chart domination in 1978, "Stayin' Alive" was replaced at number one with the group's younger brother Andy Gibb's single, " Love Is Thicker Than Water", followed by the Bee Gees' own " Night Fever". In the United Kingdom, "Stayin' Alive" was a solid seller but not as popular as it was in the United States, topping out at number four.įurther demonstrating the Bee Gees' U.S. Soon after, it would slide to number two, locking in a solid one-two punch with the Bee Gees' other hit from the album, "Night Fever". The single was eventually released in mid-December, a month after the album, and moved to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in February, where it would stay for four weeks. The song was not originally supposed to be released as a single, but fans called radio stations and RSO Records immediately after seeing trailers for Saturday Night Fever, in which the aforementioned introductory scene was played. Lupe became a highly sought-after drummer - until it was discovered that he did not exist. This accounts for the unchanging rhythm throughout the song.Īs a joke, the group listed the drummer as "Bernard Lupe" (a takeoff on session drummer Bernard Purdie). After listening to the drum track of the already-recorded "Night Fever", the group (and engineer Albhy Galuten) selected two bars from the song, re-recorded them to a separate track, and proceeded with sessions for "Stayin' Alive". Oddly enough, the shortage of drummers in this area of France prompted the group to use a drum machine-yet it did not offer satisfactory results.
As with Pink Floyd, a majority of the soundtrack was recorded in France for tax reasons.ĭue to the death of drummer Dennis Byron's father in the middle of the song's sessions, the group first looked for a replacement. He asked them to go on with the soundtrack anyway, and they wrote "Stayin' Alive" over the course of a few days while sprawled on the staircase at the Château d'Hérouville studio in Paris. All Stigwood had to go on was a New York cover story about discomania. At this point, the film was in very early stages and it didn't even have a title yet. The producer, Robert Stigwood, called them up and asked them to write a few songs for a soundtrack to a film he was planning.