Written by the Gibb brothers and produced by Robert Stigwood in 1968, “I Started A Joke” was featured on The Bee Gees’ album ‘Idea.’
Robin Gibb says, “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” (Bee Gees Anthology)
This Bee Gees classic is available on their latest greatest hits compilation here: https://BeeGees.lnk.to/TimelessWe
