Bee Gees (And Me)

Exciting episode today, the first of what I’m calling “Superfan Sessions,” where I get to talk to another Bee Gees fan about being a fan, about what it’s like to love the Bee Gees and their music. I’ve told this story before, when I grew up being a fan in the 90s and I was absolutely alone in my fandom. I knew NOBODY ELSE who was a Bee Gees fan. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to connect with fellow fans online, but this show is allowing me to do just that. Geek out with like-minded music lovers a little, figure out why we’re obsessed stuff like that.

Today my guest is Lisa Jo Barr. She’s a Bee Gees fan because her DAD was a super fan. She’s going to share with us some amazing stories, some personal and powerful stories. Lisa Jo is a fan of the early Bee Gees stuff, the 60s and the 70s. So it was fun chatting with her since I am partial to their 80s 90s 00s stuff. A fun thing happens, you’ll see during the conversation.

It’s Wrestlemania season, baby! For those of you who don’t know, Wrestlemania is the biggest weekend of the year for professional wrestling. The WWE holds a huge shows all week long, culminating in Wrestlemania, which is like the Super Bowl or World Cup of wrestling. It’s the biggest show, on the grandest stage of them all.

So since it’s Wrestlemania, I wanted to do a wrestling themed episode of Bee Gees And Me podcast, because there’s some fun references and influences that the Brothers Gibb had on wrestling over the years. I asked my good friend “Trapper Tom” to be my guest this week, because not only does he work for an independent wrestling promotion based out of Pittsburgh, PA, called the Keystone State Wrestling Alliance, not only is he a wrestling historian, having taught a college course on professional wrestling, he is also a Bee Gees fan.

Of course, I am a huge fan of wrestling too. I’ve actually been a wrestling fan for longer than I’ve been a Bee Gees fan. I started watching as a kid in the 80s, during the Rock & Wrestling era of colorful over the top characters like Andre The Giant and The Macho Man Randy Savage. Much like any long running form of entertainment, it’s evolved over the years. So stars like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels replaced them, then along came Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Now, a whole new generation of wrestlers like Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley entertain the millions of fans of this billion dollar industry.

But, despite all the success and popularity of professional wrestling, there are still people who sneer or judge the performance. People throw around the “F word,” that in the wrestling industry is the most offensive thing that could be said. “Fake.” For some reason, because this athletic performance is scripted, it carries this stigma of being a joke. People look down on it as a lesser form of entertainment. Television shows are scripted, movies are scripted. But nobody is leaving a movie theater complaining about The Avengers because none of it was real. Yet, wrestling doesn’t use CGI or stunt doubles for their action. It’s men and women not only acting as characters, but also doing all the physically demanding and extremely athletic moves to tell a story. When done right, it’s some of the best live theater you can experience.

So over my years as both a wrestling fan and a Bee Gees fan, I’ve been reminded time and time again that something I love is either fake, or dumb, or phony. There’s a chip on my shoulder for being shamed as a wrestling fan in the same way as there’s a chip on my shoulder for being a Bee Gees fan. When in reality, wrestling is awesome. And the Bee Gees are awesome. And I unapologetically love each of them. And sometimes, those two worlds intersect, and it’s exciting for me to see two of my passions share a moment like a shooting star across the night sky. 

And my friend Trapper Tom and I will talk about some of those times on this episode of Bee Gees And Me, continuing just after this.

My guest this week is Jesse Jackson, host of “Set Lusting Bruce: A Bruce Springsteen Podcast.” He and I are kindred spirits. Much like I am a huge fan of the Bee Gees, Jesse is a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen. So it is so super easy to talk with Jesse because we have that same passion about a musical performer, the same dysfunctional brain that makes us obsessed to the point where we have huge collections and create podcasts because we love talking about it.

I was a guest on his podcast, Set Lusting Bruce, a few months ago. Even though I wasn't necessarily a Springsteen fan, Jesse likes talking to guests who are super fans of other groups too. We ended up talking for over two hours about the Bee Gees and Bruce and all sorts of things. It was great. There’s links to these episodes on BeeGeesAndMe.com if you’re interested, we share some great stories.

ANYWAY, when I was a guest on his show, it was before the HBO Documentary came out, and it was before Barry’s Greenfields country album came out. So we decided that we would exchange songs with each other, I gave him deeper cut Bee Gees songs, he gave me deeper cut Bruce songs, and then he would come be a guest on MY show and we could catch up and talk more music. That conversation is coming up in a little bit, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

But first, this exchanging music with Jesse reminded me of a time in my life when I used to exchange music with my friends on a regular basis. This was about 10-15 years ago, damn where does the time go? Anyway, I was at a point in my life where I felt like I needed to expand my musical horizons. I wasn’t listening to much music besides the Gibbs, so I thought my friends could help me discover new music (and at the same time I thought it would be a good way to get them to listen to the Bee Gees.) So each month we’d pick a theme and make CD mixes for each other. Someone would host at their apartment, and we’d all bring food and booze over for a big dinner. And we’d eat and drink while listening to music and telling stories about the songs we chose. At the end of the night we’d all get several discs full of new music, and it was also some awesome quality time with friends too. We called ourselves the Disc Poets Society. We met for about a year before life gets in the way as it does, but I’ll always remember those as one of the coolest things I was a part of.

Fast forward to today, and here I am finding myself trading music again. Before meeting Jesse, I hadn’t really listened to Bruce Springsteen all that much. But through him I discovered some amazing songs that have become part of my regular music rotation. And I’m happy to report that I introduced to him a few Bee Gees songs that he would have never heard before too. We didn’t burn CDs or have dinners, even if a pandemic wasn’t keeping us from being able to assemble, we live hundreds of miles away from each other. But technology has allowed us to create playlists and stream music so we could share with each other. Next week, exclusively on Spotify, I will be sharing a Listening Party episode of Bee Gees And Me where Jesse and I talk about and listen to these Bruce and Gibb songs. And it carries on the spirit of me and my friends with the Disc Poets Society. I hope you watch for it and listen to it, it was incredible to create. As was the first part of our conversation which is this episode.

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Judi Lesta is a photographer who spent a whole year with the Brothers Gibb, documenting their work and lives in photographs. Her work has been featured in numerous Bee Gees books, and most recently, also in the HBO documentary “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” She was with them at the height of their success, in our conversation you’ll hear about Saturday Night Fever, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and which of her famous photos you’ll surely know.

Also, after my conversation with Judi, I will be introducing a new segment to the show. The Extra Mile. Today I will be talking with my wife about my Bee Gees obsession and how it impacts our lives and our relationship. I hope this doesn’t backfire on me.

In this episode of Bee Gees And Me, I talk with Todd Bisson, one of the executive producers of “To Love the Bee Gees: A Tribute to the Brothers Gibb.” Some of the musical acts on this album include Isobel Campbell, The Silver Seas, Emitt Rhodes, and Martin Carr. It’s really a fantastic album that includes so many different performers from different backgrounds performing in different genres. Worth checking out. You’ll enjoy hearing my conversation with Todd about how this passion project of his came to life. Buy it on Amazon or listen to it on Spotify. AND Find a special episode of Bee Gees And Me, exclusively on Spotify, where we play 8 tracks off the album, and Todd tells us some really cool stories behind the songs. Check it out, exclusively on Spotify. Just search “Bee Gees And Me,” and hit subscribe.  If you like this episode and would like to hear us do more, LET ME KNOW. And tell me what album or songs you’d like us to talk about. Connect with me on social media and let me know what you think.  Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, @BeeGeesAndMe, like us on Facebook and Subscribe to our YouTube channel for great videos. Everything and more is at https://www.BeeGeesAndMe.com. And please be sure to subscribe here and where you listen to this podcast, and rate it 5 stars. It helps SO much. Thank you for listening to this episode!

It was an honor to have a conversation with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band star Diane Steinberg Lewis. As "Lucy" in the film, Diane worked closely with Peter Frampton, the Bee Gees, Paul Nicholas and Donald Pleasence as she shined on the screen as the leader of Lucy and the Diamonds. Her rendition of the Beatles classic "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" with Stargard is a classic in its own right, and her scene stealing performances throughout the film prove to be supremely enjoyable. We discuss what it was like to work with Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb, as well as being a love interest to Peter Frampton's "Billy Shears." She tells stories of the wild times on set, as well as other memories from that infamous movie musical.