Maurice Gibb

Maurice Ernest Gibb (/ˈmɒrɪs/; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group, considered one of the most successful pop-rock groups of all time. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb were the group's main lead singers, most of their albums included at least one or two songs featuring Maurice's lead vocals, including "Lay It on Me", "Country Woman" and "On Time".

Gibb started his music career in 1955 in Manchester, England at the age of five joining the skiffle-rock and roll group the Rattlesnakes, which later evolved into the Bee Gees in 1958 after spending three years in Manchester when they moved to Australia. They returned to England, where they achieved worldwide fame. In 2002, the Bee Gees were appointed as CBEs for their "contribution to music". Following Gibb's unexpected death in 2003, his son collected his award at Buckingham Palace in 2004.

Maurice Gibb's earliest musical influences included the Everly Brothers, Cliff Richard, and Paul Anka; the Mills Brothers and the Beatles were significant later influences. During the Bee Gees' temporary break-up in 1969–1970, Maurice released his first solo single, "Railroad", but his first solo album, The Loner, has never been released.

Maurice Ernest Gibb was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, on 22 December 1949, the son of Hugh Gibb, a drummer, and his wife Barbara (née Pass), 35 minutes after his fraternal twin, Robin Gibb. Aside from Robin, he had one sister, Lesley, and one additional brother, Barry (another brother, Andy, would be born in 1958).

In January 1955, the Gibb family moved back to their hometown in Manchester, England. Around that time, Gibb and his brothers were heard harmonising by their parents. Also in 1955, he started his music career when he joined the skiffle/rock-and-roll group the Rattlesnakes with his brothers and two friends, Paul Frost and Kenny Horrocks, who were their neighbours. The group's first major appearance was on 28 December 1957 when they performed at a local Gaumont cinema where children were invited to sing between films. They had planned to sing along to a 78 rpm record which Lesley had just been given as a Christmas present, but on the way Gibb dropped and broke it, so they sang live. The audience were pleased by their singing, which may have been the song "Wake Up Little Susie" by the Everly Brothers.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.