I Started a Joke
"I Started a Joke" | ||||
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Single by the Bee Gees | ||||
from the album Idea | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 21 December 1968[1] | |||
Recorded | 20 June 1968 IBC Studios, London | |||
Genre | Pop,[2] soft rock[3] | |||
Length | 3:05 | |||
Label | Polydor (United Kingdom) Atco (United States) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb | |||
Producer(s) | Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees | |||
The Bee Gees singles chronology | ||||
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"I Started a Joke" is a song by the Bee Gees 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 version by Heath Hampstead. This is the last Bee Gees single to feature Vince Melouney'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", except in France, where "Swan Song" was used. "I Started a Joke" was written by Robin mainly, with help from Barry and Maurice Gibb on the bridge. It was produced by the Bee Gees with Robert Stigwood.
Composition and recording
Songs for the Idea album were completed on 20 June. "I Started A Joke" was the last to be recorded.[4]
According to Robin Gibb, the melancholic melody of the song was inspired by the sounds on board an aeroplane:
The melody to this one was heard aboard a British Airways Vickers Viscount about a hundred miles from Essen. It was one of those old four engine "prop" jobs, that seemed to drone the passenger into a sort of hypnotic trance, only with this it was different. The droning, after a while, appeared to take the form of a tune, which mysteriously sounded like a church choir. So it was decided! We accosted the pilot, forced him to land in the nearest village and there, in a small pub, we finished the lyrics [with Barry]. Actually, it wasn't a village, it was the city, and it wasn't a pub, it was a hotel, and we didn't force the pilot to land in a field ... but why ruin a perfectly good story?[5]
"There was a lot of that in those days" Barry laughed, "There was a lot of psychedelia 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".[6]
Structure and release
The song was originally recorded in the key of G major and has two contrasting sections. The verse sections consist of a cycle of G Bm C and D chords. The chords for the bridge section are Em Bm C G Bm Em Am D.
The promotional video for "I Started a Joke" was directed by
The song reached #1 in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. In Canada, it spent two weeks as the number one in RPM charts. "I Started a Joke" debuted at #66 at the United States Cashbox magazine in the week of 14 December 1968.[7]
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.[8]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Faith No More version
"I Started a Joke" | ||||
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Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb | ||||
Producer(s) | Billy Gould Dean Menta | |||
Faith No More singles chronology | ||||
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Track listing
Disc one
- "I Started a Joke" – 3:03
- "The World Is Yours" – 5:52
- "Midnight Cowboy" (Live) – 1:01
Disc two
- "I Started a Joke" – 3:03
- "This Guy's in Love with You" (Live) – 4:20
- "We Care a Lot" (Live) – 3:55
Live tracks recorded on 21 October 1997 at the Horden Pavilion,
Charts
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
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Australia (ARIA)[24] | 58 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] | 38 |
49 |
Other notable cover versions
- In 1998, Robbie Williams with The Orb 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.[27]
- In June 2016, German satirist Jan Böhmermann covered the song live on his TV show Neo Magazin Royale, commenting on the Böhmermann affair.[28]
Parodies
"I Started a Joke" was parodied by a
References
- ^ "I Started a Joke / Kilburn Towers by Bee Gees (Single, Pop): Reviews, Ratings, Credits, Song list - Rate Your Music". 8 April 2011.
- ^ Dale, Jon (24 June 2015). "Robin Gibb – Saved By The Bell – The Collected Works Of Robin Gibb 1968-1970". Uncut. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ "Covers Revue, Vol. 25 – The Wallflowers cover "I Started a Joke" :: Originally by the Bee Gees". www.entertheshell.com.
- ^ Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs: 1968". Columbia.
- ^ Bee Gees Anthology, Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard, 1991, p. 188
- ^ ISBN 9780857120045. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Cash Box Top Singles". Cashbox Magazine Archives. 14 December 1968. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ Songfacts.com. "Bee Gees - I Started a Joke".
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 7 December 1968. p. 22. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 1" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Bee Gees – I Started a Joke" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Bee Gees – I Started a Joke" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Bee Gees – I Started a Joke" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ Aktuil (1968). "Aktuil Magazine 22".
- ^ "Bee Gees – I Started a Joke" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Bee Gees – I Started a Joke". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Bee Gees Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100". Cashbox Magazine Archives. 8 February 1969. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "RPM Top Singles of 1969". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "Bee Gees - I Started A Joke". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Bee Gees - I Started A Joke". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1969". tropicalglen.com. Cash Box. 27 December 1969. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Faith No More - "I started a joke"". Mvdbase.com. 8 September 1998. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ^ "Faith No More – I Started a Joke". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ "Faith No More: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ "How bleep is your love?". NME.com. 4 August 1998. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ Huber, Joachim (25 August 2016). "Böhmermann steckt in der Erdogan-Falle". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). Retrieved 11 January 2020.
- ^ D'Angelo, Mike (13 March 2013). "Two magic legends screw with viewers and each other in Penn & Teller Get Killed". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2 June 2021.