"Spicks and Specks" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry Gibb. When the song was released in September 1966, the single reached No. 4 on the Go-Set Australian National Top 40[3] (No. 1 on other Australian charts),[4][5] and when the song was released in other countries in February 1967, it reached No. 28 in Germany, No. 2 in the Netherlands and No. 1 in New Zealand.[2]
| "Spicks and Specks" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Bee Gees | ||||
| from the album Spicks and Specks | ||||
| B-side | "I Am the World" | |||
| Released |
| |||
| Recorded | July 1966 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:52 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Barry Gibb | |||
| Producer(s) | Nat Kipner, Ossie Byrne | |||
| The Bee Gees singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Recording
edit"Spicks and Specks", a ballad built around a strong piano beat, is dated to early July in the memory of Geoff Grant (Geoffrey Streeter), who played the trumpet. Grant recalls working three nights in a row on four songs: "Spicks and Specks", "I Am the World", "All by Myself", and "The Storm". There were no charts, so Barry sang what he wanted live, and Grant copied it. Some other artists whose disks came out in August recall hearing "Spicks and Specks" being worked on or completed, further confirming that early July is the approximate date of the song's recording.[5]
Release
editThe single entered the Sydney charts at the end of September and stayed in the top 40 for 19 weeks, peaking at number 3. It appeared on the Go-Set National Top 40 for sixteen weeks, where it reached number 4 early in November.[3]
Personnel
edit- Barry Gibb – lead and backing vocals
- Maurice Gibb – piano, bass, electric guitar
- Russell Barnsley – drums
- Geoff Grant – trumpet
- Steve Kipner – backing vocal
- Robin Gibb – backing vocal
- Nat Kipner, Ossie Byrne – producers
Charts
edit| Chart | Year | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| Australia Go-Set Charts[6] | 1966 | 4 |
| Netherlands Dutch Top 40 Charts[7] | 1967 | 2 |
| Germany Media Control Charts[8] | 1967 | 28 |
| New Zealand Recorded Music NZ Charts[9] | 1967 | 1 |
| Japan Oricon Singles Chart[10] | 1967 | 56 |
References
edit- ^ Davidson, Chris (2001). "Sunshine Pop". In Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (eds.). Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth. Los Angeles: Feral House. pp. 190–191.
- ^ a b [1] Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Go-Set National Top 40 charting:
- Debut at No. 37 on 19 October 1966. Nimmervoll, Ed (19 October 1966). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- Peaked at No. 4 on 9 November 1966, for two weeks:
- Nimmervoll, Ed (9 November 1966). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- Nimmervoll, Ed (16 November 1966). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- Final (16th) week in chart at No. 29 on 8 February 1967. Nimmervoll, Ed (8 February 1967). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ^ "Barry Gibb". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
- ^ a b Joseph Brennan. "Gibb Songs: 1966". Retrieved 2015-11-30.
- ^ "Go-Set Australian Charts". Go-Set: The Teen and Twenties Newspaper. 16 November 1966. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ "Bee Gees - Spicks & Specks". Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
- ^ "Bee Gees - Spicks and Specks". officialcharts.de. Retrieved 18 January 2015.[dead link]
- ^ "flavour of new zealand - NZ listener charts 1967". Flavour of New Zealand. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 1" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved 18 January 2015.