Two More Gone

The needle has jumped the groove again...
Last weekend Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, the pop group at the forefront of the disco era with its Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, died at 62 after a long battle with cancer.
The Bee Gees - Robin, Maurice and older brother, Barry - had a four-decade pop career that began in Australia, then flourished as champions of disco in the '70s. But a decade before 1977's Saturday Night Fever (which cemented their reputation forever), they had a string of big hits worldwide, some of which featured Robin’s plaintive vocal style.
Robin also released several solo albums and singles, to mixed success. But he'll always be remembered as one of The Bee Gees. One of the biggest-selling acts of all time (selling well more than 120 million records) they've had 15 US Top Ten records, including six consecutive No. 1 singles in the late '70s, and won six Grammy Awards. In 1997, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Also departing the dazzle of the mirror ball last week was disco diva Donna Summer. In 1975, she released a single like nothing before - a steamy breathy sexy number called Love to Love You Baby (all 17min. of it!). Zap! Instant disco icon, influencing artists from Grace Jones to Beyonce and Rihanna! Her single I Feel Love is considered early electronic dance music. And she survived the supposed "death of disco" in the late '70s/early '80s to remain one of pop's most pioneering artists, with hits including Bad Girls, MacArthur Park, Last Dance, She Works Hard for the Money, On the Radio and the duet with Barbra Streisand No More Tears (Enough Is Enough). Summer died last Thursday at 63, another victim of cancer.
Unlike punk's hopeful claims at the end of the '70s, disco is NOT dead. But sadly, two more of its biggest names are...