Children of the World

Children of the World is a 1976 album by the Bee Gees. The first single, "You Should Be Dancing", went to No. 1 in the US and Canada, and was a top ten hit in numerous other territories. The album has sold over 2.5 million copies. It was the group's fourteenth album (twelfth internationally). The album was re-issued on CD by Reprise Records and Rhino Records in 2006. This was the first record featuring the Gibb-Galuten-Richardson production team which would have many successful collaborations in the following years.

This article is about the album by the Bee Gees. For other uses, see Children of the World (disambiguation).

Children of the World
Studio album by
Bee Gees
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1976
Recorded19 January – 6 May 1976
StudioLe Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec
GenreDisco, funk, soul
Length38:37
LabelRSO
ProducerBee Gees, Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson
Bee Gees chronology
Main Course
(1975)		 Children of the World
(1976)		 Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live
(1977)
Singles from Children of the World
  1. "You Should Be Dancing"
    Released: June 1976 (UK), July 1976 (US)
  2. "Love So Right"
    Released: September 1976
  3. "Boogie Child"
    Released: January 1977
  4. "Children of the World"
    Released: February 1977

Background

Because their manager Robert Stigwood had ended his US distribution arrangement with Atlantic Records, Atlantic producer Arif Mardin, who had produced the Bee Gees' prior two albums, was no longer permitted to work with the group. In an effort to retain the same sound, the group recorded at the same studios (Criteria Studios in Miami). At first, they recruited producer Richard Perry, but they parted company after only a couple of weeks over the musical direction the group should take. At this point the Bee Gees decided to produce the album themselves, with Barry Gibb taking the lead role, along with engineer Karl Richardson. They added young musician and arranger Albhy Galuten to the control room as musical adviser. The new team saw the group through a series of top selling recordings over the next four years.

Recording

The album was recorded from 19 January to 30 March, when they recorded "You Should Be Dancing", "Love So Right", "Subway", "Love Me", "You Stepped Into My Life", "The Way It Was", "Walk Before You Run" (unreleased), "The Feel" (unreleased) and "Lovers" which had Robin singing lead in falsetto. All the songs were finished in Quebec, except the two unreleased songs and "Walk Before You Run" which was written by Barry Gibb with Stephen Stills.[1] During a break recording Children of the World , Robin and Maurice Gibb returned in England to spend time with their families, while Barry stayed in Miami to mix the new single and to record "The Way It Was".[2] From 2 April to 26 May, the group recorded songs in Le Studio, Quebec. "Rest Your Love on Me" (recorded 2 May) was not included on the album but it was used as the B-side of "Too Much Heaven" in 1978.[1]

Release

The album was released in September 1976. Four singles were released. "You Should Be Dancing" in June 1976 (UK) / July 1976 (US); "Love So Right" in September 1976; "Boogie Child" in January 1977; and "Children of the World" in February 1977. "You Should Be Dancing" went to No. 1 in the US. "Love So Right" and "Boogie Child" reached No. 3 and No. 12 respectively in the US. "Love Me" was a hit for Yvonne Elliman and "You Stepped into My Life" was recorded by Wayne Newton in 1979. Barry Gibb felt that other tracks could also be hits.[2]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideB[4]

Bruce Eder in a retrospective review for Allmusic describes this album as the group's second R&B album and described "Love So Right" as a "beautiful soul ballad".[3]

Track listing

All tracks written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleLead vocal(s)Length
1."You Should Be Dancing"Barry4:16
2."You Stepped Into My Life"Barry3:25
3."Love So Right"Barry3:34
4."Lovers"Barry and Robin3:36
5."Can't Keep a Good Man Down"Barry and Robin4:43
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocal(s)Length
1."Boogie Child" Barry4:12
2."Love Me"Barry Gibb, Robin GibbRobin and Barry4:01
3."Subway" Barry4:24
4."The Way It Was"Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Blue WeaverBarry3:19
5."Children of the World" Barry3:07

Personnel
Bee Gees
  • Barry Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Robin Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals
  • Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals; bass guitar except “Subway” and “The Way It Was”
Bee Gees Band
Additional personnel
  • Joe Lala – percussion
  • Gary Brown – saxophone
  • George "Chocolate" Perry – bass guitar on "Subway" and "The Way It Was"
  • Stephen Stills – percussion on "You Should Be Dancing"
  • Peter Graves – horns
  • Whit Sidener – horns
  • Kenny Faulk – horns
  • Neil Bonsanti – horns
  • Bill Purse – horns
Production
  • Karl Richardson – engineer, producer
  • John Blanche – engineer
  • Ed Marshal – engineer
  • Nick Balgona – additional engineering
  • Albhy Galuten – producer

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[16] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1976".
  2. Melinda Bilyeu; Hector Cook; Andrew Môn Hughes (January 2011). The Bee Gees. ISBN 9780857128942. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. Eder, Bruce. Children of the World at AllMusic
  4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  5. Kent, David. Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 26, No. 7". RPM. 13 November 1976. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  7. "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1976" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  8. "charts.nz Bee Gees – Children of the World" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  9. "norwegiancharts.com Bee Gees – Children of the World" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  10. "swedishcharts.com Bee Gees – Children of the World" (ASP). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  11. "Allmusic: Children of the World : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  12. "Album Search: Bee Gees – Children of the World" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  13. "RPM Top Albums/CDs – Volume 26, No. 14 & 15, Top 100 Albums of 1976". RPM. 8 January 1977. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  14. "Top Pop Albums of 1977". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  15. "Canadian album certifications – Bee Gees – Children of the World". Music Canada.
  16. "American album certifications – Bee Gees – Children of the World". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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