Peak
1
Weeks
17
Score
3,434
Chart Year
1975
Barry Gibb sings lead on this track, taking out his frustrations on a jive talkin' woman telling him lies. She treats him cruel, like a dumbstruck fool, and he's sick of it. He wrote the song with this brothers (also his band mates) Robin and Maurice. The story is fictional: Barry Gibb had been married since 1970 to his wife Linda, a former Miss Edinburgh. This was called "Drive Talking" in its early stages, but producer Arif Mardin suggested the change to "jive" to play to teenage sensibilities. "Jive talkin'" is a term for slang. The rhythm was inspired by the chunka-chunka-chunka sound of a car rolling over a bridge crossing Biscayne Bay near Miami; the Bee Gees went over it on their way to Criteria Studios, where they were recording the Main Course album. Robin Gibb explained to The Mail On Sunday November 1, 2009: "We'd already thought up the title for this song, but it wasn't until Barry, Maurice and I drove from Biscayne Bay to Miami that we realized what the tune was going to be. We had the idea as we passed over a bridge. Some tar noises made a rhythmic sound on the wheels of our car, which created the feel to the type of song we wanted to write. We finished the song at the Criteria Studios that day." This was the first big disco hit for The Bee Gees. They became icons of the era, singing in falsetto harmonies over dance beats. They had seven more #1 hits in the disco era, but the band went out of style at the same time as white leisure suits. The group, which had considerable success in the late '60s and early '70s, took a lot of heat in the press. This criticism - accusations of selling out and creating popular schlock - stung, and took a toll on the group. They would often point out that disco became homogenized in the years after they got to it, and that their sound was really an extension of R&B. "Jive Talkin'" was a comeback song for the group. They were very successful as contemporary singers in the late '60s and early '70s, but the two albums they released before Main Course flopped, and it looked like their careers were over. Knowing that a new Bee Gees single would be met with scepticism by radio programmers, their label sent promotional singles to stations with plain, white labels, giving no indication as to what the name of the song was, or who it was by. The plan worked: the song was added to playlists and revived the fortunes of the group. It hit #1 in America on August 9, 1975, four years and two days after their previous chart topper: "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" Along with several other Bee Gees hits, this was featured on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever in 1977. Along with "You Should Be Dancing," it was one of two previously released Bee Gees songs used - they wrote five more specifically for the film. The set became the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, until it was outsold by The Bodyguard soundtrack. Note the keyboard solo near the end of the song. That's the work of Blue Weaver, who joined the group for the Main Course album and was with them until 1979. Weaver, whom they poached away from Mott The Hoople, helped bring the group into the disco era with his keyboard and synthesizer skills. Former Fugees singer Pras sampled this on his 1998 song "Blue Angels." Barry Gibb re-recorded this for Greenfields, a 2020 album that contains various Bee Gees tracks re-imagined as country songs with country music singers. This slowed down version of "Jive Talkin'" features Miranda Lambert and Rival Sons member Jay Buchanan. "I knew how I wanted 'Jive Talkin'' to be, which was slower than the one we did - back it down, make it feel more emotional and give it a groove," Gibb told Entertainment Weekly of the country interpretation. "I heard a version by Rufus & Chaka Khan and Rufus doing 'Jive Talkin'' much slower, so when I got to Nashville, that was fixed in my head."
It's just your jive talkin' You're telling me lies, yeah Jive talkin' You wear a disguise Jive talkin' So misunderstood, yeah Jive talkin' You really no good Oh, my child You'll never know Just what you mean to me Oh, my child You got so much You're gonna take away my energy With all your jive talkin' You're telling me lies, yeah Good lovin' Still gets in my eyes Nobody believes what you say It's just your jive talkin' That gets in the way Oh my love You're so good Treating me so cruel There you go With your fancy lies Leavin' me lookin' Like a dumbstruck fool With all your Jive talkin' You're telling me lies, yeah Jive talkin' You wear a disguise Jive talkin' So misunderstood, yeah Jive talkin' You just ain't no good Love talkin' Is all very fine, yeah Jive talkin' Just isn't a crime And if there's somebody You'll love till you die Then all that jive talkin' Just gets in your eye Jive talkin' You're telling me lies,yeah Good lovin' Still gets in my eyes Nobody believes what you say It's just your jive talkin' That gets in the way Love talkin' Is all very fine, yeah Jive talkin', just isn't a crime And if there's somebody You'll love till you die Then all that jive talkin' Just gets in your eye, yeah yeah Oh jive talkin' Jive talkin' Oh jive talkin'
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 31, 1975 | 87 | 39 |
| 2 | Jun 7, 1975 | 77 | 49 |
| 3 | Jun 14, 1975 | 65 | 61 |
| 4 | Jun 21, 1975 | 41 | 85 |
| 5 | Jun 28, 1975 | 33 | 93 |
| 6 | Jul 5, 1975 | 27 | 99 |
| 7 | Jul 12, 1975 | 22 | 104 |
| 8 | Jul 19, 1975 | 9 | 117 |
| 9 | Jul 26, 1975 | 7 | 119 |
| 10 | Aug 2, 1975 | 3 | 123 |
| 11 | Aug 9, 1975 | 1 | 125 |
| 12 | Aug 16, 1975 | 1 | 125 |
| 13 | Aug 23, 1975 | 4 | 122 |
| 14 | Aug 30, 1975 | 6 | 120 |
| 15 | Sep 6, 1975 | 6 | 120 |
| 16 | Sep 13, 1975 | 15 | 111 |
| 17 | Sep 20, 1975 | 44 | 82 |