"Railroad" is the first solo single released by

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 ...

, best known as a member of 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 ...

. It was released in April 1970. Like the Bee Gees' songs from 1967 to 1972, the single was released by

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 ...

in most parts of the world while in the US and Canada it was released by

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

. In Canada it was also released by

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and Cotillion. Gibb did not release a follow-up single until 1984 when he released "

Hold Her in Your Hand ''A Breed Apart'' is the soundtrack album for the film ''A Breed Apart'', composed and performed by Maurice Gibb. Majority of the record has been recorded in 1984, and the soundtrack was the last recording session at the Gold Star Studios in Los A ...

Background

"Railroad" was written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. Note: To search for other titles chose 'Search again' and enter the track name. Lawrie was the brother of

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, who Maurice married in 1969. The song was originally intended for a Bee Gees album. The single features guitar work by Leslie Harvey of

Stone the Crows Stone the Crows were a Scottish blues rock band formed in Glasgow in late 1969. They are remembered for the onstage electrocution of guitarist and founding member Les Harvey. History The band were formed after Maggie Bell was introduced to ...

. As Gibb explains: "People have said that my single sounds like the Bee Gees, I sang the higher parts usually, and the other vocal parts I've added to 'Railroad' could be the others." Gibb once said that his wife at that time, singer

's reaction to the recording was that the piano was too loud; Gibb remixed it six times to please her.

Reception

The single failed to chart in Australia or the US but reached #6 on the

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n Singles Charts and #9 in Singapore. Gibb's debut solo album '' The Loner'' was never released. In other territories this single and its B-side were released as a double A single. The CD version of this song appears in the box set ''

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, ...

'' however its

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 ...

, "I've Come Back", has never appeared on any other releases. Gibb handled all of the vocals on this track, covering the high harmonies and the lead in a manner that was impossible not to compare with the Bee Gees, he later described it as "anticlimactic" in the box set ''Tales from the Brothers Gibb''. This song was probably earmarked as the single from early on. It has the big singalong chorus of the Bee Gees hit " Don't Forget to Remember" and Robin Gibb's "Saved by the Bell" plus unique features like an intro, a verse played once, and a finish. Richie Unterberger at

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describes the song as "another throwback to country-pop balladry".

Personnel

—

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Leslie Harvey — guitar * Johnny Coleman —

* Geoff Bridgford —

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Gerry Shury — orchestral arrangement

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control 1970 songs 1970 debut singles Maurice Gibb songs Polydor Records singles Atco Records singles 1970s ballads Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Billy Lawrie Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb Songs about trains Songs about loneliness Atlantic Records singles