The Bee Gees are known for their disco hits, but the brothers’ music was so much more — which is why it continues to resonate.
Stayin’ Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees pays tribute to the band with a cross-section of hits from the act’s career. The group visits the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, April 20.
The production features songs such as “Stayin’ Alive,” “Jive Talkin,’” “How Deep Is Your Love,” “You Should Be Dancing,” “Nights on Broadway,” “I Started a Joke,” “Fanny (Be Tender with My Love),” “Massachusetts” and “Night Fever.”
The Bee Gees contributed four No. 1 singles to the soundtrack for 1977’s “Saturday Night Fever.”
The brothers Gibb also wrote tracks for other artists, like Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton and Dionne Warwick.
In the tribute show, the three Gibb brothers — Barry, Robin and Maurice — are played by guitarist/lead singer Tony Mattina, lead/backup vocalist Todd Sharman and keyboardist/backing vocalist Joseph Janisse, respectively. They are supported by other musicians on the guitar, bass and drums.
Sharman said they try to honor the Bee Gees while also bringing a piece of themselves to the show.
“We try to stay as true as we can to the recordings,” Sharman said.
“Obviously, over the years, you put your imprint on it. I will often go back, relisten to songs and see where I’ve fallen off the top a little bit. … As far as us imitating the Bee Gees, we do the best to emulate them and sound as close as we can. … Sometimes I find when people try to sound too much like someone, it becomes cartoonish, and they aren’t believable. While we do try to stay true to the music, we also try to make it personal to us.
“I will put my hand to my ear once in a while to tip my hat to Robin, but that’s as far as it goes. And Tony sings like Barry Gibb. He does sound like him. That’s natural.”
The performers don ’70s-era clothing, but they aren’t trying to look exactly like the Gibb brothers.
Along with music, the production incorporates video clips and images that help to tell the Bee Gees’ story. The videos are often synched to the performances onstage.
The trio talks a bit about the Bee Gees’ music and achievements throughout the show.
Sharman said there aren’t many Bee Gees tribute bands because the music is difficult.
“It’s tight harmonies,” Sharman said.
“A lot of it has to do with the range that they can sing. Barry Gibb has a strong falsetto, and it’s used in some of the most popular songs. If you can’t sing that stuff, you really can’t do it.”
Sharman said although the show performs the Bee Gees’ disco hits, the show highlights their range as a group.
“They weren’t really a dance music band,” Sharman said. “They just had one album of that genre, and it had some of their biggest hits. They also had huge hits before that, that weren’t disco. I just think they are great songwriters, and that’s why they had so many big hits. They had over 30 No. 1 hits worldwide. It’s a testament to their writing.”
Often, they will perform lesser-known songs such as “Words,” “Too Much Heaven” or “Run to Me,” which Sharman said garner good responses from longtime fans.
He said that some songs such as “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” really speak to audiences.
“I’ve seen people react to that song,” Sharman said.
“I can see them taken back. That song means something to a lot of people. It really pulls at their heartstrings.”
Since joining the tribute, he has become more aware of lesser-known Bee Gees songs such as “Fanny (Be Tender with My Love).”
“The writing is really good, same with the way the song is built,” he said.
“The way it builds and the harmonies are just amazing. That’s one song that I really love that was not on my radar when I started doing this.”
The tribute has additional songs that the group wrote for other artists, such as “Grease” by Frankie Valli.
“They’ve got quite a catalog,” Sharman said.
“When disco started to have the backlash, they started writing songs for other artists and became songwriters. That’s why you can hear a lot of songs and not realize it’s the Bee Gees that wrote it. … The Bee Gees also got a little bit burned out and saturated. It happens to a lot of artists. They get too much airplay, and all of a sudden, people don’t like them anymore.”
Sharman said these days, fans fondly remember the Bee Gees.
Mattina and Sharman started the tribute show in Toronto in 2001. Sharman previously fronted acts that honored Tom Petty and the Tragically Hip.
“We started doing a few venues, doing maybe a half-hour set as an opening act,” Sharman said about Stayin’ Alive’s early years. “We started building on it and started to expand the repertoire, do more music and go out on our own.”
Sharman said that Mattina was important to the group because of his singing abilities.
“He was pivotal to actually getting the thing going. He’s basically the main voice in the band. Without him, you can’t do it,” Sharman said.
Stayin’ Alive: One Night of the Bee Gees
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20
WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $27.50
INFO: stayinalivetribute.com
