50 free Bee Gees trivia questions with answers — music quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Three brothers born on the Isle of Man, raised in Manchester and Queensland, and named after a speedway promoter and a radio DJ rather than "Brothers Gibb". The Bee Gees had a UK number one in each of three decades, wrote the Saturday Night Fever songs in a single weekend in a French château, and at one point in 1978 had written five of the US top ten at once. This quiz covers the early years (the Rattlesnakes, Spicks and Specks, the white-label single DJs mistook for the Beatles), the 1969 split and reunion, the Miami reinvention with Arif Mardin, the disco peak, the hits they gave away to Streisand, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, the comebacks, and the losses of Andy, Maurice and Robin. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so it works as a 70s music round, a pub quiz staple or a test for anyone who can hit the falsetto.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Where were the three Gibb brothers born?
The Isle of Man
The family moved to Manchester in 1955 and emigrated to Australia in 1958.
Q 02What was the name of the brothers' first group, formed in Manchester in 1955?
The Rattlesnakes
Barry played guitar while friends handled drums and a tea-chest bass.
Q 03What forced the brothers to sing live at a Manchester cinema in 1957, per the story?
Their 78 rpm record broke on the way
They had planned to lip-sync but the shellac disc shattered as they ran to the theatre.
Q 04In which Queensland town did the Gibb family settle after emigrating in 1958?
Redcliffe
The boys earned pocket money performing at the local speedway, where the crowd threw coins onto the track.
Q 05What did the name "BGs" originally stand for?
Two local men's initials plus Barry's
A DJ and a speedway promoter shared the initials; "Brothers Gibb" came later.
Q 06Which 1966 song became the group's first major hit in Australia?
Spicks and Specks
Go-Set named it Best Single of the Year while the brothers were already at sea, sailing back to England.
Q 07Which Beatles manager passed the brothers' demo tapes on to Robert Stigwood?
Brian Epstein
Hugh Gibb had sent the demos before the family left Australia.
Q 08What trick helped "New York Mining Disaster 1941" into the charts in 1967?
It was sent to DJs on a blank white label
Some DJs assumed it was a new Beatles single and played it in heavy rotation.
Q 09For which soul singer was "To Love Somebody" originally written?
Otis Redding
Barry sang the ballad himself and it became a pop standard.
Q 10Which song gave the Bee Gees their first UK number one in 1967?
Massachusetts
They wrote it in a New York hotel without ever having visited the state.
Q 11Which Australian folk group was their first UK number one originally intended for?
The Seekers
They failed to get the song to the band, so they recorded it themselves and sold over five million copies.
Q 12Which guitarist wrote "Such a Shame", the only original album track not by a Gibb brother?
Vince Melouney
He left in 1968 wanting to play more blues than the brothers were writing.
Q 13What inspired the melody of "I Started a Joke", according to Robin Gibb?
The drone of an aeroplane's engines
He said a Vickers Viscount's propellers sounded like a church choir about a hundred miles from Essen.
Q 21Which 1975 album contained the first Bee Gees songs on which Barry sang falsetto?
Main Course
The falsetto became the band's trademark and their first charting R&B album followed.
Q 22Which CSNY member added percussion to "You Should Be Dancing" at Criteria Studios?
Stephen Stills
He was at Criteria recording Long May You Run with Neil Young at the time.
Q 23Where did the brothers write the Saturday Night Fever songs in roughly one weekend?
A château studio in France
They were recording in France for tax reasons when Stigwood rang about a low-budget film then called Tribal Rites of a Saturday Night.
Q 14Which 1969 double album began life as a concept record called Masterpeace?
Odessa
Robin quit soon after, furious that "Lamplight" was made the B-side of "First of May".
Q 15Which song did Robin think should have been the A-side of "First of May", so he quit?
Lamplight
His solo single "Saved by the Bell" then reached number two in the UK.
Q 16Which family member stood in for Robin at a 1969 performance?
Their sister Lesley
Barry and Maurice carried on as the Bee Gees for the Cucumber Castle album.
Q 17Which 1971 single was the group's first US number one?
How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
It also earned their first Grammy nomination; Al Green covered it the following year.
Q 18Which soul producer did Stigwood pair them with for Mr. Natural, steering them toward R&B?
Arif Mardin
Atlantic boss Ahmet Ertegun suggested him; the brothers had been reduced to playing variety clubs in Batley.
Q 19Whose suggestion sent the brothers to Miami's Criteria Studios in 1975?
Eric Clapton's
The move produced Main Course and the comeback single "Jive Talkin'".
Q 20What was "Jive Talkin'" called in its early stages?
Drive Talking
Its rhythm copied the sound of their car crossing the Julia Tuttle Causeway to the studio each day.
Q 24Whose music had John Travolta been dancing to before the Bee Gees songs were added?
Stevie Wonder and Boz Scaggs
"The Bee Gees weren't even involved in the movie in the beginning," he said.
Q 25Which singer took the Gibb-penned "If I Can't Have You" to US number one in 1978?
Yvonne Elliman
The Bee Gees' own version was tucked away as the B-side of "Stayin' Alive".
Q 26Which group's version of "More Than a Woman" became the hit rather than the Bee Gees' own?
Tavares
The Bee Gees' recording was relegated to an album track.
Q 27How many Grammy Awards did the Bee Gees win for Saturday Night Fever?
Five
They included Album of the Year and Producer of the Year with Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.
Q 28How many Gibb-written songs were in the US top ten at once on 25 March 1978?
Five
Such dominance had not been seen since the Beatles held the top five in April 1964.
Q 29Which Four Seasons singer recorded Barry Gibb's title song for the film Grease?
Frankie Valli
Peter Frampton played guitar on the session and Barry sang backing vocals.
Q 30Which Australian singer had a top ten hit with the Gibb-written "Emotion" in 1978?
Samantha Sang
The Bee Gees sang backing vocals; Destiny's Child revived the song in 2001.