(Love Is) Thicker Than Water

"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water"
Single by Andy Gibb
from the album Flowing Rivers
B-side	"Words and Music" (US) "Flowing Rivers" (UK)
Released	September 1977
Format	7"
Recorded	Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida October 1976
Genre	Disco, funk, soul
Length	3:18 4:15 (stereo)
Label	RSO
Writer(s)	Barry Gibb, Andy Gibb
Producer(s)	Gibb-Galuten-Richardson
Certification	Gold (U.S.)
Andy Gibb singles chronology
"I Just Want To Be Your Everything" (1977) "(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" (1977) "Shadow Dancing" (1978)

"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" is a song performed by Andy Gibb, released in 1977, it was his second single that topped the US Billboard Hot 100. It was mainly written by Barry Gibb, with help from Andy Gibb. The B-side of this song was "Words and Music" in the US, but "Flowing Rivers" in the UK.^[1] It became a gold record.

Billboard magazine describes the song as "a midtempo ballad that changes pace from a lushly romantic and soft [Andy] Gibb vocal to an uptempo instrumental drive. Plenty of melody and another catchy hook".^[2]

Writing and recording

"(Love Is) Thicker Than Water" was written originally by Barry Gibb in Bermuda alone with Andy Gibb credited as co-writer on the latter.^[3] Andy Gibb later revealed writing a song with Barry:

“

I did one song with Barry, 'Thicker Than Water' which I thought was good", Gibb explains, "Even though it says on the credits 'B. & A. Gibb', it is really Barry's song - it is very hard to write with Barry, but he said, 'Help me think of a great title'. That was a period where Barry was thinking of titles first and seeing how they would inspire him to write a song, we were thinking of titles first and seeing how they would inspire him to write a song, We were thinking of good titles, and I said, 'How about Thicker Than Water?' I did not say 'Love Is' just 'Thicker Than Water', he said 'That's great!' and then he came up with 'Love is higher than a mountain' and he just went on from there, but the title was totally my idea.[4]

”

"(Love Is) Thicker than Water" was recorded in October 1976 at the Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, during the same time as "I Just Want to Be Your Everything". On the two tracks, Joe Walsh of Eagles played guitar.^[5] The song was certified Gold in the United States on 16 February 1978 as Robert Stigwood presented Gibb with his first gold record at the Roxy in Los Angeles.^[4]

Aftermath

As evidence of the Gibb brothers' U.S. chart domination in 1978, atop the 4 March 1978 Hot 100 the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" was displaced by this song,^[6] which in turn was displaced two weeks later by the Bee Gees' "Night Fever", which in turn was displaced eight weeks later by Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You". Since Barry Gibb had a hand in writing all four of these songs, he became the only person in history to write four consecutive US number-one singles, a feat unmatched to this day. The song was released in February 1978 in Netherlands.^[7]

On 7 October 1977 Andy performed the song, and "I Just Want to Be Your Everything", on The Midnight Special.

Chart performance

Weekly singles charts Charts (1977/1978) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 13 Canada (RPM)[9] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 25 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 1 US Billboard Easy Listening Charts[11] 18 US Cash Box Top 100[12] 1 US Radio & Records[13] 3 US Record World[13] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1978) Position Canada (RPM) 11 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 8 US Billboard Easy Listening Charts[15] 31 US Cash Box[16] 50

References

1. Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs: 1977". Retrieved 14 June 2013.
2. "Billboard Top Single Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
3. "Island Ignited Bee Gees' Musical "Fever"". Bernews. Archived from the original on 2015-01-01. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
4. Hughes, Andrew. The Bee Gees - Tales of the Brothers Gibb. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
5. Brennan, Joseph. "Gibb Songs: 1976". Retrieved 14 June 2013.
6. "Andy Gibb's Billboard singles history". Rovi Corporation / Billboard. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
7. "Andy Gibb - (Love Is) Thicker than Water". Discogs. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
8. David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
9. "CAN Charts > Andy Gibb". RPM. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
10. "Andy Gibb - (Love Is) Thicker Than Water". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
11. "US Charts > Andy Gibb". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
12. "1978 Cashbox Top Singles". Cashbox Archives. Archived from the original on 2015-01-03. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
13. Gerard. "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts" (PDF). brothersgibb.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-01-01. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
14. Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978
15. "Billboard: Easy Listening Top 50". Billboard. 25 March 1978. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
16. "Cash Box Top 100". Cashbox Magazine Archives. May 6, 1978. Archived from the original on 2015-01-03. Retrieved 31 December 2014.