"To Love Somebody" | |||||||||||||||||
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Single by Bee Gees | |||||||||||||||||
from the album Bee Gees' 1st | |||||||||||||||||
B-side | "Close Another Door" | ||||||||||||||||
Released | June 1967 | ||||||||||||||||
Format | 7", 45rpm | ||||||||||||||||
Recorded | April 1967 | ||||||||||||||||
Genre | |||||||||||||||||
Length | 3:02 | ||||||||||||||||
Label |
Polydor (United Kingdom) Atco (United States) Spin (Australia) |
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Writer(s) | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | ||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Robert Stigwood, Ossie Byrne | ||||||||||||||||
Bee Gees UK singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||
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"To Love Somebody" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Produced by Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967. The single reached No.17 in the United States and No.41 in the United Kingdom. The song's B-side was "Close Another Door". The single was reissued in 1980 on RSO Records with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as its flipside. The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine's "100 Best Tracks of the Sixties". It was a minor hit in the UK and France. It reached the top 20 in the US. It reached the top 10 in Canada.
The song has been recorded by many other musicians, including Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, and Michael Bolton.
At the request of Robert Stigwood, the band's manager, Barry and Robin Gibb wrote "To Love Somebody", a soulful ballad in the style of Sam & Dave or The Rascals, for Otis Redding. Redding came to see Barry at the Plaza in New York City one night. Robin claimed that "[Otis Redding] said he loved our material and would Barry write him a song".
The Bee Gees recorded "To Love Somebody" at IBC Studios, London in March 1967 and released it as a single in mid-July 1967 in the US. Redding died in an aeroplane crash later that year, before having a chance to record the song. The song was recorded around April 1967 with "Gilbert Green" and "End of My Song" at the IBC Studios in London, England.
Robin said, "Everyone told us what a great record they thought it was, Other groups all raved about it but for some reason people in Britain just did not seem to like it". Barry said "I think the reason it didn't do well here was because it's a soul number, Americans loved it, but it just wasn't right for this country".