"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" | ||||
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Single by Bee Gees | ||||
from the album Trafalgar | ||||
B-side | "Country Woman" | |||
Released | 28 May 1971 | |||
Recorded | 28 January 1971 | |||
Studio | IBC Studios, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:57 | |||
Label | Polydor Atco (United States, Canada) | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Bee Gees singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" | ||||
Music video | ||||
"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (Live in Las Vegas,1997 - One Night Only)" on YouTube |
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album Trafalgar . It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in Cashbox magazine for two weeks. [4]
In the US Atco Records issued both mono and stereo versions of the song on each side as a promo single. [5] The B-side was a Maurice Gibb composition "Country Woman".
The song appears in the 2013 film American Hustle and on its soundtrack. It also provided the title to director Frank Marshall's 2020 documentary film The Bee Gees:How Can You Mend a Broken Heart . [6]
Barry and Robin Gibb wrote the song in August 1970 with "Lonely Days" when the Gibb brothers had reconvened following a period of break-up and alienation. "Robin came to my place," says Barry,"and that afternoon we wrote 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' and that obviously was a link to us coming back together. We called Maurice,finished the song,went to the studio and once again,with only 'Broken Heart' as a basic structure,we went in to the studio with that and an idea for 'Lonely Days',and those two songs were recorded that night".
They originally offered the song to Andy Williams,but ended up recording it themselves,although Williams did later cover the song on his album You've Got a Friend. Barry also explains,"We might imitate a certain group,later on,the group will pick up on the song and say that suits us." [7] Maurice Gibb possibly had a hand in the writing of the song,although it is officially credited to Barry and Robin Gibb alone. The 2009 release Ultimate Bee Gees officially credited Maurice for the first time as co-writer of the song,for both the "Ultimate" CD and DVD,and it was credited to the moniker Barry,Robin and Maurice Gibb. [8]
The single version was recorded on 28 January 1971 in London,the same day as "We Lost the Road","When Do I","If I Were the Sky","Bring Out the Thoughts in Me" and "Ellan Vannin". [8] The group's later song "My World" followed along the same musical ideas on this song. [7] Robin Gibb's remarked on the song,"The whole thing took about an hour to complete. The song reached the number one spot,to our great satisfaction." [1]
The song was sung live for the first time in 1971,in a performance that was notable as drummer Geoff Bridgford's first appearance with the band. [9] Although failing to chart on the UK Singles Chart,the song became the Bee Gees' first US number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and also reached number four on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1971. Cash Box described the song as being "a slower,almost country-ballad styled performance which links an intricate melody segment with more powerful thrusts to give the track top forty impetus." [10] Record World called it a "lovely tune [that] can't miss." [11] In Spain,it was released under the title "Cómo Puedes Arreglar Un Corazón Destrozado". [12]
Following the release of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart",the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo Or Group along with George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" and others. [7] It was performed as part of a medley on The Midnight Special on 10 October 1975,in Japan on the Japanese TV special Love Sounds,and on the Mr. Natural tour in 1974. A live version recorded on November 17 and 18,1989,at the National Tennis Centre,Melbourne,Australia,was used for the benefit album Nobody's Child:Romanian Angel Appeal . Between 1997 and 1999,the song was performed on the One Night Only tour as part of a medley. It was last performed by the Bee Gees in 2001.
Barry Gibb re-recorded the song as a duet with Sheryl Crow for his 2020 solo album, Greenfields:The Gibb Brothers Songbook,Vol. 1.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [28] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [29] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in the mid-to-late 1970s. The group sang recognisable three-part tight harmonies: Robin's clear vibrato lead vocals were a hallmark of their earlier hits, while Barry's R&B falsetto became their signature sound during the mid-to-late 1970s and 1980s. The group wrote all their own original material, as well as writing and producing several major hits for other artists, and are regarded as one of the most important and influential acts in pop-music history. They have been referred to in the media as The Disco Kings, Britain's First Family of Harmony, and The Kings of Dance Music.
Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger twin brothers, Robin and Maurice, he rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popular music. Gibb is well known for his wide vocal range including a far-reaching high-pitched falsetto. Gibb's career has spanned over 60 years.
Michael Bublé is the third studio album by Canadian singer Michael Bublé. It was released on 143 Records and Reprise Records. The album was released on February 11, 2003 and was Bublé's major label debut. It spawned four singles: "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Kissing a Fool", "Sway" and "Spider-Man Theme".
Trafalgar is a 1971 album by the Bee Gees. It was their ninth album, and was released in September 1971 in the US, and November 1971 in the UK. The album was a moderate hit in the United States, and peaked at No. 34. The lead single "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" was the first Bee Gees' No. 1 single in the United States but failed to chart in Britain as did the album. It is Geoff Bridgford's only full-length appearance on a Bee Gees album as an official member.
One Night Only is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by the Bee Gees. It features the group's concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 1997 and includes many of their greatest hits.
Their Greatest Hits: The Record is the career retrospective greatest hits album by the Bee Gees, released on UTV Records and Polydor in November 2001 as HDCD. The album includes 40 tracks spanning over 35 years of music. Four of the songs were new recordings of classic Gibb compositions originally recorded by other artists, including "Emotion", "Heartbreaker", "Islands in the Stream", and "Immortality". It also features the Barry Gibb duet with Barbra Streisand, "Guilty", which originally appeared on Streisand's 1980 album of the same name. It is currently out of print and has been supplanted by another compilation, The Ultimate Bee Gees.
"Lonely Days" is a ballad written and performed by the Bee Gees. It appeared on their album 2 Years On, and was released as a single, becoming their first Top Five hit in the US, peaking at number three in the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching number one in the Cashbox and Record World charts. Barry Gibb later re-recorded the song with country quartet Little Big Town for his 2021 album Greenfields.
"Holiday" is a song released by the Bee Gees in the United States in September 1967. It appeared on the album Bee Gees' 1st. The song was not released as a single in their native United Kingdom because Polydor UK released the single "World" from their next album Horizontal.
"To Love Somebody" is a song written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Produced by Robert Stigwood, it was the second single released by the Bee Gees from their international debut album, Bee Gees 1st, in 1967. The single reached No. 17 in the United States and No. 41 in the United Kingdom. The song's B-side was "Close Another Door". The single was reissued in 1980 on RSO Records with "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" as its flipside. The song ranked at number 94 on NME magazine's "100 Best Tracks of the Sixties". The entry was a minor hit in France but reached the top 10 in Canada.
"First of May" is a song by the Bee Gees with lead vocals by Barry Gibb, released as a single from their 1969 double album Odessa. Its B-side was "Lamplight". It also featured as the B-side of "Melody Fair" when that song was released as a single in the Far East in 1971 as well as in 1976 and 1980 on RSO Records. It was the first Bee Gees single to be released after lead guitarist Vince Melouney had left the group.
"I.O.I.O." is a song by the Bee Gees, released on the album Cucumber Castle. It was written by Barry and Maurice Gibb. The song was released as a single in March 1970, and was also one of the highlights of the album. The single was a relative success mainly on European charts. Its music video is taken from the film Cucumber Castle.
Love Songs is the Bee Gees' third compilation album in four years, though the first to cover a specific musical style. A proposed album of love songs was in the works around 1995 when the Bee Gees recorded their own versions of "Heartbreaker" and "Emotion", but that project was soon shelved and those recordings remained unavailable until the release of Their Greatest Hits: The Record in 2001.
Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live is the first live album by the Bee Gees. It was recorded on December 20, 1976 at the LA Forum and was released in May 1977 by RSO Records. It reached No. 8 in the US, No. 8 in Australia, No. 1 in New Zealand, and No. 2 in Spain.
"Don't Wanna Live Inside Myself" is a ballad written and sung by Barry Gibb, and released on the Bee Gees' album Trafalgar in 1971, and the second single release taken from the album.
"My World" is a 1972 single released by the Bee Gees. It was originally released as a non-album single on 14 January 1972 worldwide. but was later included on the compilation Best of Bee Gees, Volume 2 in 1973. The flip side of the single was "On Time", a country rock number composed by Maurice Gibb. "My World" reached the Top 20 in both US and UK.
"Run to Me" is a song by the Bee Gees, the lead single from the group's album To Whom It May Concern (1972). The song reached the UK Top 10 and the US Top 20.
"Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees for their Main Course album in 1975. It was the third single release from the album, peaking at number 12 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and number two in Canada. According to Maurice Gibb, producer Quincy Jones called "Fanny" one of his favorite R&B songs of all time.
The Ultimate Bee Gees is a compilation album released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Bee Gees. Although the group did not start recording until 1963 on Festival Records in Australia, they began calling themselves the "Bee Gees" in 1959 after several name changes such as "Wee Johnny Hayes and the Bluecats", "The Rattlesnakes" and "BG's". Each disc is themed with the first containing more upbeat songs, called A Night Out, and the second containing slower songs and ballads, called A Night In, though the cover art does not distinguish this theme. Liner notes were written by Sir Tim Rice. This also marks the return of the 1970s era logo on an official Bee Gees release, which was last used on the Bee Gees' 1983 single "Someone Belonging to Someone".
Mythology is a box set compilation of recordings by the Gibb brothers, mostly performed as the Bee Gees, arranged in a four disc set each highlighting a Gibb brother. Barry and Robin chose their own songs, with Maurice's songs selected by his widow Yvonne and Andy's songs selected by his daughter Peta. Several U.S. and U.K. hits are absent from this collection including "Lonely Days", "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "You Should Be Dancing", "Nights on Broadway", "World" and "One".
"Country Woman" is a song written and released by British rock band Bee Gees. It was written and performed solely by Maurice Gibb, and released as a B-side of "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", which was the group's first US No. 1. The songs were released as a double A-side in Germany, France, Japan and Canada.
...co-producing the song with Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees shot for soulful, buttery folk-rock...
another day paul mccartney.