"First of May" is a song by the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

with lead vocals by

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, he rose to global fame as a member ...

, released as a single from their 1969 double album ''

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

''. Its B-side was "

Lamplight "Lamplight" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as the B-side of "First of May (Bee Gees song), First of May", but featured as the single's A-side in Germany. It also featured on their double album ''Odessa (Bee Gees album), Odessa'' in March 1969 ...

". It also featured as the B-side of "

Melody Fair "Melody Fair" is a song by the Bee Gees, written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb in 1968 and released in 1969 on their album ''Odessa''. It was not released as a single, but this song was played on many radio stations, and was a hit in Japan. An ...

" when that song was released as a single in the Far East in 1971 as well as in 1976 and 1980 on

RSO Records RSO Records was a record label formed by rock and roll and musical theatre impresario Robert Stigwood and record executive Al Coury in 1973. The letters "RSO" stood for the Robert Stigwood Organisation. RSO managed the careers of several ma ...

. It was the first Bee Gees single to be released after lead guitarist

Vince Melouney Vincent Melouney (born 18 August 1945) is an Australian musician. He is best known as an official member of the Bee Gees from 1967 to 1969 during the group's initial period of worldwide success. Before becoming a member of the Bee Gees in Ma ...

had left the group.

Origin and recording

The song was first recorded in

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios is the recording studio network of Atlantic Records. Although the historic recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 Wes ...

in New York and was continued in

IBC Studios The IBC Recording Studios were independent recording studios located at 35 Portland Place in London, England. In the 1960s and 1970s, the studios become internationally famous after being used by recording artists such ase Status Quo, the Kinks ...

, London. Barry said in the booklet with ''

Tales from the Brothers Gibb ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb: A History in Song'' is a box set compilation released by the Bee Gees in 1990. Originally released on four cassettes and four compact discs, ''Tales'' is a summary of the Bee Gees output from their third album, ...

'' that the title of the song came from the birthday of his dog, Barnaby. Maurice recalled the session in which that song came about. "Barry and I were sitting at the piano", he said, "And I started playing the chords, and Barry started singing, 'When I was small and Christmas trees were tall' and I started singing along with it. We put a demo down with a vocal and we kept the piano track. Went back to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and went into

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, added onto that piano track and Barry's vocal stayed on as well. We had a choir and an orchestra all on this one piano". This song was initially taped in demo form in New York City on 16 August 1968. The orchestral arrangement from maestro Bill Shepherd was featured on the second chorus. The song starts with a piano on the first verse and chorus. Shepherd's orchestra is featured in the second verse and second chorus. After singing the second chorus, the singer repeats the first verse. The music stops when he sings "Don't ask me why, but time has passed us by, Someone else moved in from far away".

Aftermath

The flip side of the single was "

" on which

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained global fame as a member of the Bee Gees with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his own successfu ...

sang the lead.

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical produc ...

, the Bee Gees manager chose "First of May" for the A-side. No other singles were released from the ''

'' album, as

already had left the group. The song was partially responsible for Robin's brief departure from the

, because he had wanted his song, "Lamplight," to be the album's first single, while Barry preferred "First of May." In the end, Barry's judgment won, relegating "Lamplight" to the B-side and as a result Robin quit the band, but he returned a year later. "First of May" debuted at #55 in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' magazine charts the week of March 22nd 1969. ''Cash Box'' described it as a "low-key love ballad with the same mystic quality that has proved captivating in the team's work" with "hypnotic arrangements" and a "singular vocal sound." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' called it a "big production ballad performance with compelling lyric line." After its release, "First of May" enjoyed a resurgence several times. In 1971, the song was featured in the soundtrack to ''

Melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

'', a British motion picture about two children in love. In 1996, the song was used as a theme of the Japanese drama ''Wakaba no Koro''. The song was consequently reissued as a CD single in Japan, also featuring " How Deep Is Your Love" and peaked at No 25, selling more than 100,000 copies.

Later renditions by group members

Although the originally released version was basically just

's vocal backed with Bill Shepherd's orchestral arrangement, the other two credited writers would later appear performing the song.

Maurice Gibb Maurice Ernest Gibb (; 22 December 1949 – 12 January 2003) was a British musician and songwriter. He achieved global fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group. Although his elder brother Barry Gibb and fraternal twin brother Robin Gibb wer ...

sang the song in duet with his former wife

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

on her 2002 TV special ''An Audience with Lulu'', while

guested on G4's cover of the song, released on ''

G4 & Friends G4 are a four-piece British vocal troupe who first came to prominence when they finished second in Series 1 of ''The X Factor'' in 2004, and are known for their operatic delivery of modern pop songs. Originally a barbershop quartet, the member ...

'' in 2005. This version was also released as a single.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:First Of May (Bee Gees Song) Bee Gees songs 1969 singles 1969 songs Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Robert Stigwood Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb Pop ballads Robin Gibb songs