How Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees song)

"How Deep Is Your Love"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Saturday Night Fever
B-side "Can't Keep a Good Man Down" (live)
Released September 1977
Format 7"
Recorded 1977 at Château d'Hérouville
(Hérouville, France)
Genre
Length 4:05
Label RSO
Songwriter(s) Bee Gees
Producer(s)
Bee Gees singles chronology
"Edge of the Universe"
(1977)		 "How Deep Is Your Love"
(1977)		 "Stayin' Alive"
(1977)

"Edge of the Universe"
(1977)		 "How Deep Is Your Love"
(1977)		 "Stayin' Alive"
(1977)
Audio sample
  • file
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Saturday Night Fever track listing
17 tracks
Side one
  1. "Stayin' Alive"
  2. "How Deep Is Your Love"
  3. "Night Fever"
  4. "More Than a Woman"
  5. "If I Can't Have You"
Side two
  1. "A Fifth of Beethoven"
  2. "More Than a Woman"
  3. "Manhattan Skyline"
  4. "Calypso Breakdown"
Side three
  1. "Night on Disco Mountain"
  2. "Open Sesame"
  3. "Jive Talkin'"
  4. "You Should Be Dancing"
  5. "Boogie Shoes"
Side four
  1. "Salsation"
  2. "K-Jee"
  3. "Disco Inferno"
Music video
"How Deep Is Your Love on YouTube

"How Deep Is Your Love" is a pop ballad written and recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 and released as a single in September of that year. It was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It was a number three hit in the United Kingdom and Australia. In the United States, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 on 24 December 1977 (becoming the first of six consecutive US number-one hits), ended the 10-week reign of Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record 17 weeks. The single spent six weeks atop the US adult contemporary chart. It is listed at number 22 on the 55th anniversary edition of Billboard's All Time Top 100.[1] Alongside "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever", it is one of the group's three tracks on the list. The song was covered by Take That for their 1996 Greatest Hits album, reaching number-one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.[2]

"How Deep Is Your Love" ranked number 375 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In a British TV special shown in December 2011, it was voted "The Nation's Favourite Bee Gees Song" by ITV viewers.[3] The song set a record by accumulating 33 weeks in one chart run. It was originally intended for Yvonne Elliman, but she later recorded "If I Can't Have You" instead.[4]

During the Bee Gees' 2001 Billboard magazine interview, Barry reportedly said that "How Deep Is Your Love" was his favorite Bee Gees song.[5]

Besides Saturday Night Fever, the song has also been featured in other films such as Donnie Brasco, Ready to Rumble, Forever Fever, Tongan Ninja, Anger Management, Adam's Apples, Disco, Sex and the City, A Dog's Purpose and Baywatch, and in television shows such as Get a Life, Ballykissangel, Marienhof, You Are the One, Two Faces, Nip/Tuck, Millennium, The Simpsons, Parenthood and Glee.

Composition and recording

Following mixing for Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live, they began recording songs for what was to be the follow-up studio album to 1976's Children of the World. Then the call came from Robert Stigwood requesting songs for a movie he was producing. The Bee Gees obliged and gave him five songs, one of which was "How Deep Is Your Love". This track was written mainly by Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb and Maurice Gibb. Barry worked out the melody with keyboard player Blue Weaver, though he is not credited officially as a songwriter here. Co-producer Albhy Galuten later admits the contribution of Weaver on this track, "One song where Blue [Weaver] had a tremendous amount of input. There was a lot of things from his personality. That's one where his contribution was quite significant, not in a songwriting sense, though when you play piano, it's almost like writing the song. Blue had a lot of influence in the piano structure of that song".[6]

Weaver tells his story behind this track:

"One morning, it was just myself and Barry in the studio. He said, 'Play the most beautiful chord you know', and I just played, what happened was, I'd throw chords at him and he'd say, 'No, not that chord', and I'd keep moving around and he'd say, 'Yeah, that's a nice one' and we'd go from there. Then I'd play another thing - sometimes, I'd be following the melody line that he already had and sometimes I'd most probably lead him somewhere else by doing what I did. I think Robin came in at some point. Albhy also came in at one point and I was playing an inversion of a chord, and he said, 'Oh no, I don't think it should be that inversion, it should be this', and so we changed it to that, but by the time Albhy had come in, the song was sort of there.[6]

A demo was made at Le Château d'Hérouville in France, with the additional recording done at Criteria Studios when they got back to Miami.[7] As Weaver says, "We started work about 12 o'clock maybe one o'clock in the morning, and that demo was done at about three or four o'clock in the morning. Albhy played piano on the demo, I'd drunk too much or gone to bed or something. Then I woke up the next morning and listened to that, and then put some strings on it and that was it. Then we actually recorded it for real in Criteria. The chords and everything stayed the same, the only thing that changes from that demo is that when we got to Criteria, I worked out the electric piano part which became the basis of the song. It was the sound of the piano that makes the feel of that song."[6] Despite Weaver's absence on the first demo of the song as he fell asleep, Galuten claimed, "Even though I did the demo because he wasn't there, there were a lot of things from his personality [on 'How Deep Is Your Love']".[6]

On the song's lyrics, Barry revealed:

"A lot of the textures you hear in the song were added on later. We didn't change any lyrics, mind you, but the way we recorded it was a little different than the way we wrote in the terms of construction. A little different for the better, I think, the title 'How Deep Is Your Love' we thought was perfect because of all the connotations involved in that sentence, and that was simply it".[6]

There was some talk of Yvonne Elliman recording "How Deep Is Your Love," but, according to Barry, their manager Robert Stigwood said, "You've got to do this song yourself, you should not give it to anybody".[6]

Release and critical reception

"How Deep Is Your Love" was released as a single in September 1977 everywhere except in the UK, where it was released on 14 October 1977.[8] By the time Children of the World was recorded, it was pretty much established that Barry was now the primary vocalist of the group, mostly being falsetto leads with the occasional natural breathy voice. Even most of the backing vocals were done by Barry, such that Robin and Maurice are barely heard in the mix, even though they are there. Despite this, Robin sings the melody for the chorus and audibly sings various ad libs during this song. Two music videos were made for this song. In one, the brothers are singing while an image of a woman shows throughout the video. Barry Gibb had his beard shaven off in this video, as in the "Night Fever" video.[9] A second video was later made in which the brothers sing while passing by a stream of rainbow lights. In this video Barry Gibb is bearded.[10] On the Cashbox charts on the week February 4, 1978, when it was at #13, the soundtrack's second single "Stayin' Alive" was at #1 with "Night Fever" debuted at #71 on the same week.[11]

When "How Deep Is Your Love" became a UK #3, Barry exclaimed: "You have no idea what a thrill it is to have a Top Five single in England. With all the new wave and punk rock out, I would have thought something like 'How Deep Is Your Love' wouldn't have a chance. We always kept going forward and we're getting stronger every day".[6]

The song won Best Pop Performance by a Group at the 20th Grammy Awards which were held on 23 February 1978. The song also received a nomination for Best Original Song at the 35th Golden Globe awards held on 28 January 1978. The award went to "You Light Up My Life" by Kasey Cisyk. At the time of both award ceremonies, the song was still in the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1983 lawsuit

In 1983, the Bee Gees were sued by a Chicago songwriter, Ronald Selle, who claimed that the Gibb brothers stole melodic material from one of his songs, "Let It End", and used it in "How Deep Is Your Love". At trial, the jury returned a finding for Selle. The Bee Gees attorney immediately asked for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The basis for the motion was that Selle had failed to show, as was required by the law, that the Bee Gees had prior access to his song. Even Selle had admitted that he'd sent out his demo tape to only a few recording companies, none of whom did business with the Bee Gees. Selle also admitted that there were some similarities between his song and several Bee Gee compositions that predated his song by several years, as well as similarities with the Beatles song "From Me to You" written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (under Lennon-McCartney). The judge ruled in favour of the Bee Gees. Selle appealed the ruling, but it was upheld by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals which agreed that Selle had not proven his case.[12][13][14]

Personnel

Bee Gees

Additional personnel

Notable cover versions

  • In 2017, PJ Morton released a cover version on his album "Gumbo."
  • In 2010, smooth jazz artist Jaared released a cover version on his album "Manhattan Nights."
  • The 2007 the bird and the bee version, which features Australian pop star Sia as a backing vocalist.
  • The 1996 Take That version (discussed below).
  • In 1995 Portrait released their version as a single.[15] Their version reached #93 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
  • In 1993, Luther Vandross released a version as Medley How Deep Is Your Love / It's Takes a Fool which in turn was an Intro to the Album's final song, "Never Let Me Go" which was the album's name.

When John Frusciante was a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers he used to play live covers of the song.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Take That version

"How Deep Is Your Love"
UK CD 1 single
Single by Take That
from the album Greatest Hits
Released 26 February 1996
Format Cassette, CD single
Recorded 1995
Genre Pop
Length 3:40
Label Polydor
Songwriter(s) Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer(s) Take That, Chris Porter
Take That singles chronology
"Never Forget"
(1995)		 "How Deep Is Your Love"
(1996)		 "Patience"
(2006)

"Never Forget"
(1995)		 "How Deep Is Your Love"
(1996)		 "Patience"
(2006)
Music video
"How Deep Is Your Love" on YouTube

Take That's version was released as a single from their Greatest Hits compilation in 1996. The single went on to become what was to be the band's final UK number one until their 2006 comeback single "Patience" a decade later. The song stayed at number one in the UK charts for three weeks. The single sold 671,000 copies and has received a Platinum sales status certification in the UK. The song also topped the charts in Denmark, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia and Spain.

Music video

The music video saw the four members of the band tied to chairs and in a basement. A blonde woman with heavy mascara (actress and model Paula Hamilton) walks into the basement and circles the four members individually pulling their hair. She then puts them all into her van and drives down the motorway. She stops by a reservoir and has the four members placed on the edge, she points at each member before grabbing Gary's rope and pushes him back still holding on. Her fingers slip through the rope and he falls backwards into the reservoir, still tied to the chair. She initially looks shocked but then smirks.

Personnel

Track listing

UK Cassette single (74321 35591 5)

  1. "How Deep Is Your Love" – 3:41
  2. "Never Forget" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 7:38

UK CD single no. 1 (74321 35559 2)

  1. "How Deep Is Your Love" – 3:41
  2. "Every Guy" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 5:36
  3. "Lady Tonight" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 4:13
  4. "Sunday To Saturday" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 3:48

UK CD single no. 2 (74321 35560 2)

  1. "How Deep Is Your Love" – 3:41
  2. "Back for Good" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 7:06
  3. "Babe" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 6:10
  4. "Never Forget" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 7:38

EU CD single no. 1 (74321 35243 2)

  1. "How Deep Is Your Love" – 3:41
  2. "Back For Good" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 7:06

EU CD single no. 2 (74321 35244 2)

  1. "How Deep Is Your Love" – 3:41
  2. "Back for Good" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 7:06
  3. "Every Guy" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 5:36

Japanese CD single (BVCP-2406)

  1. "How Deep Is Your Love" – 3:41
  2. "Every Guy" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 5:36
  3. "Babe" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 6:10
  4. "Back for Good" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 7:06

UK 7" vinyl – jukebox release only (74321 35632 2)

  1. "How Deep Is Your Love" – 3:41
  2. "Never Forget" (live from Earl's Court & Manchester Nynex) – 7:38

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Italy (FIMI)[70] Platinum 50,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Platinum 600,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Bronson, Fred (2 August 2012). "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 591. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ "ITV". ITV.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  4. ↑ ""How Deep Is Your Love" - Bee Gees". superseventies.com. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Bee Gees: 35 Years of Music". Billboard: 27. March 24, 2001. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Melinda Bilyeu; Hector Cook; Andrew Môn Hughes. The Bee Gees. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Gibb Songs: 1977". Columbia.edu. 20 December 1976. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  8. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love (UK issue)". 45cat. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "1977 Bee Gees – How deep is your love (Alternate Version)". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  10. ↑ "Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love (Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  11. ↑ "Cashbox Top 100 Singles". Cashbox Archives. February 4, 1978. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "741 F.2d 896: Ronald H. Selle, Plaintiff-appellant, v. Barry Gibb, et al., Defendants-appellants,andronald H. Selle, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Barry Gibb, et al., Defendants-appellants :: US Court of Appeals Cases :: Justia". Law.justia.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  13. ↑ "Selle v. Gibb and the forensic analysis of plagiarism". M. Fletcher Reynolds.
  14. ↑ CUDAHY. "SELLE v. GIBB, 741 F.2d 896 (7th Cir. 1984) (LOISLAW)". Law.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  15. ↑ "Portrait - How Deep Is Your Love". Discogs. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (doc)|format= requires |url= (help). Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  17. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". ultratop.be. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 3" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "Canadian Chart". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  21. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". officialcharts.de. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  22. ↑ "Irish Charts". Irish Charts. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  23. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". dutchcharts.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  24. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  27. ↑ "UK Charts". The Official Charts Company UK. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  28. 1 2 "US Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2014-11-09.
  29. ↑ "Cashbox Top 100 Singles". Cashbox Magazine. December 17, 1977. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  30. ↑ "1977 Record World Singles". Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on 3 August 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  31. ↑ "Bee Gees - How Deep Is Your Love". lescharts.com. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  32. ↑ Hunter, Nigel; Scaping, Peter, eds. (1978). "Top 100 Singles in 1977". BPI Year Book 1978 (3rd ed.). London, England: The British Phonographic Industry Ltd. pp. 216–17. ISBN 0-906154-01-4.
  33. ↑ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  34. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  35. ↑ "Top 20 Hit Singles of 1978". Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  36. ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
  37. ↑ "Canadian certifications – Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love". Music Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  38. ↑ "French certifications – Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Select BEE GEES and click OK. 
  39. ↑ "Les Singles en Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  40. ↑ "British single certifications – Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type How Deep Is Your Love in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  41. ↑ Copsey, Rob (19 September 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  42. ↑ "American single certifications – Bee Gees – How Deep Is Your Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 March 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Steffen Hung. "Hung Medien". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  44. ↑ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  45. ↑ "Top 10 Czech Republic" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  46. ↑ "LAS DIEZ QUE MÁS SUENAN EN AMÉRICA – Archivo – Archivo Digital de Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo desde 1.990". eltiempo.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  47. ↑ "P3 - Tjeklisten". Dr.dk. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  48. ↑ "Hits of the World – Eurochart Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 6 April 1996. p. 79. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  49. ↑ Pennanen, Timo: Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 2006. ISBN 9789511210535. page: 280
  50. ↑ "Die ganze Musik im Internet". musicline.de. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  51. ↑ "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  52. ↑ "Tonlist Top 40". DV. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  53. ↑ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. GfK. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  54. ↑ "Take That". Swisscharts.com.
  55. ↑ "Italian Singles Chart". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  56. ↑ "Take That - Progress". Musicchartheaven.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  57. ↑ "M-1 TOP 40". M-1.fm. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  58. ↑ "Take That – BACK FOR GOOD – Lista Przebojów Trójki – Polskie Radio Online". Lp3.polskieradio.pl. 19 May 1995. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  59. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  60. 1 2 Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  61. ↑ "UK Chart Stats". Chartstats.com. 15 June 1996. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012.
  62. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  63. ↑ Billboard - Google Books. 2000-01-01. Retrieved 2014-03-31 – via Google Books.
  64. ↑ 1996 Finnish Singles Chart Sisältää hitin -kirjaan (Retrieved September 16, 2018)
  65. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  66. ↑ "Italian Single Chart". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  67. ↑ VG-lista. "Norwegian Charts". VG-lista. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  68. ↑ "Chart Archive - 1990s Singles". everyHit.com. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  69. ↑ List of best-selling singles of the 1990s in the United Kingdom
  70. ↑ "How Deep Is Your Love". Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  71. ↑ "British single certifications – Take That – How Deep Is Your Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type How Deep Is Your Love in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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