The Bee Gees Ink Worldwide Deal With Capitol Records

Legendary pop band the Bee Gees have signed a long-term worldwide agreement with Capitol Records, it was announced on Tuesday. The deal covers the trio’s entire catalog of recorded music — all 22 studio albums — plus various compilations, unreleased recordings and other projects. Several soundtracks are also part of the agreement, including the disco era-defining Saturday Night Fever.

Capitol will begin working with Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), Barry Gibb and the estates of late members Robin and Maurice Gibb on numerous sales and marketing campaigns aimed at breathing new life into the brothers’ catalog, which ranged from psychedelic pop (1968’s Idea) to disco (1976’s Children of the World) to soft rock (2001’s This Is Where I Came In). The group’s most active years were spent on either Polydor or RSO, aside from a brief stint with Warner Bros.

“The Bee Gees catalog is one of the most esteemed and important bodies of work in the history of recorded music, and we are brimming with ideas that will remind fans of its brilliance and further the band’s legacy by introducing their music to new audiences,” said Capitol Music Group chairman and CEO Steve Barnett. “All of us at the company are honored that The Bee Gees have chosen Capitol as their new home.”

Added Gibb, “The whole family is overwhelmed by this new agreement. To be surrounded by the greatest record people and artists of all time is a very humbling experience. Wish my brothers were here to share it.”

The Bee Gees have sold more than 220 million records worldwide. During the course of their career, the trio racked up nine Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles — more than any other group in history save for the Beatles (with 20) and the Supremes (12). Of their chart-topping hits, their biggest is “How Deep Is Your Love,” which reigned for three weeks in 1977 and spent 33 weeks on the chart. The act’s 14 other top 10 singles include such massive No. 1s as “Night Fever,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” and “Jive Talkin’.”

Newly knighted Universal Music Group chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said, “There are few artists in history who have created a body of work so successful, diverse and timeless as Barry, Robin and Maurice.”