To Love Somebody (song)

"To Love Somebody"
Single by the Bee Gees
from the album Bee Gees' 1st
B-side"Close Another Door"
ReleasedJune 1967
RecordedApril 1967
Genre
Length3:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The Bee Gees UK singles chronology
"New York Mining Disaster 1941"
(1967) 		"To Love Somebody"
(1967) 		"Massachusetts"
(1967)
The Bee Gees US singles chronology
"New York Mining Disaster 1941"
(1967) 		"To Love Somebody"
(1967) 		"Holiday"
(1967)
Alternative cover
Japanese cover of "To Love Somebody"
Music video
"To Love Somebody" on YouTube

"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.[4] 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".[5] 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".[6] The entry was a minor hit in France but reached the top 10 in Canada.

In a 2017 interview with Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Barry was asked "of all the songs that you've ever written, which song would you choose?" Barry said that "To Love Somebody" was the song that he'd choose as it has "a clear, emotional message".[7] The song has been recorded by many other artists, including Janis Joplin, Roberta Flack, Lulu, James Carr, the Sweet Inspirations, Nina Simone, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Bonnie Tyler, Slobberbone and Jimmy Somerville and Rita Marley.

  1. ^ Sullivan, Steve (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Scarecrow Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-8108-8296-6.
  2. ^ Stanley, Bob (2014). Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 345. ISBN 978-0-393-24270-6.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Gilliland, John. "Show 49 – The British are Coming! The British are Coming!: With an emphasis on Donovan, the Bee Gees and the Who. [Part 6]". Digital Library. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  5. ^ Discogs.com (1967). "Bee Gees – To Love Somebody (original issue)". Discogs.
  6. ^ "100 Best Songs of the 1960s". NME. 26 March 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  7. ^ Piers Morgan's Life Stories: Barry Gibb YouTube – Interview