Bee Gees – New York Mining Disaster 1941

“New York Mining Disaster 1941” – Single by the Bee Gees from the album Bee Gees’ 1st
B-side “I Can’t See Nobody”
Released 14 April 1967
Label Polydor (United Kingdom, Europe, Japan), Atco (United States, Canada, Mexico), Spin (Australia, New Zealand)
Songwriters Barry Gibb and Robin Gibb
Producers Robert Stigwood and Ossie Byrne
Charted No.14 in US; No.12 in UK; No. 3 in Australia; No.3 in Netherlands; No.10 Germany.

Barry Gibb – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Robin Gibb – lead, harmony and backing vocals
Maurice Gibb – backing vocals, bass guitar, rhythm guitar
Colin Petersen – drums
Phil Dennys – orchestral arrangement

There was no mining disaster in New York in 1941, although there was one in McIntire, Pennsylvania, which killed six people. The song, though, was vaguely inspired by the Aberfan tragedy in South Wales. On October 21, 1966, 144 people were killed, 116 of them children, when a waste tip slid down a mountainside; unsurprisingly the story generated massive media coverage, and even 40 years on the name Aberfan is synonymous with the tragedy.

The Gibb brothers wrote the song when they were sitting in the dark on some studio stairs at IBC studio in London imagining they were stuck in a mine accident. They placed it in New York; far from Wales where the Aberfan accident had taken place so as not to offend those who were hurt by it.

On the video, the band only features four members (but Vince Melouney later joined the band), Barry playing his guitar, Maurice playing his Rickenbacker 4001, Robin Gibb on vocals and drummer Colin Petersen wears a hat.

The group (Barry, Robin, Maurice, Colin and Vince) made their first British TV appearance on Top of the Pops performing this song on May 11 and were rather awe-struck at the company they were keeping. On 20 May 1967, the group performed this song on Beat-Club, a German TV program.

“New York Mining Disaster 1941” is the debut American single by the Bee Gees, released on 14 April 1967. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb. Aside from a moderately successful reissue of their Australian single “Spicks and Specks”, it was the first single release of the group’s international career and their first song to hit the charts in both the UK and the US. It was produced by Ossie Byrne with their manager Robert Stigwood as executive producer. The song was the first track of side two on the group’s international debut album, Bee Gees’ 1st. This was the first single with Australian drummer Colin Petersen as an official member of the band.