come home about how he was raised. I could make up stories for days. The truth is, I don't know, you don't know how he was raised. But you just get this feeling that there was a lot of love and not a lot of rules. And I think that might be what PETA is referring to. You mentioned, Michelle, that when Kim and Andy got married, when they were 18, that it must have been, you know, while you're going to America, and that is in fact true, that there was this call to go to America. And oh, no, I have this girlfriend. I love her very much. I guess we should get married. Let's get married. Let's

Michelle Newman 33:38

Yeah, that's the way I know she can she'll go with me. That's right. I don't really don't think I don't know that either. But

Carolyn Cochrane 33:45

you also have to realize that it wasn't really his decision then probably to go to America, because you know, he was kind of like, you're gonna come and that's when all of a sudden we're speeding up and we're getting married when we're 18. I got the feeling that he was quite contented, at least for the time being doing what he was doing in Australia. And

Michelle Newman 34:03

I think that leads us to the next part of the story. Yes. Nice

Kristin Nilsen 34:07

segue. Yeah.

Carolyn Cochrane 34:08

So back in America and these older brothers, you know, the Bee Gees, right? Oh, oh, right. Yeah. You heard of them. And their manager Roberts did would have RSO records. They've been keeping an eye on Andy's career in Australia and on the meteoric rise of the Bee Gees in the US. They knew Andy would be a huge hit. They just had to time it right. And here's how PETA describes it. The call to America to join his more famous brothers and start his international career was a call that could not be ignored. Andy and Kim made the move to Florida in 1976 to make Andy's first album, and it's best flowing rivers under the watchful eye of his brother Barry, and industry supreme Joe Robert Stigwood. Later settling in Los Angeles. success came almost instantly Andy stage presents good looks and lively tenor vocals were a winning combination that took his first three singles from the album to number one on the Billboard charts. Almost overnight, this naive teenager was a global superstar. Well, a

Kristin Nilsen 35:12

lot. Uh huh. And again, so honest, she says that last line just hits me, this naive teenager was a global superstar. And I think we can't ignore that fact enough. That what was happening to Andy given anything that befell him may have started because he was just a kid, right? Because we were asking him to do some really, really adult stuff. Oh my gosh, right,

Carolyn Cochrane 35:38

with like, no preparation or support. I mean, think about it. Like, you throw someone in the deep end of a pool without swimming lessons or lifejacket. Eventually, they're maybe going to drown. They can tread water for a certain amount of time. But, you know, it just seems for a lot of these younger, teen idol stars of the 70s. They were thrown in and they weren't given maybe some of that emotional support that they that would have helped them greatly as they were navigating these choppy waters with no operation manual, right?

Kristin Nilsen 36:09

Absolutely nothing, because that wasn't their concern, the wellness of the person. And I don't want to say that the BGS didn't care about the wellness of their brother, they certainly cared about the wellness of their brother, but they cared about it through the lens exam, their existence as, as musicians on a global scale, right.

Carolyn Cochrane 36:27

I mean, they thought he was successful. And this is it. You're doing all the stuff. Yay, not yet think of. Yes, some of that emotional stuff.

Michelle Newman 36:35

This like this precipice this exact time. And let's not forget, listeners this when I say this precipice between being a naive teenager like PETA says, Anna global stupid superstar is a very small precipice. It's a very small little line, he's walking a cliff that he saw. But in that same VH, one behind the music, Barry actually says that this so I'm assuming this little tiny, you know, moment in time, was the happiest time. In Andy's life. He said this, he called it the before. And he said, it's when Andy had this hunger. He was writing songs, he was starting out and he was dreaming of making it big. Well, then it happens. Like you said, Carolyn, that's the kid who wants to learn how to swim. And so instead of going through all the swimming lessons, someone picked that little kid up and tossed him into though, and that's when he's happy, the anticipation of it all, they picked him up, and they threw him in the pool. So he didn't get to have that hunger for long. And I feel like when you don't maybe have that hunger for long, and then all of a sudden, you're just fed your listen to all the metaphors. This is an amazing writer writers. But you know, your head, you're just given this feast, right? Where do you start with a turkey leg? I don't know the point. When

Kristin Nilsen 37:51

do you stop? How do you? You

Michelle Newman 37:53

don't stop at all? Let's keep it going. Let's keep writing. But no, but for real. I mean, getting back to it for real. I just, that struck me so much as when Barry could reflect and say, You know what, the happiest time of his life wasn't when he achieved it. All right, it's when he had this hunger for it.

Kristin Nilsen 38:09

And that's a lesson for all of us, really, in terms of looking at our own lives and what we want really appreciate where you are at this very moment instead of instead of, you know, just waiting for the big thing to happen, enjoy it while you're waiting for the big thing to happen. And she says that things happen quickly. No joke, it happens quickly. Kim and Andy quickly got married. They spent their honeymoon in Bermuda at Robert Stigwood home where he would be working on songs for flowing rivers for his album, it was just like, boom, boom, boom. And then we all know what happened after that three number one hits in a row. It was like she said it was too much too soon. So history was made. Immediately, history was made records were broken. Immediately, he became the first performer to have his first three singles go directly to number one. I just want to be your everything. Love is thicker than water and shadow dancing, oftentimes knocking his brothers out of the number one spot, sometimes they would volley back and forth switching places at number one and number two, like they owned the whole chart. And all three of those record breaking chart toppers were achieved in a single 11 month period in 1977. And 1978. He was not even 20 years old yet. And I don't think it's a coincidence that 1977 and 1978 is often the year that Gen Xers of a certain age. Remember the best. Is this part of your memory from 77 and 78. Oh, yeah,

Michelle Newman 39:35

it was. It was the Gibbs world and I think we were all just living in it. We were better. Yeah. Yeah. I have memories of his song. So Carolyn much like you, and I'll talk about this in just a minute. But it was my sister who was the Andy Gibb you know, he was her crush and I'll tell you why in just a little bit, but I have memories of those songs, especially the first two hits from flowing rivers. Coming out of my sister's room constantly with a Shawn cat, you know, this is also Shaun Cassidy time, right? So with that, but I'm assuming since I wasn't familiar with the other songs on that album really until recently, she probably had the 40 fives, right? Um, in fact, I can almost picture the 45 You know how then there's the little Arecibo symbol in the middle. And it's almost like, and I can picture that black. The font love is thicker than water, you know, on the little 45 Just that one circle. Yeah, yeah. And it wasn't in the good font, unfortunately. But those songs I can picture the house I lived in, I can picture where her bedroom was in relation to mind Her door was always closed. Yeah. You know, she was a big sixth grader. And

Kristin Nilsen 40:43

it was and he was on TV everywhere. And if you could capture if you could capture the moment and catch him on TV, it just made your whole world it made your whole world it was all of mine. 1977 in 1978, and we talked about one of the songs in particular in our episode called am radio gold 1977, in which we all shared some of our favorite songs from 1977. And naturally, and to give was on my list, here's what I said about Andy Gibbs first number one hit in the US. First you hear like a drum beat. And then there's a synthesizer.

And a synthesizer notice held, and then it modulates. And then it's held. And when I hear that, my heart jumps into my throat, literally right now, when when I'm 54 years old, it jumps into my throat. Sometimes I'll gasp ask Liam, sometimes I'll hear the synthesizer. And then I wait for Andy Gibb to say so long. Getting

Michelle Newman 41:54

and you can totally hear his accent in that part. So loud. There's

Carolyn Cochrane 41:58

just something when you know, the songs will start instrumentally and I gotta tell you re listening to those songs that were on the radio when his voice starts. I just, I don't know. I mean, maybe Shawn was kind of like that. Maybe Jimmy making that call. I'm not sure. But there's just something there's this anticipation because you know, the voice is coming. But then it comes and yeah, it's just so unique, I guess I don't know.

Michelle Newman 42:22

And for sure, I just want to be your everything is one of those songs that apologies in advance listeners that don't like this, but gives me a funny a tingly feeling in my tummy. Because it takes me back I get. I'm Husker dude, I mandolin them all of it. I can't even pick one. Because anytime I hear that song, I'm back in that house. I'm back. I feel like I can smell things I feel like or I'm in a car riding with my mom, because it's on the radio. But just that thought so long. I feel like yes, I get just switched back there, right in a time machine.

Carolyn Cochrane 42:56

I think when you talk about this being a real moment for Gen Xers, I just think those years 7778 For all of us, just kind of the ages, we were at that point to like that music, his music is the background kind of like Michelle was saying, like you can picture the house she was in and the car she was and what her sister was, you know, the doors shut or whatever, I think that he happened to come along at a time that for so many of us was memorable for so many reasons. And he was kind of the background music for a lot of what was going on, right

Kristin Nilsen 43:29

or the or the trigger of certain of certain feelings, right? So when I hear both so long, when I hear that, I immediately go back in time, and I am in love. And I can be a 55 year old woman and a 12 year old girl in love at the same time. And it is such a lovely thing to revisit that family and that is a part of his legacy. Right? There's so much about having a crush that is that is made up in your mind. It has nothing to do with who they are or anything. But when you combine that with the music that they created, if the music that they created can create a feeling and you that is so lovely. That is part of their legacy. Oh,

Michelle Newman 44:11

that's probably the most important part. And that's the part that, that that's what they want it that's I think that's what they wanted at the outset. Right?

Kristin Nilsen 44:20

And that's longevity. That means that that song will never go away for me. It will never be irrelevant, ever. None of these songs well. I just want to be your everything is the 29th highest selling song of all time on the American Billboard charts. So that means that since the year 1956 When the charts began, only 28 songs have sold more than I just want to be your everything.

Michelle Newman 44:47

Whoa. Oh, yeah.

Carolyn Cochrane 44:49

Oh my gosh. And we're talking Beatles and we're talking Elvis Elvis.

Michelle Newman 44:54

Yeah, Michael Jackson and to

Kristin Nilsen 44:56

say that he made an impact. Yeah, And, and we can't divorce the the song itself from who he was and his delivery of it. Now, right, that is a package deal. You could cover that song today, and we would all love it. But it would not have the impact that it did back then.

Michelle Newman 45:15

And you said earlier who became the first performer to have his first three singles go directly to number one. could be totally wrong here, everyone, but I feel like I've recently heard that there's only been one other person since and that was Mariah Carey. Yes. Only one other person ever to do that in history. I mean, and that's been a long time ago.

Carolyn Cochrane 45:34

Wow. Yeah. Right. We've

Michelle Newman 45:36

had a lot of really big superstars since they, you know, I

Carolyn Cochrane 45:39

think that's where we might see the influence of Barry and Robert Stigwood. Just because they they just really have their finger on the pulse and kind of knew all about the timing and what songs might hit. I'm wondering if those would have been the three that Andy would have picked. If they said, Andy, what three songs? Would you like to talk about that to

Kristin Nilsen 46:00

come? Come in? Because that isn't that is an issue. And there is something to be said for the synergy of all of the good brothers. And we will talk more about how Andy often had this insecurity about he didn't do this on his own. He depended on his brothers, he didn't think that he was worthy enough on his own. And, and we're obviously that is not true. And we'll talk about that later. But also, there is a synergy amongst those brothers that creates something transcendent, right? And that doesn't mean that somebody doesn't do it on their own. It means that there was magic in what you create together. Right? That's

Michelle Newman 46:32

it was in my head. I was in my head as you were saying that I was thinking it's magic. Yeah, we've talked about Barragan. At least we've talked about his superpower before and it truly was, but with all three of them, and then Andy to all of them together. Yeah, it was little, our worldly. Powerful is right. Don't throw

Unknown Speaker 46:51

it all away.

Kristin Nilsen 47:06

So it's no mystery why all the good brothers were on the walls, all the walls in my bedroom. And again, taking up the most space, he had the wall sized poster with the red satin shirt and the hairy chest. And then all the other good brothers were in the small little page size posters that surrounded my bed. These were people that I It wasn't just that I loved their music. It was that I also loved them as people and what they were bringing to the culture.

Michelle Newman 47:31

Well, and like you said, I mean, all of these teen magazines that we loved that were kind of you know, our Bibles. They were quick to jump on this new little Gibb brother. Right. You guys I have found some of the funniest headlines. I actually own a giant stack of Tiger Beat and teen beat magazines from 1977 and 78. So I just want to read you some headlines we have win a phone call from Andy a lock of his hair. Are they gonna give like, honestly, come on. How are they gonna get you a lock of his hair? But you know what you probably believe? Oh, I

Kristin Nilsen 48:10

totally believe it. Of course. That'd be like I want that. Actually. By

Michelle Newman 48:14

the way. This is from Teen machine. Andy, tell us how you could be the one to mend his broken heart. I've gotta give him props for that one. That's a pretty good headline, right? A good one. How to be the girl and he could love and he likes girls who are athletic, quiet and independent. Now let's not forget, a lot of these are 78. A lot of these I did find when I would read the article mentioned Kim said he had been married. Okay. Very quickly. Okay, been married before or he's divorced. Some of them from this time don't so I'm going to show you just a couple. This is teen fever. And it has Andy and it has shone because don't forget there were kind of that was the same time I had the same space. Okay, this one just just ticks me off so much because as writers you guys this is from Tiger Beat to Tiger Beat star. The little headline on the cover, says Andy Gibb, whom does he love? Oh, come

Kristin Nilsen 49:14

on. It turns out they were upset with the grammar. Right.

Michelle Newman 49:22

And if you think well, I don't know who because you want to see who is next. You know, fling is you go. It's his family. It's his brothers. His mom and his dad,

Kristin Nilsen 49:31

that would get me that would totally get me. Yes, I really want Yeah, but also

Michelle Newman 49:35

this is October of 78. No mention of you know. And I think this he loved no mention of a daughter. When was Peter born? January of of 1978. Yeah, so she was born. So no mention of a daughter. I'm guessing again speculating.

Kristin Nilsen 49:51

I'm guessing that when a baby was in the picture, the the record company was panicking about how do we how do we present this info No, yeah, so let's not Rachel's not home does

Michelle Newman 50:02

Andy love Yeah, but that's that's omitted that he has a baby daughter, and how hurtful and how much that PETA has had to overcome with that. Okay, so now we have another one. This is December of 78. This is supergene spent 24 hours with Andy find out what he does every minute of the day. I

Carolyn Cochrane 50:23

would love those parts where they're like, What does you know what's Sean's morning routine? Like

Michelle Newman 50:29

what? But it goes through a very detailed, but I like this Andy's page, same issue. Dear Andy. Do you only fall for blondes? Every time I see pictures of you out on a date? You always seem to be with a blonde. Does that mean brunettes and redheads don't have a chance with you. Upset Tammy? Portland, Oregon. Oh, Tam. She's upset Tammy. He says Dear Tammy, please don't be upset. Also, by the way when I say he says, unless it's not Andy Gibb answer. Please don't be upset. I don't have any special preference for blondes. I like girls of all hair color. Just sounds like we have um, dear Andy, what are your favorite foods, music and colors? Do your auntie Do you have a special birthmark? Or we might never know about you? Unless we looked really closely. I know it's a silly question. But I'm curious. Dear Shelly, I had to read the answer to that one you guys want? I didn't because I was started as a hiding under that Speedo. Dear Shelly, I had to think about that one a while I do have a tiny, funny birthmark on my knee. And what's crazy is that my brother Barry has one on his knee just like it. I would love to know if that's true.

Kristin Nilsen 51:40

I think that's in the behind the music. Yeah, I was gonna say,

Michelle Newman 51:44

Oh, that's right. That's right. They do talk about that, because. And behind the music, they say how Robin and Morris were twins. Even though this vast age difference, Barry and Andy kind of always felt like they were so much alike. Yeah. So anyway, I just think these are also funny. And, you know, telling too, though of the time, right? Oh, sells magazines. And

Kristin Nilsen 52:06

then by selling him they were packaging him and they were selling him. And we

Michelle Newman 52:09

responded, Well, what the machine is trying to turn out. Yeah. And when we talk just a little bit before about Barry saying his happiest is when he had this hunger. And he was writing music and he was performing in clubs. You know, he probably had, you know, PETA, him or herself says he was naive. And so I don't know that he was prepared for this type of publicity. And even

Kristin Nilsen 52:33

if you were prepared, do you have I mean, let's keep in mind, you're 18 years old, we now know that a boy's brain is not fully developed in the until they're 25 years old. So he's a child. So even if you were prepared, could you conceivably be able to manage that? Okay, it would take a very what's the wrong I don't know what the what the word is a very special person who would be able to manage that and not lose it.

Carolyn Cochrane 52:59

Right? No matter their age. I mean, no matter. Yeah. Well, these teen magazines that you've been talking about, Michelle, as we remember, they were like our tinder, right. Like this is where we saw all the pictures of the people that we heard on the radio or watching on TV. This is where we swiped right, right in the most analog sense, and I can just think about that. Yeah, totally swipe. Yes. I'm like, where's where Sean? Where's Jimmy? And this these magazines are where our crushes were born. Bob Hope even introduced Andy on one of his Christmas specials by saying this. He was the hottest selling import to hit our shores since the Toyota, a nation of teens and tweens were falling in love with Andy Gibb. And you guys, I'm just going to tell you that I talked to my sister about her crush on Andy Gibb. It comes directly from these teen magazines. And I'm going to tell you why. I was of the bare chested kind of Shaun Cassidy, Jimmy McNichol era. And so those are the pictures that I would tear out of my Tiger Beat put on my walls. I did not take out the Andy Gibbs or the leaf Garretts. And when I gave my sister the Tiger Beat, those were the ones that were left. Oh, you just got your leftovers. Yes. And she said, although that was how her love of Andy Gibbs started because she said she always felt like it was a little naughty. Like she was in you know, late elementary school. And he again has this chest age. So she felt a little guilty. But nonetheless, those were some of the only ones in there. So she hung those up on your wall. And of course, those are the eyes staring at her at night and that she sings along to and his musics on the radio.

Michelle Newman 54:45

I will tell you that. I have the same Ronnie I hear you with getting the leftovers. That is the whole reason I have a crush. I'm using air quotes here on Parker Stevens, because my sister was like, we have to play Hardy Boys girlfriends, and Sean's mine so you will have to have Parker But like I always say, I'm Shaun Cassidy sister in law because my sister took Shaun Cassidy, I Mandy Gibbs sister in law as well. My sister had his poster on posters on her wall and like I just told you had all his music and so I didn't get his music, but I'll be honest with you, as much as I loved his music, and I love those songs. I was okay with not being allowed to crush on him. And I'm betting it's because he looked so much older. He had a really hairy chest and let's not forget, I'm nine and my hard crush, but still fairly innocent crush is Chachi. At this time, Scott Bale was like 17, so not much younger than Andy, but he looked like he was 14. Also, I'm going straight from Donnie Osmond. Who is this little innocent look to Chachi and I think probably Andy Gibb scared me a little bit with the hairy chest and he was really long hair,

Carolyn Cochrane 55:56

the hair, and

Kristin Nilsen 55:57

that's why I think Andy Gibb represents a graduation for me. I was graduating from the smooth chest of Shaun Cassidy to the hairy chest to feel like I was I was slipping my toe into something that I was exploring, like, let's find out what those

Michelle Newman 56:13

I know. He's got Harris. But I will say much like you, Carolyn, um, developed, developing a little bit of an Andy Gibb crush for decades, decades later, as well as a 1977 Barry Gibb crush,

Kristin Nilsen 56:26

because somehow he was able to have he was able to be more sexual than our other bare chested crushes. The same time as being the boy next door. Well, yeah, that

Michelle Newman 56:36

scared me though. Still, I was nine. I was yeah, that scared me but my

Carolyn Cochrane 56:40

sister, and it's a big leap. My sister also said that she identified with him being the youngest, like she said, you know, the Bee Gees were so famous that she almost felt a little sorry for him that like you know, everyone loved the Bee Gees that she was going to make sure that because she was the youngest to and sometimes you know, the youngest got forgotten that she was gonna stick with them.

Michelle Newman 57:02

That's how our family develops and Ronnie's my she's like, this poor little get brother's not getting any. I guess I should love him. Right? I'll do it on the chin. 48 billion other girls have as well.

Kristin Nilsen 57:16

We were not alone. We have a lot of society members who feel just like Ronnie and Michelle sister and me. We got a message from Erin who we met in real life last summer when she drove from Fargo, North Dakota to Minneapolis to come to our grown up book fair. And guess what she bought at the book fair, and Andy Gibb iron on for her t shirt. So she made her iron on T shirt and she went to our last zoom happy hour for our Patreon members. And she also sent us a voicemail about her Andy Gibb crush. And here's what Aaron had to say. My

Speaker 4 57:48

Crush and Andy give actually started with my very, very first crush on his older brother Barry. My mom had bought the BGS greatest album I think it came out in 1979. And it was a trifold album and you open it up and you saw these giant headshots of all three of the Gibb brothers and I would stare at Barry Gibb and his flowing mane and that big eagle necklace he had on his necklace. I just thought he was so handsome. And that's how I learned who Andy Gibb was because of course, my mom bought the shadow dancing album. And I saw Andy give and then as I got older, I kind of just followed his career so to watch him on solid gold singing duets, and solos, and to see him appear on give me a break and Punky Brewster when I was a kid was just incredible. He was so warm and kind and genuine.

Michelle Newman 58:48

Oh my god, I can't believe Aaron was that young and loved like the manly man

lot of respect to that, Aaron.

Kristin Nilsen 59:02

This is This is so funny. And then we have Miss Mia Lincoln's I just love that Instagram handle. She says I want an Andy Gibb album for Christmas. I saw wrapped album under the tree so excited I opened it I almost cried. Grandma bought me an Andy Kim album

okay just a little reminder for who Andy Kim is This is Andy Kim

Unknown Speaker 59:32

rock Miss Lola good Don't you know

Kristin Nilsen 59:47

rock me slowly.

Michelle Newman 59:52

Grandma but also poor Miss me on weekends who had to like put this brave face on not Debbie Boone album and mighty Honey.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:00:00

Oh my gosh. Those are just

Michelle Newman 1:00:03

so close to you.

Kristin Nilsen 1:00:04

Oh, so close. Oh, grandma's

Michelle Newman 1:00:09

it's orange orange like how you guys always talk about you didn't get like the IZOD you had like the fall, or the Penguin or something. It's so close. But just so

Kristin Nilsen 1:00:19

you don't get into give you get into kids. And plus it was Andy Kim was like, five years before so to us as children. That was ancient history. That was huge. Yeah.

Michelle Newman 1:00:31

Exactly. Rosa,

Kristin Nilsen 1:00:32

Rita 523 says, So my plan was to marry Andy and my sister would marry Barry and we would all live together in Miami.

Michelle Newman 1:00:42

So fun. That's a fun daydream. Yeah, I would have played that all the time. In my head as I was trying to go to sleep,

Kristin Nilsen 1:00:51

you would play Beegees wives.

Michelle Newman 1:00:54

We would have been BJs wives.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:00:55

It's so crazy how legit we felt these crushes were that we couldn't crush on the same people. Like it's like you've talked about Michelle. And I guess my sister felt like too. Oh, Carolyn took that one. I guess according to my sister, I told her she couldn't have. So that happens.

Michelle Newman 1:01:10

Yeah. And also, like we just said, because my sister and I, when we were getting along, which was no 10% of the time, we would play these things. And also we were we were moving around a lot. So we were often found ourselves in situations where we didn't have a lot of outside friends. We were new girls. So we would play like clothes shop. And we were the managers of clothes shop. But we had husbands so we would answer the phone and be like, Oh, it's Shawn for you. You know? And she'd be like, okay, he wants to know if you and Parker can come over for dinner. So be like Sean and Sean, because we paid how do you share? So we played make believe so I love that she had this daydream, like, yeah, totally.

Kristin Nilsen 1:01:47

They're all gonna live in Miami. So we're all in love with him because we're swiping right in the magazines or swiping left, I guess. No, we're swiping Yeah, we're swiping left. But unlike a lot of teen idol fair, Andy Gibb was not just a pretty face, his music and his performances were speaking to people uniquely, and people in the industry regarded him as extremely gifted some even saying that he was the most talented of the brothers. Yes, of course. Barry Gibb is a songwriting legend, and the Beegees had a magical synergy. But there's a reason that Andy Gibb was a solo act. If he didn't have the ability to mesmerize a crowd on his own. They would have just made him a BG that they didn't. They knew he had something special. And I mean, let's be honest, that they weren't gonna put Morris out there I'm sorry that mean? But let's be honest, Andy was the one who was gonna go out front they're like you go and you're the one who can carry this. You're the one who can succeed as a solo act. I love you Morris rip, but I bet you know to Morris that you weren't gonna be the solo act. Yeah, he knows he knows

Michelle Newman 1:02:57

Maurice aged Waldo

Kristin Nilsen 1:02:58

he did he aged in a lovely wave. By all did really and it all started with the album flowing rivers.

Stream thought the album I thought that I didn't want when I got it by mistake instead of shadow dancing. So flowing rivers released in September of 1977 is the truest essence of Andy Gibb sounding more like the music he was playing in Australia, rather than a BTS album. In fact, Wikipedia lists the genre of flowing rivers as disco, pop, rock, funk, and country, you can hear a very distinct country flavor on flowing rivers. It's incredibly eclectic and uniquely him since he wrote eight of the 10 songs really eight and a half of the 10 songs on the album. He recorded flowing rivers at criterion studios in Miami, and he was recording at the same time that the eagles were recording Hotel California, right next door in the studio right next door. This is why if you read the liner notes on flowing rivers, you'll see that Joe Walsh is listed as one of the guitarists on flowing rivers. They could hear what was happening next door, and they wanted in on this new kid. This was huge. This was huge, because Andy had said it was it was mutual, and he had said that listening to the Eagles recording next door was influencing the sound of flowing rivers. I mean, Andy Gibb next to the Eagles, this influence I had no idea I didn't even know to listen for it. So much so you can hear

Michelle Newman 1:04:42

it so much so that he's like, I'll go be a session musician on that kids. Yeah. I mean, that's that's telling. It's very

Kristin Nilsen 1:04:51

telling. So now as an adult, I listened to the songs and I listened to the lyrics and I listened to was voice and I picture the young wife that he must have been singing about. You heard PETA talk about her mom throwing a bucket of water over his head during the photo shoot for the album. That was all in fun. That was all in play. It sounds like the recording of this album was a family affair. Everybody was there all the time. And then that photo he looks if you flip the album over, you can see that photo of him with his hair all wet. And he looks just gleeful and I'm going to show it to you right? Yeah, I

Michelle Newman 1:05:26

want to say Yeah, he does. Right.

Kristin Nilsen 1:05:35

Adorable. He looks so happy. And the whole album when you read the liner notes feels like not just a family, but a bunch of kids. It kind of feels like a yearbook. When you read all of the people who are on the album they give everybody a nickname. There's Robert Bermuda Bob Stigwood. Fred uncle Fern Gershon ow speak up, Cory. Kim gotta write a letter Gibb. Right. The the wife gets on the back of the album. Yeah, she wasn't like playing the tambourine or anything. She's just hanging around in the studio. Then there's Barry cup of tea Gibb. Oh, and then there's Joe who needs a pick anyway, Walsh.

Michelle Newman 1:06:15

I love that. I do too. I want like a year all those again and figure it all out. Like I gotta write a letter, which she always they're going, Oh, hang on, I gotta write a letter, write a letter back home. Or I

Kristin Nilsen 1:06:25

know you're recording history right now. But I gotta write a letter. It's so cute. And fees are such good songs. His songwriting is on point. I never appreciated that before because I was so involved in my crush, and I loved the music, but I didn't. I was only listening to my heart. I wasn't listening to the songs for their quality. And I have to remind myself that he's writing these as a teenager Oh, before all the stuff happened to he's 1718 years old writing these songs that are really really good. There's a clear gift here in songs like words and music.

Unknown Speaker 1:07:03

Your song

Unknown Speaker 1:07:12

see that? All right.

Unknown Speaker 1:07:21

Man, I'll make the rain drops

Kristin Nilsen 1:07:35

my favorite, I know right? That was a hit in Australia before he went to America. And you can hear something very emotional and sophisticated in it. To many looks in your eyes has this kind of it's not an A minor key but it's like a quasi minor key. It's minor key adjacent. I'm not a musician. I'm sorry. I don't know how to explain this. But it's something that that pulls on your heart and it creates something almost melancholy, listen to this. You

Unknown Speaker 1:08:01

held my life.

Kristin Nilsen 1:08:31

And then a lot of people's favorite love is thicker than water was written by both Andy and Barry Gibb. And this has that same kind of melancholy thread in places. It's adjacent to dark. It's not dark, but it's adjacent to dark. And I'm going to attribute that to Andy. This could be part of what makes his songwriting special. It makes us it makes a song more emotional. Without being sentimental. That's something different entirely. Even the lyrics which which may have been written by Barry but no matter it doesn't matter because they match the melancholy nature of the music perfectly.

Speaker 1 1:09:07

Shaddai she doesn't care at all. She only thinks crying. Wandering through the air. But I can leave her logging she she that's what I'm praying for. But

Kristin Nilsen 1:09:29

I can't leave her and I need her more than she needs you. That's what I'm living for. It's very sophisticated. And he's a teenager.

Michelle Newman 1:09:40

Okay, so, you guys, I am not embarrassed to admit it. But you know, a little bit but I hadn't really ever listened to that whole album until doing research for this episode. And I fell in love with it. Yeah, yes, words and music but I'm going to tell you I feel like my My favorite might be Starlight. And you guys this is written by Andy. And the lyrics are kind of a foreshadow I mean, listen to this Starlight summer nights Don't leave me here alone to die. Someone somewhere cried. Oh, Starlight Oh in my eyes too far away to see the lights. I just feel like he already almost knew what his life was like that he's on this roller coaster or this train. And it's starting and it's building speed. He says Starlight Oh, winter nights the snow has come and love has gone now I'm feeling cold. This is when he's still with Kim. But it's almost like Starlight now you've come back again and I ain't over it yet

Unknown Speaker 1:11:03

so

Unknown Speaker 1:11:13

start my

Unknown Speaker 1:11:30

trip

Unknown Speaker 1:11:59

stop.

Michelle Newman 1:12:02

I don't know, there was just a lot of it. I was just making dinner the other night listening to it. And it just stopped me like in Mid Cut of like a bell pepper. Why did he just say, What did he just say? And I had to and sometimes I'll admit, because of his beautiful tenor. And as I had I had to pull the lyrics up. I couldn't I was like, I actually don't know what he just said. I was sort of floored by that. And then I played it several times on repeat because I find it just really, hauntingly beautiful.

Kristin Nilsen 1:12:30

And I think that's a theme and a lot of the things that he was writing about, about being bereft about being abandoned about being alone. Don't leave me alone.

Michelle Newman 1:12:40

This is before you guys. So this is what I'm talking about. It's almost like he could foresee himself on this, you know, bullet train. Yeah. And he hadn't even it hadn't even left the station yet.

Kristin Nilsen 1:12:51

Well, it makes you wonder if he was born with it. Right? Was he born with that fear? And that could explain a lot of how how the trajectory of his life went and how things started for him at such a young age. Was he born with that worry of abandonment? Yeah.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:13:09

Or was it that you know, his brothers were on this fast track he was kind of Young was he always just trying to keep up with them and like Don't leave me You know, I can't be alone and kind of here on a lighter note one of my favorite songs on there was let it be me

Unknown Speaker 1:13:30

follow you

Unknown Speaker 1:13:35

take the stray

Unknown Speaker 1:13:41

so many

Carolyn Cochrane 1:13:44

there when they say their country ish songs on here, this is one of them. And it just reminded me of some of the live unit and John's kind of early stuff like let me be there in the mana you know, some of them I think I'm still guitar I'd have to kind of go on and look but they had a real country vibe. And maybe this is me in my own mind, but he just kind of sounded happy in them and it was just kind of jovial and just of that era and I guess the Carol and me to remember there's Carolyn and Carol really liked those songs. They really had that kind of early living in John kind of John Denver ish kind of thing going on.

Kristin Nilsen 1:14:26

It's a very 70s right it's very hot country and it's it was a vibe that a lot of people were into at that moment in time and it does seem like it would have been a really great not genre was whatever like for it would have been a great a great groove for him to be in if he was allowed to create music zone being great. Yes,

Carolyn Cochrane 1:14:47

that's that's kind of what I surmised from all that. What

Kristin Nilsen 1:14:50

is that? What not that I don't want the the Gibb influence things because I want that very badly. But wow, what if you had been given complete agency to just create the science He wanted to imagine Yeah, imagine Yeah, well speaking of which, the next single after love is thicker than water was supposed to be the title track flowing rivers, which is another very 70s flavored country song where you can hear a very heavy Eagles influence it is not a Bee Gees influence song at all. And yet and actually when I say Bee Gees influence we do have to recognize that the Bee Gees are not disco and they are not only this late 70s But they had actual country hits in the 80s and the 90s with you know, remember Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton and things like that. So they have that influence as well. Nonetheless, flowing rivers is is there is ultimately Andy Gibb and Andy Gibb alone.

But flowing rivers was withdrawn in favor of the tsunami that was to come. And for that, you'll have to wait until next week, when we'll continue the discussion of Andy Gibb. Believe me, you guys, I had every intention of keeping this episode succinct. I even had written at the top of my outline, do not make this two episodes that she did just make it a single loving tribute. But it was not to be, especially if you want to talk about the music in the way that it deserves.

Michelle Newman 1:16:39

Yes, we knew all along. This was never going to be one episode. Despite Kristen's best efforts, that was just never going to happen. Right. So please join us again next week for the tsunami that came after love is thicker than water.

Carolyn Cochrane 1:16:54

Thank you so much for listening today. And thank you to all of our Patreon members who support the creation of these episodes with their monthly and one time donations. If you'd like to join them, please visit our website at pop preservationists.com. In the

Kristin Nilsen 1:17:10

meantime, let's raise our glasses for a toast courtesy of Jack tripper and Janet wood and Chrissy snow of Three's Company to good times to Happy Days

Carolyn Cochrane 1:17:18

to Little House on the Prairie

Kristin Nilsen 1:17:21

cheers. The information opinions and comments expressed on the pop culture Preservation Society podcast belongs solely to Carolyn the crush ologists and hello Newman, and are in no way representative of our employers or affiliates. And though we truly believe we are always right, there's always a first time the PCPs is written produced and recorded in Minneapolis, Minnesota Home of the fictional w j m studios and our beloved Mary Richards nananana who keep on truckin and may the Force be with you