The Bee Gees Almost Rejected “Saturday Night Fever”



Generations of music fans know the Bee Gees — British-born brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb — as the musical group that created the songs for Saturday Night Fever, the 1978 movie that made John Travolta a star and catapulted what was known at the time as disco music to the top of pop culture. What many people don’t realize is that the Bee Gees were not involved with the movie until filming had finished. All of the dance scenes in the film were done to music by other artists. When presented with the opportunity to write the music for the film, the trio wasn’t interested. The film’s producer, Robert Stigwood, just happened to be the Bee Gees’ manager at the time, and realizing the group was in a rut, he suggested they write some songs for the film. The band eventually got together and wrote the songs “How Deep Is Your Love,” “More Than a Woman,” “Stayin’ Alive,” “If I Can’t Have You,” and “Night Fever" in just one weekend. The music was then dubbed into the film. The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack stayed atop the charts for 24 straight weeks and remains one of the best-selling albums in history.