"Jive Talkin'" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as a single in May 1975 by RSO Records. This was the lead single from the album Main Course (as well as a song on the 1977 Saturday Night Fever soundtrack) and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100; it also reached the top-five on the UK Singles Chart in the middle of 1975. Largely recognised as the group's comeback song, it was their first US top-10 hit since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (1971).
Recording for "Jive Talkin'" took place on 30 January and 2 February 1975. The scratchy guitar intro was done by Barry and the funky bass line by Maurice. The pulsing synthesiser bass line, which featured in the final recording, was (along with the pioneering work of Stevie Wonder) one of the earliest uses of "synth bass" on a pop recording. It was overdubbed by keyboardist Blue Weaver using a then state-of-the-art ARP 2600, which producer Arif Mardin had brought in for the recording of the Main Course album.[7] Weaver stated, "Usually Maurice would play bass guitar, but he was away from the studio that night. And when Maurice came back, we let him hear it and suggested he re-record the bass line on his bass guitar". "I really liked the synth bass lines", Maurice said. "I overdubbed certain sections to add bass extra emphasis".
According to Maurice, while hearing this rhythmic sound, "Barry didn't notice that he's going 'Ji-Ji Jive Talkin'', thinking of the dance, 'You dance with your eyes'...that's all he had...exactly 35 mph...that's what we got." He goes on to say, "We played it to [producer] Arif [Mardin], and he went 'Do you know what "Jive Talkin'" means?' And we said 'Well yeah, it's, ya know, you're dancing.' [...] And he says 'No, it's a black expression for bullshitting.' And we went 'Oh, really?!? Jive talkin', you're telling me lies...' and changed it." Maurice goes on to describe how Arif gave them "the groove, the tempo, everything." Robin Gibb then goes on to mention that, because they were English, they were less self-conscious about going into the "no-go areas", referring to musical styles that were more black in styles, etc. He then said, "We didn't think that there was any 'no go' areas, it's music!" Barry's guitar strumming has a smoother version of Kool and the Gang's signature chicka-chicka and funky Nassau version of KC and the Sunshine Band's Caribbean strumming.[citation needed] The song's rhythm riff perhaps resembles the riff from "Shirley & Company's "Shame, Shame, Shame", with a prominent use of the Bo Diddley beat.[9]
Upon its release to radio stations, the single was delivered in a plain white cover, with no immediate indication of what the song's name was or who sang it. The DJs would only find out what the song was and who played it when it was placed on the turntable; RSO did provide the song with a label on the record itself. It was the second time in the band's career that this strategy had been employed to get airplay for their music, after a similar tactic had popularised their debut US single "New York Mining Disaster 1941" in 1967.
Record World said that this "delightful departure from [the BeeGees] time-tested sweet sound is no jive at all."[11]
The original studio version was included on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, as it was used in a scene that was cut from the final film. Later pressings of the album used the live version of "Jive Talkin'" from the Bee Gees 1977 album, Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live, due to contractual distribution changes. The CD version restores the use of the studio version.
In 1987, "Jive Talkin'" was covered by Boogie Box High, a musical project of Andros Georgiou's that featured collaborators such as George Michael and Haircut One Hundred's Nick Heyward. Michael sang lead on "Jive Talkin'", although his vocals were uncredited.
^Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs : 1975". Columbia University. Retrieved 29 January 2014. 'Jive Talkin now continues on from 'Nights on Broadway' as another funk song, but there is no falsetto.
^DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly, eds. (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews : Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 833. ISBN0-679-73729-4. Collecting the best of the Gibb brothers' born-again funk phase (like the itchy "Jive Talkin'") and some authentic dance-floor jams (like the Trammps' blazing "Disco Inferno"), Saturday Night Fever deserves its preeminent status.
