Jumbo (Bee Gees song)
| "Jumbo" | ||||
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| Single by Bee Gees | ||||
| A-side | "The Singer Sang His Song" (double A-side) |
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| Released | March 1968 | |||
| Format | 7" single, 45rpm single | |||
| Recorded | 10 January 1968 | |||
| Length | 2:07 | |||
| Label |
Polydor (United Kingdom) Atco (United States) |
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| Songwriter(s) | Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | |||
| Producer(s) | Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees | |||
| Bee Gees singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
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"Jumbo" is a song released by the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb. It was released as a double A side with "The Singer Sang His Song" but featured as the lead track in some territories.
"Jumbo" was recorded on January 10 during sessions for the album Idea (though it was not included on the album) on the same day as "Gena's Theme" and "Bridges Crossing Rivers" (neither of which saw release until the remastered edition of Idea in 2006). The song has a strong emphasis on guitar with two tracks laid down by Vince Melouney
The decision on which song would be the A side came so late that many British singles have "The Singer Sang his Song" marked as the A-side, but "Jumbo" was promoted as the A-side instead. This single broke the series of major Bee Gees hits, and fell into obscurity as neither side was on the next album nor was "Jumbo" on Best of Bee Gees in 1969. The two songs only resurfaced on unofficial compilations and boxed sets. The song reached #25 in the British charts and #57 in the American charts and Barry said:
"We've been attacked for apparently never changing our style. Well, remember that we write all our own material. We try for unusual song lyrics, but obviously we have a bias towards one particular style of song. Our single was going to be 'The Singer Sang His Song' as the A-side, but we heeded the criticism. We switched to "Jumbo", which is a distinct change of direction for us. A simple sort of idea, every kid has an imaginary pet animal, but scored differently. As it happened, a lot of people thought we were wrong to change and said they preferred 'Singer' even if it was on the same lines as earlier ones, But when we study other groups, we know the dangers of staying on one direction."
Following a string of transatlantic Top 20 singles, "Jumbo" was the first single to miss that mark in both Britain and America (though To Love Somebody had missed the UK Top 40). "Jumbo" managed to reach number 25 in the UK but stalled at number 57 in America, breaking a streak of five consecutive Top 20 singles there. Until the release of the box set Tales from the Brothers Gibb, "Jumbo" was available only on vinyl. In other versions "The Singer Sang His Song" was the A-side and the B-side was this single [citation needed].
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