The Story behind the Bee Gees’ 1967 hit, “Massachusetts”
The Bee Gees’ first UK #1 was not originally written for themselves but was initially written to fulfill the Gibb brothers’ dream of writing a hit for The Seekers. The band was unsuccessful in getting the song to The Seekers upon their arrival in London and ultimately decided to record the song themselves.
The group wrote the single while on a boat in New York harbor as a challenge to themselves. Robin Gibb explained to Daniel Rachel, author of The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters, that it was a good exercise for the brothers. They had never been to Massachusetts before and the state’s name contained a lot of S’s, making it an unusual title.
