The History of the Gibbs
One day in the late 50s, Barbara Gibb, the boys’ mother, returned home one day to find her father-in-law watching TV. She asked him if he wanted her to turn down what sounded like the radio playing in the other room. That’s when she realized that the music was actually coming from her nine-year-old son, Barry, and his six-year-old twin brothers. The boys were singing in unison.
Bee Gees, (l to r): Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Vince Melouney, Maurice Gibb, Colin Petersen, ca. late 1960s/early 1970s. Photo By Everett Collection/Shutterstock
That Christmas, Barry received his first guitar – a gift that further fueled his passion and enthusiasm for playing music. It also gave him an outlet for all the songs that were forming in his head. The musically-inclined brothers started playing with other friends in the neighborhood, forming a band called The Rattlesnakes.