Massachusetts (Bee Gees song)

"Massachusetts"
Single by the Bee Gees
from the album Horizontal
B-side
  • "Barker of the UFO" (UK)
  • "Sir Geoffrey Saved the World" (US)
Released19 September 1967
Recorded9–17 August 1967
StudioIBC (Portland Place, London)
Genre
Length2:22
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The Bee Gees UK singles chronology
"To Love Somebody"
(1967) 		"Massachusetts"
(1967) 		"World"
(1967)
The Bee Gees US singles chronology
"Holiday"
(1967) 		"Massachusetts"
(1967) 		"Words"
(1968)
Audio sample
"Massachusetts"
Music video
"Massachusetts" on YouTube

"(The Lights Went Out In) Massachusetts" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb and released in 1967.[6] Robin Gibb sang lead vocals on this song and it would become one of his staple songs to perform during both Bee Gees concerts and his solo appearances. It later appeared on their 1968 album, Horizontal.

The song became the first of the group's five No. 1 hits on the UK Singles Chart, reached No. 1 in 12 other countries, peaked at No. 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually sold over five million copies worldwide.[5][7] When the brothers wrote the song, they had never been to Massachusetts.[6] In a UK television special on ITV in December 2011, it was voted third (behind "How Deep Is Your Love" and "You Win Again") in "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song".[8]

  1. ^ Dale, Jon (24 June 2015). "Robin Gibb – Saved By The Bell – The Collected Works Of Robin Gibb 1968-1970". Uncut. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  2. ^ Segretto, Mike (2022). "1977". 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Minute - A Critical Trip Through the Rock LP Era, 1955–1999. Backbeat. pp. 341–342. ISBN 9781493064601.
  3. ^ Lanza, Joesph (10 November 2020). "We Skipped the Light Fandango Into a Funeral Pyre". Easy-Listening Acid Trip - An Elevator Ride Through '60s Psychedelic Pop. Port Townsend: Feral House. p. 53.
  4. ^ Petridis, Alexis (19 January 2023). "The Bee Gees' 40 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 112. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  6. ^ a b "Show 49 - The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: With an emphasis on Donovan, the Bee Gees and the Who". Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  7. ^ Billboard Vol. 85, No. 34. Nielsen Business Media. 25 August 1973. p. 18. Retrieved 21 March 2012. five million copies of.
  8. ^ "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song". ITV. 9 December 2011.