Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Jive Talkin'

This hasn't been a good year for musicians of, well, a certain age. I've done too many tribute shows for recently deceased artists this year-- David Bowie, Prince, Maurice White, and Bernie Worrell, to name a few. To lighten the mood a little I've started doing occasional "still alive, doing well" shows to feature artists while they're still around instead of waiting for the next one to fall.

In that spirit, today is Barry Gibb's 70th birthday. Happy birthday, Barry!

The Bee Gees were something of musical chameleons, recording in a variety of styles over a long career. Of cours they're best known for their disco era hits, which probably peaked with the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Not everyone cared for disco, of course, but anyone who can't appreciate "Stayin' Alive" has no soul.

In 1975 they'd been around for a while, and their "Main Course" album saw the first signs of disco-era Bee Gees. Barry Gibb's distinctive falsetto makes its first major appearance. "Jive Talkin'" was the first single. That same year, Rufus and Chaka Khan covered the song on their self-titled album.