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Every generation of musicians inspires another generation of musicians. In this video, one of pop’s elder statesmen got to witness an amazing tribute to his work.
No musician makes it all on their own. They have family, friends, collaborators and, of course, their influences.
Keith Urban, one of the world’s most successful musicians today, has said that everything influences him.
But of course, there are some bands and artists that have had a huge impact on the sound and style of his musicianship.
The Bee Gees, being one of the most successful bands of the 60s and 70s, must have had a profound impact on many musicians who perform today, Urban included.
Some musicians are lucky enough to eventually work with the musicians who inspired them. But Urban paid his respects to The Bee Gees in a slightly different way. He got to perform on of the band’s biggest hits in front of the sole surviving Bee Gee.
For the performance, Urban selected the song To Love Somebody and hoped that Barry Gibb, the Bee Gee, would appreciate it.
To Love Somebody was released by The Bee Gees in the same year that Keith Urban was born, 1967. Barry Gibb has said that of all of his songs, To Love Somebody is the most important to him. So the pressure for Urban to do it dignity was on!The original version of the song has that signature late 60s rock-mixed-with-orchestral-music sound. Urban wanted to respect this while still giving the track his own interpretation.
So Urban started playing the opening chords to the song on his electric guitar. Then Urban sang the opening lyrics, “There’s a light, a certain kind of light,” perfectly.
Gibb, who was sat in the audience, was clearly loving the performance already.By the time that Urban got to the chorus, it was still just his voice and his guitar carrying the song. This stripped-back rendition was incredibly powerful. Everyone present could really feel the song’s emotions.
Halfway through the performance, the rest of the band and backing singers all joined in on cue. Suddenly, people could remember what made the original version amazing. It was like Urban’s version and the original version were melding into one.
When Urban got to the guitar solo, nobody could contain their emotions anymore. Gibb even let out a few tears.
Then Urban encouraged everyone present to sing along. The entire room was united together.
When the song ended, the entire audience rose to their feet, giving Urban a standing ovation.
And this performance has wowed many more people. A recording of it appeared on Facebook, where it has gone on to become a smash hit.
To date, over 52 million people have seen and heard it. It also has more than 437,000 reactions and 37,000 comments. People have been saying things like this:Keith Urban has had many successes during his lifetime. But can anything compare to one of the greatest musicians of all time crying over your cover of his song?
Who knows, many years from now, another musician might decide to perform a Keith Urban song with Urban in the audience. Perhaps Urban will feel honored in the same way as Gibb.