Origin
Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb wrote this song and "Too Much Heaven" in an afternoon off from making the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie, in which they were starring. In the same evening, they wrote "Shadow Dancing", which was performed by Andy Gibb (and reached number one in the US).[1]
Though not originally in Saturday Night Fever, it has subsequently been added to the musical score of the West End version of the movie-musical. The song knocked "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor off the top spot in the US for two weeks before that song again returned to number one for an additional week. "Tragedy" was the second single out of the three released from the album to interrupt a song's stay at number one. In the US, it would become the fifth of six consecutive number-ones, tying the record with the Beatles for most consecutive number-ones in the US. This record was eventually surpassed in 1988 by American singer Whitney Houston, when her single "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" became her seventh consecutive number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1979, NBC aired The Bee Gees Special, which showed how the sound effect for the explosion was created. Barry cupped his hands over a microphone and made an exploding sound with his mouth. Several of these sounds were then mixed together creating one large boom heard on the record.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Chart (1979) |
Rank |
Australia[23] |
37 |
Canada RPM Top Singles[24] |
12 |
New Zealand[25] |
15 |
UK[26] |
15 |
US Billboard Hot 100[27] |
16 |
US Cash Box[28] |
19 |
|
Steps version
In 1998, Steps covered "Tragedy", releasing it as a double A-side with "Heartbeat". It debuted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, before climbing to the top spot in its eighth week, and achieving platinum status.
References
- ↑ Tragedy Songfacts
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bee Gees – Tragedy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bee Gees – Tragedy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Tragedy in Canadian Disco Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ↑ "Tragedy in Canadian Top Singles Chart". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- 1 2 Steve Hawtin; et al. "Song title 301 - Tragedy". Tsort.info. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Années 70" (in French). Infodisc.fr. 2 June 2013. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bee Gees – Tragedy". GfK Entertainment Charts.
- ↑ "Tragedy in Irish Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
2nd result when searching "Tragedy"
- ↑ "The best-selling singles of 1979 in Italy". HitParadeItalia (it). Retrieved 2 June 2013.
4. Tragedy - The Bee Gees [#1] - ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bee Gees" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bee Gees – Tragedy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.nz – Bee Gees – Tragedy". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bee Gees – Tragedy". VG-lista.
- ↑ John Samson. "Tragedy in South African Chart". Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ↑ Danyel Smith, ed. (1979). Billboard 23 june 1979. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Bee Gees – Tragedy". Singles Top 100.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bee Gees – Tragedy". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ "1979 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 3rd March 1979". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Spirits Having Flown awards on Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 26.
- ↑ "Cashbox Top 100". Cashbox Archives. March 17, 1979. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ↑ "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
- ↑ "Top 200 Singles of '78 – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30 1978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- ↑ "End of Year Charts 1979". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
- ↑ "Top Singles 1979". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 22 December 1979. p. 27.
- ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
- ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1979
- ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Bee Gees – Tragedy". Music Canada. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
- ↑ "French single certifications – Bee Gees – Tragedy" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
Select BEE GEES and click OK.
- ↑ "Les Singles en Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Bee Gees – Tragedy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Tragedy in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ↑ "American single certifications – Bee Gees – Tragedy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH.
External links
|
---|
| Studio albums | |
---|
Extended plays | |
---|
Soundtracks | |
---|
Live albums | |
---|
Compilation albums | |
---|
Videography | |
---|
Tours | |
---|
Articles | |
---|
Bands | |
---|
People | |
---|
|
|
---|
1960s | 1963 | |
---|
1964 | |
---|
1965 | |
---|
1966 | |
---|
1967 | |
---|
1968 | |
---|
1969 | |
---|
|
---|
1970s | 1970 | |
---|
1971 | |
---|
1972 | |
---|
1973 | |
---|
1974 |
- "Mr. Natural" / "It Doesn't Matter Much to Me"
- "Throw a Penny" / "I Can't Let You Go"
- "Charade" / "Heavy Breathing"
|
---|
1975 | |
---|
1976 | |
---|
1977 | |
---|
1978 | |
---|
1979 | |
---|
|
---|
1980s | |
---|
1990s | |
---|
2000s | |
---|
Other countries | 1968 | |
---|
1970 | |
---|
1971 | |
---|
1972 |
- "Israel" / "Dearest" (Netherlands)
- "Sea of Smiling Faces" / "Please Don't Turn Out the Lights"
|
---|
1977 |
- "Children of the World" / "Boogie Child" (Australia}
|
---|
1988 | |
---|
|
---|
|
---|
| Studio albums | |
---|
Live albums | |
---|
Compilation albums | |
---|
Tours | |
---|
Related articles | |
---|
|
---|
| Studio albums | |
---|
Instrumental albums | |
---|
EPs | |
---|
Live albums | |
---|
Singles | |
---|
Remix albums | |
---|
Compilations | |
---|
Related articles | |
---|
| |