Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack)

Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track is the soundtrack album from the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta. In the United States, the album was certified 15× Platinum for shipments of over 15 million copies.[4] The album stayed atop the album charts for 24 straight weeks from January to July 1978 and stayed on Billboard '​s album charts for 120 weeks until March 1980. In the UK, the album spent 18 consecutive weeks at No. 1. The album epitomized the discophenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic and was an international sensation.[5] The album has been added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress.[6]

Contents
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 * 1 Background
 * 2 Track listing
 * 2.1 Additional songs recorded for the film but not used
 * 3 Personnel
 * 4 Awards
 * 4.1 Grammy Awards
 * 4.2 American Music Awards
 * 5 Singles
 * 6 Charts
 * 6.1 Chart positions
 * 6.2 Year-end charts
 * 6.3 Decade-end charts
 * 7 Certification/Sales
 * 8 See also
 * 9 References
 * 10 External links

Background[edit]
After the Bee Gees completed mixing their live album Here at Last...Bee Gees...Live at Le Château, they began recording songs for their next album. "If I Can't Have You" was the first song they recorded, but it was not used on the film. The Bee Gees' songs began in Le Chateau, France and finished in Criteria and Cherokee Studios. Barry was the lead vocalist on all of the songs as it was pretty much established on Children of the World that his voice was now the voice of the Bee Gees. With mostly falsetto and an occasional breathy natural voice, Barry performed much of the backing and harmony vocals with Robin and Maurice. On the recording of the songs, Maurice was sometimes notable for bass guitar parts and Blue Weaver on keyboards and synthesizer.[7]

The original issue of the album included the original studio version of "Jive Talkin'"; later LP pressings included a version culled from Here at Last... Bee Gees... Live. All CD releases have included the original "Jive Talkin'". "Jive Talkin'" was to have been used in a deleted scene taking place the day after Tony Manero's first Saturday night at the disco, but as the sequence was cut for the final film, the song was cut as well.

In addition to the Bee Gees songs, additional incidental music was composed and adapted by David Shire. Three of Shire's cues – "Manhattan Skyline", "Night on Disco Mountain" (based on the classical piece "Night on Bald Mountain") and "Salsation" – are included on the soundtrack album as well. Five additional cues – "Tony and Stephanie", "Near the Verrazano Bridge" (both adapted from the Bee Gees' song "How Deep Is Your Love"), "Barracuda Hangout", "Death on the Bridge" and "All Night Train" – while heard in the film, remain unreleased on CD.

In 1994, the soundtrack was re-released on CD through Polydor Records. In 2006, the album was re-released on Reprise Records as part of the Bee Gees' regaining control of their master tapes.

Along with the success of the movie, the soundtrack, composed and performed primarily by the Bee Gees, was the best-selling soundtrack album (it was later surpassed by Whitney Houston's soundtrack to The Bodyguard).[8] Saturday Night Fever had a large cultural impact in the United States. The Bee Gees had originally written and recorded the five of the songs used in the film, "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "How Deep Is Your Love", "More Than a Woman" (performed in the film in two different versions – one version by Tavares, and another by the Bee Gees) and "If I Can't Have You" (performed in the movie by Yvonne Elliman) as part of a regular album. They had no idea at the time they would be making a soundtrack and said that they basically lost an album in the process.[citation needed] Two previously released Bee Gees songs – "Jive Talkin'" and "You Should Be Dancing" – are also included on the soundtrack. Other previously released songs from the disco era round out the music in the movie.

The soundtrack also won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.[9] It is the only disco album to do so, and one of only two soundtrack albums so honored (the other being The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album). In 2012, the album was ranked No. 132 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The soundtrack hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard Music Chart's Pop Album and Soul Album charts. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named it the 57th greatest album of all time, and it was ranked 80th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.[citation needed] Pitchfork Media listed Saturday Night Fever as the 34th best album of the 1970s.

The album was added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress on March 21, 2013 for long-term preservation.[10]

Additional songs recorded for the film but not used[edit]

 * "Emotion" by Samantha Sang
 * "If I Can't Have You" by Bee Gees
 * "(Our Love) Don't Throw it All Away" by Bee Gees
 * "Warm Ride" by Bee Gees
 * "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees

Personnel[edit]

 * Mike Baird – Drums (Track C 1)
 * Michael Boddicker – Synthesizer (Tracks B 3, C 1)
 * Bob Bowles – Guitar (Tracks A 5, B 2)
 * Dennis Bryon – Drums (Tracks A 1 to 4, Side C 3 & 4)
 * Dennis Budimir – Guitar (Track C 1)
 * Sonny Burke – Piano (Tracks A 5, B 2 & 3)
 * Sonny Burke – Electric Keyboards (Track D 1)
 * Eddie Cano – Acoustic Piano (Track D 1)
 * Carmine d'Amico – Guitar, Electric Guitar (Track B 1)
 * Paulinho DaCosta – Percussion (Tracks A 5, B 2)
 * Scott Edwards – Bass (Tracks A 5, Side C 1, D 1)
 * Steve Forman – Percussion (Tracks B 3, C 1, D 1)
 * James Gadson – Drums (Tracks A 5, B 2 & 3)
 * Robin Gibb – Vocals (Tracks A 1 to 4, C 3 & 4)
 * Barry Gibb – Vocals, Guitar (Tracks A 1 to 4, C 3 & 4)
 * Maurice Gibb – Vocals, Bass (Tracks A 1 to 4, C 3 & 4)
 * Ralph Grierson – Keyboards (Track C 1)
 * Mitch Holder – Guitar (Track B 3)
 * Alan Kendall – Guitar (Tracks A 1 to 4, C 3 & 4)
 * Abraham Laboriel – Bass (Track B 3)
 * Joe Lala – Percussion (Track C 4)
 * Stephen Stills – Guitar
 * Joey Murcia – Guitar (All tracks)
 * Freddie Perren – Synthesizer, Keyboards, Percussion (Track A 5)
 * Emil Richards – Percussion (Track C 1, D 1)
 * Jerome Richardson – Trumpet solo (Track D 1)
 * Lee Ritenour – Guitar (Tracks B 3, C 1, D 1)
 * David Shire – Adaptation (Track C 1)
 * Mark Stevens – Drums (Track D 1)
 * Chino Valdez – Congas (Track D 1)
 * Blue Weaver – Keyboards (Tracks A 1 to 4, C 3 & 4)
 * Bob Zimmitti – Percussion (Tracks A 5, B 2, D 1)


 * John Tobler – Liner Notes
 * Bill Oakes – Compilation, Album Supervision

Grammy Awards[edit]

 * 1978 Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group – "How Deep Is Your Love"
 * 1979 Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo Or Group – "Saturday Night Fever"
 * 1979 Best Arrangement Of Voices – "Stayin' Alive"
 * 1979 Album of the Year – "Saturday Night Fever"
 * 1979 Producer of the Year – Bee Gees, Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson
 * 2004 Hall Of Fame Award – "Saturday Night Fever"

American Music Awards[edit]

 * 1979 Favorite Soul / R&B Album – "Saturday Night Fever"

Charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]

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