The Bee Gees: The Official Biography by David N. Meyer (2013 Hardcover) - Perfect for Music Lovers & Biography Collectors

I found this book fascinating. I will disclaim that I am not, nor have I ever really been, a Bee Gees fan. But author David Meyer is able to pin down just what people like me DO owe the Bee Gees and it made me think about their music--and the music of my youth--in a way I hadn't before.As a non-fan, a little patience was required. Without any pre-existing natural affection for the lads, I found I was eager to get past the account of their early life (facts, dates, geographical wanderings) and onto what Meyer does best--critical music writing. But it was setting a foundation, brick by brick, for the later chapters and the payoff was huge. By the time I made it to the "Saturday Night Fever" section of the book, I was totally hooked. And that's where Meyer's writing shines for me. What he does best is to parse down the music, to (for example) explain which aspects are revolutionary, which are harvested from other forms etc. And this is something I have never given a moment's thought to, as regards the Bee Gees.Another of Meyer's strengths is in understanding the interplay between music and culture and he puts it all into context in a way that is both thought-provoking and fun to read. I knew nothing about the origins of disco culture and it was fascinating to learn about its rise and fall.The chapter on the "Sgt Peppers" project was worth the price of the whole book. I can't wait to get a copy of the movie on DVD and relive it for the first time since seeing it in the theater as an unsuspecting teenager!I will also say that, despite my initial feelings of detachment/dislike toward the brothers as personalities, I grew more fond of them (or fascinated by them) as this book wore on. The chapter on Andy is a thing of beauty and seems to weave together many of the prevailing Gibb family motifs in a way that is very human, revealing and, ultimately, sad. I was a tween fan of Andy Gibb back in 1977 and I now find my interest in him reawakened, albeit for reasons of adult sympathy.Bottom line--this book seems to me targeted not at Bee Gees fans or detractors, but to those of us square in the middle: people with an ecumenical love of rock/pop music, who are hungry to know its history and who want to learn how the Bee Gees factor into that history. No one, save their fans, really gives the Bee Gees their due in terms of talent, influence and song-writing breadth. Meyer's book does just that, without shying away from the other ways the Bee Gees DIDN'T do well. It's a testament to their talent and the fact their music was just that infectious that we all (fans and non-fans alike) carry a part of it inside us forever. I really enjoyed understanding how that came to be.