Only The Good Die Young

Maurice Gibb

December 22, 1949 - January 12, 2003

Now that I have a moment, I wanted to share my experience of when I met Mo. I got to meet all three of the brothers the same day back in 1998, when they were at their studio in Miami Beach. While Barry and Robin were extremely gracious and took time to chat for a minute, it was Mo who completely blew me away with his fun personality and genuine love of chatting it up with the fans. Remember, I worked in the music business and had met just about everybody famous I had ever wanted to, but I was reduced to complete idolizer when it came to the Bee Gees--old crushes die hard and my appreciation & love of their writing and records...well, you know. Anyway, Barry was running late because he had a dentist appointment. So Mo, being his comical self proceeds to inform me that, "Barry probably won't even make it. He hates the dentist. He is such a pussy cat (his words). He is probably sleeping right now." So, of course, we had a good laugh from that at Barry's expense. Then when he realized I was from Nashville, he completely lit up. He said, "Oh! I love Nashville! I love country music. I like Tim McGraw! I love Dolly!" Then, he told me this cute story about how when they came to Nashville sometime in the early 70s, somebody told them incorrectly that there was a hotel that Elvis had stayed in called the King's Inn. So, they insisted that they must stay at that hotel. Now, I am thinking that this was a hotel in one of three locations in Nashville: Murfreesboro Road near Fessler's Lane, Dickerson Road, or Trinity Lane. You locals can draw your own conclusions from that. The rest of you just know that "seedy" is a good description. So anyway, he said they arrived at the hotel, were horrified, but had nowhere else to go, so that is where they stayed. It must have made a huge impression on Mo, because that was one of his lasting impressions of our fair city. He also said he had friends up in Hendersonville (perhaps Johnny? Barry had never met him, but perhaps Mo did!) that he had visited before.

Mo chatted with me for at least 15 minutes or so when he really needed to be working. From all descriptions and impressions I've ever heard, that's the kind of guy Mo was.

So, that's why today, I raise my glass to Maurice Gibb - Mo - may you be jamming up in heaven with Andy and company today. We miss you.

Update: Here is a very cool tribute post from San Francisco Journal complete with video.