The Bee Gees were led by the musical brotherhood of Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb. For the siblings, talent ran through their veins. While cementing their success as a group, the brothers started their own respective families, having children many of whom proved to have the Gibb’s affinity and skill for music.
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Barry’s two eldest sons, Stephen and Ashley, in particular, went on to pursue music; and eventually collaborated with their father, subsequently helping him revive his career in the 21st century. “They give me that youth,” the Bee Gee once said to Billboard of working with his sons. “They give me that fire.”
The father and sons would co-write several songs for Barbra Streisand’s 2005 album, Guilty Pleasures. During the project, Gibb’s sons helped him explore new music-making technology, and together, the three were able to work through family trials that had plagued them in the past. The entire process was cathartic, something that showed throughout the Streisand release.
“We got more verbal with how we felt,” Ashley explained to the outlet. “It was a mutual agreement that you could say whatever it is you’ve got to say and be as honest as you can.” His father added, “There was this huge personal thing going on between the three of us for the whole of this album. And I think it’s in the album.” Here are a handful of songs Barry Gibb wrote with his sons for the album.
1. “All the Children” – Barbra Streisand (2005)
Written by Barry, Ashley, and Stephen Gibb
All the children will send out / Love to everyone / All the children will dance and / Sing for you / Through the rhythm of ages / Blinded in the sun / All the children will dance / And sing for you, Barbra Streisand sings in her 2005 song, “All the Children.”
Barry, Ashley, and Stephen all penned the song together for Guilty Pleasures, an album that acted as the follow-up to Streisand’s 1980 album, Guilty, which also featured the song stylings of the father Gibb.
2. “Stranger in a Strange Land” – Barbra Streisand (2005)
Written by Barry, Ashley, and Stephen Gibb
And I will be your heart and mind / My love is on the line / I know it’s how I’m gonna stay / For a stranger in a strange land / Far away, Streisand and the elder Gibb sing together in the tune, “Stranger in a Strange Land,” another father-sons songwriting collaboration for the album.
3. “Come Tomorrow” – Barbra Streisand (2005)
I’ll be your hero / And I’ll be your plan / You pick me up / And let me down / Don’t make me stumble, don’t make me wait / ‘Cause come tomorrow will be too late, Streisand and Barry trade off singing in the tune, “Come Tomorrow.”
Throughout Guilty Pleasures, the Gibb patriarch can be heard lending his vocal and stringed chops to each song. His production skills were also enlisted for the making of the release.
4. “Golden Dawn” – Barbra Streisand (2005)
One golden dawn / One summer night / With nothing left to say / We left the dream begin / It was carried on the wind / And it wandered away, plays the slow-burning Streisand waltz “Golden Dawn,” another song written by the father and his two sons.
Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
