More Than a Woman (Bee Gees song)

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"More Than a Woman"
Bee Gees - More Than a Woman.jpg
The Italian single release of the song, backed with "Children of the World"
Single by the Bee Gees
from the album Saturday Night Fever
ReleasedApril 1978 (1978-04) [1]
RecordedFebruary–September 1977
Studio
Genre Disco [2]
Length3:15
Label RSO
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"Bee Gees - More Than A Woman (Lyric Video)" on YouTube

"More Than a Woman" is a song by musical group the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb [3] for the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever . It became a regular feature of the group's live sets from 1977 until Maurice Gibb's death in 2003 and was often coupled with "Night Fever".

Contents

Recording and release

The Bee Gees started to record the song from February to March 1977 in the Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville in France, continued it in Criteria Studios in Miami in April, and later in September, the song was finished in Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles. [4]

The soundtrack includes two versions – one by the Bee Gees and the other by Tavares. Both versions are featured in the film as well. The song has been recorded and performed by various artists and in various forms. The song by the Bee Gees was not released as a single in the US and the UK, but it was in other countries such Italy and Australia. Despite that, it has remained a staple on radio, and is one of their best known songs. An abridged live version of the song, performed by the Bee Gees in 1997, is available on both the DVD and CD versions of One Night Only .

The song has also been included on Bee Gees compilations such as Tales from the Brothers Gibb and Their Greatest Hits: The Record . The very first British pressings of Their Greatest Hits: The Record featured the song with a mastering fault, with the audio noticeably dipping to the right briefly during the first verse. This was corrected after several thousand copies had been distributed.[ citation needed ]

A new remix of the song was done by British DJ SG Lewis, which was released in 2021 in response to the TikTok craze. [5] The song also appeared in the Glee episode titled "Saturday Night Gleever", with Cory Monteith, Naya Rivera and Chris Colfer on vocals.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track . [6]

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [11] Gold45,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [12] Gold50,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [13] Gold30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [14] Platinum600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Tavares version

"More Than a Woman"
More than a Woman by Tavares Side-A US vinyl.png
US vinyl label
Single by Tavares
from the album Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track and Future Bound
B-side
  • "Keep in Touch" (US)
  • "We're Both Ready for Love" (UK)
ReleasedNovember 1977 [4]
Length3:25
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Freddie Perren
Tavares singles chronology
"Whodunit"
(1977)		"More Than a Woman"
(1977)		"One Step Away"
(1977)

"More Than a Woman" was also recorded by Tavares in 1977, and also appeared in Saturday Night Fever and on the soundtrack album. It also featured on their 1978 album Future Bound . Their version charted at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 [15] and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. [16]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–1978)Peak
position
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [17] 29
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [18] 34
UK Singles (OCC) [16] 7
US Billboard Hot 100 [15] 32
US Hot Soul Singles (Billboard) [15] 36

Year-end charts

Chart (1978)Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM) [19] 199

911 version

"More Than a Woman"
911-More-Than-a-Woman-1998.jpg
Single by 911
from the album There It Is
B-side
  • "Nothing Stops the Rain"
  • "Forever in My Heart"
Released12 October 1998 (1998-10-12)
Length3:11
Label Virgin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
911 singles chronology
"How Do You Want Me to Love You?"
(1998)		"More Than a Woman"
(1998)		"A Little Bit More"
(1999)

In 1998, British boy band 911 recorded "More Than a Woman" for their third studio album, There It Is (1999). Produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, this version was released on 12 October 1998 as the album's lead single and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart while also charting in France and New Zealand.

Release and reception

911's version of "More Than a Woman" was added to BBC Radio 1's As Featured playlist on 7 September 1998; by the end of the month, it had been upgraded to the station's A-list. [20] [21] On 12 October 1998, Virgin Records released the song in the United Kingdom as two CD singles and a cassette single. [22] [23] Six days later, the song debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, [24] becoming the band's highest-charting single in the UK until the follow-up, a cover of Dr. Hook's "A Little Bit More", topped the UK chart in January 1999. [25] For most of the week, "More Than a Woman" outsold Spacedust's "Gym and Tonic", but the latter song slipped ahead to become the number-one song of that week despite mediocre sales. [26] "More Than a Woman" spent four weeks in the top 40 and 15 weeks in the top 100. [24]

On the Eurochart Hot 100, the cover reached number 18 on 31 October 1998 as that week's Sales Breaker. [27] Elsewhere in Europe, the song charted in France in March 1999, when it appeared on the SNEP Singles Chart for a single week at number 94, becoming the band's only single to chart there. [28] In New Zealand, the song became 911's third of four songs to reach the top 50 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. After debuting at number 20 on 14 March 1999, it rose to its peak of number eight the following week to become the band's highest-charting song in New Zealand. It spent a further seven nonconsecutive weeks in the top 50. [29]

Track listings

Personnel

Personnel are adapted from the UK CD1 liner notes. [30]

Charts

Chart (1998–1999)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [34] 127
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [27] 18
France (SNEP) [28] 94
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [29] 8
Scotland (OCC) [35] 1
UK Singles (OCC) [24] 2

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References

  1. ↑ "Bee Gees singles".
  2. ↑ "Bee Gees bass player dies at 53". The Morning Journal . 13 January 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  3. ↑ Guarisco, Donald A. "More Than a Woman – Song Review". AllMusic . Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs : 1977". Columbia University . Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Rachel Kupfer (27 June 2021). "SG Lewis goes back in time with remix of "More Than a Woman" by the Bee Gees". EDM.com. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  6. ↑ Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track (liner notes). RSO. 1977. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 26.
  9. ↑ "Bee Gees Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Year-End Charts: Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – 2021". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "Danish single certifications – Bee Gees – More Than a Woman". IFPI Danmark . Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Bee Gees – More Than a Woman" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Spanish single certifications – Bee Gees – More Than a Woman". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España . Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "British single certifications – Bee Gees – More Than a Woman". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 "Tavares – Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  17. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5486a." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  18. ↑ "Tavares – More Than A Woman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  19. ↑ "Top 200 Singles of '78". RPM . Vol. 30, no. 14. Library and Archives Canada. 30 December 1978. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  20. ↑ "Radio One Playlists" (PDF). Music Week . 12 September 1998. p. 28. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  21. ↑ "Radio One Playlists" (PDF). Music Week. 3 October 1998. p. 18. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  22. ↑ "Reviews > Delayed Releases" (PDF). Music Week. 3 October 1998. p. 8. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  23. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 10 October 1998. p. 29. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  24. 1 2 3 "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  25. ↑ "911". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  26. ↑ Jones, Alan (24 October 1998). "Chart Commentary" (PDF). Music Week. p. 20. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  27. 1 2 "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 15, no. 44. 31 October 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  28. 1 2 "911 – More Than a Woman" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  29. 1 2 "911 – More Than a Woman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  30. 1 2 More Than a Woman (UK CD1 liner notes). 911. Virgin Records. 1998. VSCDT 1707, 7243 8 95389 0 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  31. ↑ More Than a Woman (UK CD2 liner notes). 911. Virgin Records. 1998. VSCDX 1707, 7243 8 95388 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ↑ More Than a Woman (UK cassette single sleeve). 911. Virgin Records. 1998. VSC 1707, 7243 8 95388 4 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. ↑ More Than a Woman (European CD single liner notes). 911. Virgin Records. 1998. VSCDE 1707, 7243 8 95426 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  34. ↑ "911 ARIA chart history (singles), received from ARIA in May 2024". ARIA. Retrieved 12 July 2024– via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  35. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
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