Bee Gees’ Children Of The World Turns 50

The Bee Gees’ 1976 album Children Of The World marked a decisive step towards the disco sound that would define the group’s most commercially successful period.

by Paul Cashmere

Fifty years after its release, the Bee Gees’ Children Of The World remains an important marker in the group’s transition from established pop and R&B performers to one of the defining acts of the disco era. Released by RSO Records on 13 September 1976, the album introduced the production partnership of Barry Gibb, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson, while its lead single You Should Be Dancing became a No. 1 hit in the United States and Canada.

The album arrived at a critical point in the Bee Gees’ career. Their previous album, Main Course, had already moved the group towards a more rhythm-driven sound, but Children Of The World pushed that direction further. The result was an album combining R&B, soul and emerging disco elements, with You Should Be Dancing providing the clearest indication of where the group was heading.

That song would subsequently become part of the Bee Gees’ connection to the Saturday Night Fever phenomenon. Although it was released a year before the 1977 soundtrack, You Should Be Dancing was included on Saturday Night Fever and became one of the songs most closely associated with the group’s disco period.

The making of Children Of The World was shaped by a significant change behind the scenes. Robert Stigwood had ended his US distribution arrangement with Atlantic Records, meaning Atlantic producer Arif Mardin, who had worked on the Bee Gees’ previous two albums, was no longer available to produce them.

The group initially brought in Richard Perry, but the collaboration ended after only a few weeks because of differences over musical direction. Barry Gibb subsequently assumed the leading production role, working with engineer Karl Richardson and bringing Albhy Galuten into the process as a musical adviser.

That combination became the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team, establishing a working relationship that would continue through a succession of major Bee Gees recordings over the next several years.

Recording began at Criteria Studios in Miami on 19 January 1976. Among the songs recorded there were You Should Be Dancing, Love So Right, Subway, Love Me, You Stepped Into My Life and The Way It Was. The sessions later continued at Le Studio in Quebec.

The album’s principal musicians included Barry Gibb on vocals and rhythm guitar, Robin Gibb on vocals and Maurice Gibb on harmony and backing vocals and bass on most tracks. Blue Weaver contributed keyboards, acoustic piano and synthesizers, while Alan Kendall played guitar and Dennis Bryon drums.

Children Of The World produced four singles. You Should Be Dancing was issued in June 1976 in the UK and July in the US, followed by Love So Right in September, Boogie Child in January 1977 and Children Of The World in February 1977.

You Should Be Dancing reached No. 1 in the US and Canada, while Love So Right reached No. 3 in the US and Boogie Child peaked at No. 12. The album itself reached No. 8 on the US Billboard 200, No. 3 in Canada, No. 6 in New Zealand and No. 16 in Australia.

The record also demonstrated the strength of the Gibb brothers’ songwriting beyond their own recordings. Love Me later became a hit for Yvonne Elliman, while You Stepped Into My Life was recorded by Melba Moore in 1978 and Wayne Newton in 1979.

Commercially, Children Of The World became a substantial success. It was certified platinum in the United States for shipments of one million copies and platinum in Canada for 100,000 units.

The album occupies an important position between Main Course and the Bee Gees’ extraordinary run through the late 1970s. The following year brought Here At Last… Bee Gees… Live, while the group’s songs would soon become central to Saturday Night Fever and the global disco movement.

Children Of The World was later reissued on CD by Reprise Records and Rhino Records in 2006. Its significance, however, rests primarily in what it captured in 1976: the Bee Gees developing a new production language, refining their rhythmic approach and establishing the creative partnership that would help shape one of the most commercially consequential periods of their career.

Tracklisting
You Should Be Dancing
You Stepped Into My Life
Love So Right
Lovers
Can’t Keep A Good Man Down
Boogie Child
Love Me
Subway
The Way It Was
Children Of The World