Before the disco era turned the Bee Gees into global superstars, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb were already demonstrating that they could write songs with extraordinary emotional depth. To Love Somebody is one of the clearest examples. A soulful, almost gospel-inflected ballad, it became one of the group's most enduring compositions and has since been recorded by artists across several generations.
The story behind the song is particularly interesting. Barry and Robin Gibb wrote To Love Somebody at the request of their manager, Robert Stigwood, initially with Otis Redding in mind. Redding heard the song and reportedly intended to record it, but his death in a plane crash in December 1967 prevented that from happening. The Bee Gees ultimately recorded the song themselves at IBC Studios in London in April 1967.
Barry Gibb takes the lead vocal, with Robin providing harmony and Maurice contributing bass and backing vocals. The arrangement, by Bill Shepherd, gives the song a rich orchestral dimension, while the performance draws strongly from the soul music that influenced the brothers during their formative years.
Lyrically, the song is built around the frustration of unrequited love. The narrator desperately wants another person to understand the depth of his feelings, returning again and again to the idea that loving someone is an experience that cannot be fully explained to someone who has never felt it in the same way.
Released on June 30, 1967 in the UK and July in the United States, the single became a significant international hit, although its performance varied considerably from country to country. It reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 26, 1967, while peaking at No. 41 in the UK on August 22, 1967. It performed particularly well in Australia, where it reached No. 6, and Canada, where it reached No. 9.
What happened afterward is perhaps more important than its original chart run. To Love Somebody became one of the most recorded Bee Gees compositions, with versions by artists ranging from Nina Simone and Janis Joplin to Michael Bolton and Jimmy Somerville. The song's ability to move between rock, soul, pop and adult contemporary interpretations has helped keep it alive far beyond its original 1967 release.
There is a fascinating twist to To Love Somebody: the Bee Gees' own recording was never intended to be the definitive version. It was written with Otis Redding in mind, yet circumstances led the brothers to record it themselves. More than half a century later, that recording has become one of the essential songs in the Bee Gees' catalog—and a composition whose emotional power has repeatedly attracted new interpreters.
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