The music world is mourning another death this week as reports surface that Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees has died at the age of 62. Robin Gibb was one of the founding members of the Bee Gees, along with his brothers Barry and Maurice. Family spokesman Doug Wright said, “The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time.” The disco icon waged a brave battle against liver and colon cancer.
Gibb underwent surgery in 2010 to treat a twisted bowel, a congenital condition that killed his twin brother and fellow Bee Gee, Maurice, in 2003. Gibb was in the process of working on his first classical concert, “The Titanic Requiem” with his son Robin-John to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the disaster. According to the British newspaper, The Sun, Gibb said preparing for the concert distracted him from his “illness to such a degree that I truly believed it might have saved my life.”
The Bee Gees, British-born, Australia-raised brothers, were one of the most successful pop groups in world history, selling more than 200 million albums. The Bee Gees’ soundtrack to the movie “Saturday Night Fever” won a Grammy in 1979 and hailed as the top-selling album of all time until Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” knocked it out of place in the 1980’s. In 2003, the album was ranked number 131 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and was the all-time number one soundtrack album until Whitney Houston’s “The Bodyguard” topped it in 1992. The Bee Gees had great success in the late 1960’s, early 70’s and became a disco sensation with hits such as “Stayin’ Alive,” “Night Fever,” “Nights on Broadway,” and “How Deep is Your Love.” The group won seven Grammy Awards and became members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Barry, 65, is the last survivor of the Bee Gees.
Gibb is survived by four children, Melissa and Spencer, with first wife Molly Hullis, Robin-John with second wife Dwina, and two-year-old daughter, Snow Robin, with his former housekeeper Claire Yang. He is also survived by his 91-year-old mother Barbara Gibb, who said in March to The Sun, “I sometimes wonder if all the tragedies my family has suffered, like Andy and Maurice dying so young and everything that’s happened to me recently, is kind of a karmic price we are paying for all the fame and fortune we’ve had.”
