"I Started a Joke" 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 ...
from their 1968 album
''Idea'', which was released as a single in December of that year. It was not released as a single in the United Kingdom, where buyers who could not afford the album had to content themselves with a
Polydor
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
version by Heath Hampstead. This is the last Bee Gees single to feature
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 ...
's guitar work, as he left the band in early December after this song was released as a single.
The song's B-side was "
Kilburn Towers
"Kilburn Towers" is a folk song by the Bee Gees. It was written by Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb in 1968 for the album ''Idea''. It was also released as the B-side of "I Started a Joke" in most territories. This song's length was 2:14 in mono and ...
", except in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where "Swan Song" was used. "I Started a Joke" was written by
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 ...
mainly, with help from
Barry and
Maurice on the bridge. It was produced by the Bee Gees with
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 ...
.
Composition and recording
Songs for the ''
Idea
In philosophy and in common usage, an idea (from the Greek word: ἰδέα (idea), meaning 'a form, or a pattern') is the results of thought. Also in philosophy, ideas can also be mental representational images of some object. Many philosophe ...
'' album were completed on 20 June. "I Started A Joke" was the last to be recorded.
According to Robin Gibb, the melancholic melody of the song was inspired by the sounds on board an aeroplane:
"There was a lot of that in those days"
Barry laughed, "There was a lot of
psychedelia
Psychedelia usually refers to a Aesthetics, style or aesthetic that is resembled in the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience produced by certain psychoactive substances. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic ...
and the idea that if you wrote something, even if it sounded ridiculous, somebody would find the meaning for it, and that was the truth".
Structure and release
The promotional video for "I Started a Joke" was directed by
Jean-Christophe Averty
Jean-Christophe Averty (; 6 August 1928 – 4 March 2017) was a French television and radio director, and Satrap of the College of 'Pataphysique.
Many of his television productions from the 1960s were early examples of French video art. His stud ...
. It was filmed in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
as part of the ''
Idea TV Special'' and features floating question marks on the song while Robin sings. In the video, Maurice is shown playing a
Rickenbacker 4001
The Rickenbacker 4001 is an bass guitar, electric bass that was manufactured by Rickenbacker as a two-Pickup (music technology), pickup "deluxe" version of their first production bass, the single-pickup model 4000. This design, created by Roger ...
and
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 ...
playing a
Gibson ES-335
The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its Gibson ES Series, ES (Electric Spanish) series 1958 in music, in 1958. It has a solid maple wood block running through the cente ...
.
The song reached #1 in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. In Canada, it spent two weeks as the number one in ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
'' charts. "I Started a Joke" debuted at #66 at the United States ''
Cashbox'' magazine in the week of 14 December 1968 and reached #6.
Robin Gibb's son played "I Started a Joke" on his phone just after his father died on 20 May 2012. Robin-John Gibb told ''The Sun'':
When he passed away we went out, they took the equipment away and we came back in, I picked up my phone and found "I Started a Joke" on YouTube and played it. I put the phone on his chest and that was the first time I broke down. I knew that song and its lyrics were perfect for that moment. That song will always have new meaning to me now.
''
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 ...
'' described it as being in the Bee Gees' "softer" style, saying it was more in the style of "
Words
A word is a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consensus among linguists on its ...
" than "
Gotta Get a Message to You," and said that "paradoxical imagery offers magnetic charm to mystical interpretation."
Personnel
Musicians:
*
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 ...
– lead vocals
*
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 ...
– acoustic rhythm guitar, backing vocals
*
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 ...
– mellotron, organ piano, bass guitar
*
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 ...
– electric lead guitar, acoustic guitar intro
*
Colin Petersen
Frederick Colin Petersen (24 March 1946 – 18 November 2024) was an Australian musician and actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he was replaced ...
– drums
*Bill Shepherd – string arrangements
Technical:
*
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 ...
– producer
*
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 ...
– producer
*
John Pantry – engineer
*Damon Lyon Shaw – engineer
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Faith No More version
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
originally covered "I Started a Joke" as a
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
for their 1995 single "
Digging the Grave". It also appeared on some versions of their fifth studio album ''
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'' but following the band's dissolution in 1998 it was released as a single with their
greatest hits album
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
''
Who Cares a Lot? The Greatest Hits''. The music video was filmed on 8 September 1998,
after Faith No More had disbanded five months earlier and featured none of the band members. It was directed by Vito Rocco, filmed by Nick Sawyer with make-up by Julie Nightingale and Dani Richardson with Gabi Norland as the
clapper loader
A clapper loader or second assistant camera (2nd AC) is part of a film crew whose main functions are that of loading the raw film stock into camera magazines, operating the clapperboard (slate) at the beginning of each take, marking the actors as ...
. British actors
Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Freeman's most ...
and
Shaun Dingwall
Shaun Dingwall (born 21 February 1970) is a British actor. He has appeared in the BBC series ''Noughts and Crosses'', the BAFTA and EMMY award-winning film '' Responsible Child'' (2019) and the Netflix series '' Top Boy''.
His other credits inclu ...
both feature in the promo, along with performance artist
David Hoyle as the karaoke singer, and also stars
Michelle Butterly
Michelle Butterly (born 5 February 1970) is an English actress.
Career
She graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has played Julie Oldroyd in ''Soldier Soldier'' in 1997, Melanie Dyson in ''Casualty'' from 1999 to 2001, and ...
of the ITV series, ''Benidorm''.
Derren Litten, the writer of ''Benidorm'' and a contributor to ''The Catherine Tate Show'', is also seen in the video.
Track listing
Disc one
#"I Started a Joke" – 3:03
#"
The World Is Yours" – 5:52
#"
Midnight Cowboy
''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, J ...
"
(Live) – 1:01
Disc two
#"I Started a Joke" – 3:03
#"
This Guy's in Love with You
"This Guy's in Love with You" is a hit song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and released by Herb Alpert in May, 1968. Although known primarily for his trumpet playing as the leader of the Tijuana Brass, Alpert sang lead vocals on thi ...
"
(Live) – 4:20
#"
We Care a Lot"
(Live) – 3:55
Live tracks recorded on 21 October 1997 at the Horden Pavilion, Sydney, Australia
Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...
by MTV Australia.
Charts
Other notable cover versions
*In 1998,
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...
with
The Orb
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential ...
released a reggae rendition of the song and it was included on the ''Bee Gees Tribute Album: Gotta Get a Message for You'' as a fundraiser for Live Challenge '99.
*In 2012,
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
included a cover on their
Winner single.
*In June 2016, German satirist
Jan Böhmermann
Jan Böhmermann () (born 23 February 1981) is a German Satire, satirist, journalist, podcast and television host. He also worked as a writer, producer, radio host, and is best known for his activism through publicity stunts.
Early life and edu ...
covered the song live on his TV show
Neo Magazin Royale, commenting on the
Böhmermann affair.
Parodies
"I Started a Joke" was parodied by a ''
Radio Free Vestibule'' sketch in which a voiced-over commentary takes the lyrics completely literally, appeared on the film ''
Zoolander
''Zoolander'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the '' VH1 Fashion Awards'' televisi ...
'' as covered by
The Wallflowers
The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...
.
The song "I Started a Joke" was featured heavily in the ending of the film ''
Penn & Teller Get Killed'',
which features the two magicians playing a succession of increasingly elaborate practical jokes on each other with a fatal conclusion.
References
External links
A short "I Started A Joke" background and song themesList of Bee Gees song parodies, including "I Started a Joke"
{{DEFAULTSORT:I Started A Joke
Bee Gees songs
Demis Roussos songs
1968 singles
1968 songs
1969 singles
1998 singles
Songs written by Barry Gibb
Songs written by Maurice Gibb
Songs written by Robin Gibb
British soft rock songs
The Cascades (band) songs
Faith No More songs
Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb
Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb
Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb
Song recordings produced by Robert Stigwood
Polydor Records singles
Atco Records singles
Slash Records singles
Songs about suicide
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in Brazil
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Number-one singles in Denmark
Number-one singles in New Zealand