"Saw a New Morning" is the 1973 single released 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 ...

. It was also the group's first single released on Robert Stigwood's newly created records label RSO Records. The Bee Gees moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1972 to record the album ''

Life in a Tin Can ''Life in a Tin Can'' is the Bee Gees' eleventh studio album (ninth worldwide), released in January 1973 in the US and on 1 March 1973 in the UK. Background The Bee Gees travelled to Los Angeles to record ''Life in a Tin Can''. However, it was ...

'' which was a new direction for the group, who had been recording in England since 1967. The B-side, "My Life Has Been a Song" features lead vocal by Robin Gibb as well as

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 ...

Composition and recording

This song contains melodic ideas that the group would revisit on the later track " Edge of the Universe". "Saw a New Morning" was written in 1972 and recorded around September the same year. On 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 ...

played the

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

on an

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

, instead of

electric bass 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 but with a longer neck and scale leng ...

. The song also features noted session drummer Jim Keltner. The Bee Gees' touring guitarist, who also recorded in the studio with them, also plays on this song and its parent album.

Reception

This single was the first and only single from the album, the single did not fare well and stalled at #94 in the US, while it did not chart at all in the UK. Ironically, while the single flopped in most of the world, it reached #1 in Hong Kong, as did their next single " Wouldn't I Be Someone", which also flopped in both the US and UK. In April 1973, they performed the song on '' The Midnight Special'' and ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

'', in addition to a 1973 TV special called ''Love Sounds Special'' in Japan. ''

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 ...

'' commented on the Bee Gees "distinct vocal blend" and the backing instrumentation that "sounds like a symphonic orchestra." ''

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 ...

'' said that "the accent is on melody and three part harmony as Robin, Barry & Maurice prove that they're still one of the finest vocal groups around." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "the familiar harmonies and thunderous orchestrations which are keys to this group's success, are right there."

Personnel

Credits from Bee Gees historian and sessionographer Joseph Brennan. *

—

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Robin Gibb — lead, harmony, and backing vocals *

— harmony and backing vocals,

, acoustic guitar *

Alan Kendall Alan Kendall (born 9 September 1944) is an English musician and was the lead guitarist for the Bee Gees, in an unofficial capacity from 1971 until 1980, and again from 1987 until 2001. Career His first recording was " Don't Play That Song (Yo ...

— acoustic guitar * Jim Keltner — drums * Johnny Pate —

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

l arrangement

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Bee Gees singles Bee Gees songs 1973 singles Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb 1973 songs RSO Records singles