Jive Talkin'

Infobox Single
Name = Jive Talkin'


Artist = The Bee Gees
from Album = Main Course
B-side = "Wind of Change"
Released = May 31, 1975
Format = vinyl record (7" 45 RPM)
Recorded = Criteria Studios,
Miami, Florida,
January 30 —
February 19, 1975
Genre = Pop
Length = 3 min 46 s
Label = RSO
Writer = Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer = Arif Mardin
Chart position =

• #1 (US)
• #1 (CAN)
• #5 (UK)

Reviews =
Last single = "Charade"
(1974)
This single = "Jive Talkin'"
(1975)
Next single = "Nights on Broadway"
(1975)
Misc = Extra tracklisting
Album = Saturday Night Fever
Type = soundtrack
prev_track = "Open Sesame"
prev_no =11
this_track ="Jive Talkin'
track_no = 12
next_track = "You Should Be Dancing"
next_no = 13

"Jive Talkin'" is a song by the Bee Gees, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top-five on the UK singles chart in the summer of 1975. Largely recognized as the group's "comeback" song, it was their first U.S. top ten hit since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" in 1971.

The song was originally called "Drive Talking". The song's rhythm was modeled after the sound a car would make crossing the Biscayne Bay into Miami. Producer Arif Mardin wished to market the song toward the teen market, and suggested the change to "Jive Talkin'" (the phrase "jive talkin'", slang for "telling lies", was a popular colloquialism at the time). Barry Gibb wrote the song and then had to fix the lyrics upon completion because he had assumed "jive talkin'" referred to "speaking in jive", a then-popular term for African-American Vernacular English. All actual "talking jive" references were fixed so they meant "lying".

Upon its release to radio stations, the single was delivered in a plain white cover, with no immediate indication of what the song's name was or who sang it. The DJs would only find out what the song was and who played it when it was placed on the turntable; RSO did provide the song with a label on the record itself.

The pop-oriented sound was a departure from the contemporary ballads the Bee Gees had become known for. With the new sound, the public had gained a newfound interest in the Bee Gees and their music. The single sold over a million copies in the United States alone, and sold in excess of a hundred thousand copies in Canada. While not a top seller in the United Kingdom, it did mark the first time in three years that a Bee Gees single had charted there.

In 1987 this song was covered by the Boogie Box High. Boogie Box High was a musical project by Andreas Georgiou in the late 1980s, that featured a range of vocal collaborations such as his relative George Michael (of Wham!) and Nick Heyward (of Haircut 100). A cover of the Bee Gees song Jive Talkin' was their biggest hit in 1987.

ee also

*Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1975 (USA)

External links

* [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1793 Jive Talkin' information on SongFacts]