"
How Deep Is Your Love" is a song recorded by the
Bee GeesThe Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The group was successful for most of its forty years of recording music, but the trio had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a harmonic "soft rock" act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as the foremost...
in 1977. Originally intended for
Yvonne EllimanYvonne Elliman is an American singer and actress. Her father was of Irish descent, and her mother shared Japanese and Chinese ancestries...
, it was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film
Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 film starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young man, coming of age, whose weekend activities are visits to a local Brooklyn discothèque and Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual girlfriend...
. It was a number three hit in the UK. In the U.S., it topped the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on 24 December 1977 and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record 17 weeks. The song also spent six weeks atop the U.S.
adult contemporary chartThe Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
.
The song was ranked #366 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"
How Deep Is Your Love" is a song recorded by the
Bee GeesThe Bee Gees were a singing trio of brothers — Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The group was successful for most of its forty years of recording music, but the trio had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a harmonic "soft rock" act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as the foremost...
in 1977. Originally intended for
Yvonne EllimanYvonne Elliman is an American singer and actress. Her father was of Irish descent, and her mother shared Japanese and Chinese ancestries...
, it was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film
Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 film starring John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young man, coming of age, whose weekend activities are visits to a local Brooklyn discothèque and Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual girlfriend...
. It was a number three hit in the UK. In the U.S., it topped the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on 24 December 1977 and stayed in the Top 10 for a then-record 17 weeks. The song also spent six weeks atop the U.S.
adult contemporary chartThe Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
.
The song was ranked #366 on
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Along with "
Stayin' Alive"Stayin' Alive" is a song by the pop group Bee Gees from the Saturday Night Fever motion picture soundtrack. The song was written by the Bee Gees - Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb - and produced by the Bee Gees and Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson...
", it is one of the group's two songs on the list. The song also lists at #20 on
Billboard's All Time Top 100.
It was famously covered by
Take ThatTake That are a BRIT Award-winning English pop band consisting of members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Mark Owen. Barlow is the group's main songwriter. All of them perform primarily on vocals though each have some instrumental talent/song-writing capability. The band achieved major...
for their 1996
Greatest Hits- Album information :Following the band's announcement that they were to split on February 13, 1996, the greatest hits compilation was released through RCA Records on March 4, 1996, and contained their final single, cover of The Bee Gees How Deep Is Your Love, which became their final number one...
album, reaching number one on the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
for three weeks.
In 1983, The Bee Gees were sued by a Chicago songwriter, Ronald Selle, who claimed that the Gibb brothers stole melodic material from one of his songs, "Let It End," and used it in "How Deep Is Your Love." At first, The Bee Gees lost the case; one juror said that a factor in the jury's decision was the Gibbs' failure to introduce expert testimony rebutting the plaintiff's expert testimony that it was "impossible" for the two songs to have been written independently. However, the verdict was overturned a few months later.
Two music videos were made for this song. In one, the brothers are singing while an image of a woman shows throughout the video. Barry Gibb had his beard shaven off in this video, as in the "
Night Fever"Night Fever", is a disco song, written and performed by The Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film Saturday Night, but singer Robin Gibb expressed hesitation at the title. Stigwood liked the title Night Fever but was...
" video. A second video was later made in which the brothers sing while passing by stream of rainbow lights. In this video Barry Gibb is bearded.
In Popular Culture
- A cover by Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis is an American singer of popular music.One of the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the 1960s, Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the adult contemporary audience through to the 1980s...
is featured in the film "Donnie BrascoDonnie Brasco is a 1997 film by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Michael Madsen and Johnny Depp. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who successfully infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based...
" (1997).
- This song was heard in the Pilot episode of The Cleveland Show
The Cleveland Show is an American animated series which premiered on September 27, 2009 as a part of the "Animation Domination" lineup on Fox...
.
Trivia
- This song was once used for a television advertisement on Yarra Valley Water
Yarra Valley Water is a retail water company owned by the State Government of Victoria .They provide water and sewer service to about 1.5 million people in the Melbourne, Australia area....
in Australia in late 90s and early 2000s.
Cover versions
- Korean hip hop
In Korea, the Korean hip hop scene has expanded into a form of cultural phenomenon; namely in Seoul, Busan and Daegu. Notable performers include Jo PD, Drunken Tiger, PSY, Dynamic Duo, and Epik High.- Successful artists :...
duo JinuseanJinusean is a well-known Korean hip hop duo from YG Family. The duo is made up by Jin-woo Kim and Noh Seung-hwan .-History:In 1994, Jinu debuted in Korea as a solo artist with the popular song: "I Was the Captain"...
recorded a version with rappedRapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in hip hop music, but the phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment...
verses for their 1999 album 태권V. It is included in the music game Audition OnlineAudition Online , also known as X-BEAT in Japan, is a downloadable multiplayer online casual rhythm game produced by T3 Entertainment. It was originally released in South Korea in 2004, but it has been localized by various publishers around the world. Audition Online is free to play but it earns...
.
- American
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B quartet PortraitPortrait are an American R&B vocal quartet, consisting of members Michael Angelo Saulsberry, Irving Washington III, Eric Kirkland and Philip Johnson.-Career:...
recorded a cover of this song in 1995, on their second album, All That Matters.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1983. For most of the band's existence, the members have been vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, and drummer Chad Smith...
guitarist John FruscianteJohn Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he has recorded five studio albums...
sang it at the KROQ Weenie RoastWeenie Roast is a multi-artist alternative rock concert, presented annually by the Los Angeles, California, USA radio station KROQ, beginning in 1993. The concert had always been presented on the second or third Saturday in June since it was aired until 2004...
and often covered the song as a solo performance during various shows during the Stadium Arcadium tour during 2006.
- Smooth Jazz
Smooth jazz is a sub-genre of jazz which is influenced stylistically by R&B, funk and pop.Beginning in the early 1970s, it was an evolution into jazz with a modern, electronic sensibility...
guitarist Peter WhitePeter White is a Smooth Jazz/Jazz Fusion guitarist. He also plays the accordion and the Piano.Peter first gained fame with his distinctive guitar style accompanying Al Stewart. During a 20-year tenure with Stewart, he co-wrote many songs, including Al’s 1978 Top Ten hit "Time Passages". In the...
did an instrumental version available in his Reflections album released in 1994.
- Guitarist Chris Standring
Chris Standring is a British-born soul jazz guitarist known for his heavy use of 1970s-style musical nuances. Before launching his own solo career with his 1998 album "Velvet", Standring represented a third of the band SolarSystem, a one-shot project that combined elements of jazz and...
did an instrumental version on his Hip Sway album released in 2000.
- British boy band
In pop or R&B a boy band is a group of several young male singers. The members are generally expected to perform as dancers as well, often executing highly choreographed sequences to their own music. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions...
Take ThatTake That are a BRIT Award-winning English pop band consisting of members Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Mark Owen. Barlow is the group's main songwriter. All of them perform primarily on vocals though each have some instrumental talent/song-writing capability. The band achieved major...
covered the song in 1996. It reached number one in the UK singles chartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
. It was their last single before the break-up of the band.
- During the Hollywood round of American Idol
American Idol is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted on June 11, 2002 on the Fox network, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television...
in 2007, the song was covered by the group of Tom LoweThomas Peter "Tom" Lowe is an English-born singer and actor.-Personal life:Lowe was born in Stockport, England to his parents, Peter and Margaret Lowe...
, Rudy Cárdenas, Chris SlighCharles Christopher Sligh is an American singer/songwriter who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol. He was eliminated from the competition on March 28, 2007 finishing in tenth place.-Early years:...
, and eventual runner-up Blake LewisBlake Colin Lewis is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol.-Early years:...
. The performance was distinctive because Lewis beatboxed for the majority of the performance as his groupmates harmonized.
- Indie-Pop musical duo The Bird and the Bee
The Bird and the Bee is an indie/Synthpop/alternative musical duo from Los Angeles, consisting of musicians Inara George and Greg Kurstin . Kurstin, a producer and keyboardist who has worked with Lily Allen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Kylie Minogue and Red Hot Chili Peppers, is...
cover the song on their Please Clap Your HandsPlease Clap Your Hands is a 5-track EP by American indie/pop duo The Bird and the Bee. It features four original tracks and one cover, "How Deep Is Your Love", originally by The Bee Gees...
EP. This cover is used in VH1's commercial for the 2009 promotion of their various "Love" series.
- Adeaze
Adeaze is a New Zealand R&B group comprising brothers Nainz and Viiz Tupai. The group's debut album, Always and for Real, was released in 2004 and topped the album chart in New Zealand....
released their remake in four versions of this song in New Zealand in 2004.
- The Temptations
The Temptations are an American vocal group that achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
released a cover of the song as the first single from their 2007 album, 'Back To Front'.
- Grupo Óptimo, a Dominican Bachata group, released a Spanish version of the song, titled "Que Grande Es Tu Amor" on their album "Óptimo FDL" in 2007.
- The Bird and the Bee
The Bird and the Bee is an indie/Synthpop/alternative musical duo from Los Angeles, consisting of musicians Inara George and Greg Kurstin . Kurstin, a producer and keyboardist who has worked with Lily Allen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Kylie Minogue and Red Hot Chili Peppers, is...
, a group from America, released a cover of the song, on the soundtrack of Sex and the CitySex and the City is an American cable television series. The original run of the show was broadcast on HBO from 1998 until 2004, for a total of six seasons....
in 2008.
- Johnny Mathis
Johnny Mathis is an American singer of popular music.One of the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the 1960s, Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the adult contemporary audience through to the 1980s...
- Serbian rock
Serbian rock is the rock music scene of Serbia. During the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and the 1980s, while Serbia was a constituent republic inside Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbian rock scene was a part of SFR Yugoslav rock scene.-History:...
band Eva BraunEva Braun is a britpop/pop-rock band from Bečej, Serbia, notable as one of the most important bands of the Vojvodina pop-rock scene of the 1990s...
recorded a live version of the song in 2001, but the song had not been officially released until 2008 on the compilation album Off The Record.
- Martin Rolinski
Martin Andrzej Rolinski is a Swedish singer and the lead singer of the Swedish synth-pop band Bodies Without Organs...
, lead singer with the Swedish band Bodies Without OrgansBWO is a Swedish electro pop group, formed in 2004. Prior to early 2006 they used the name Bodies Without Organs. In Sweden they have enjoyed considerable commercial success throughout their career, so far notching up 15 Top 40 singles, including a Number 1 with Temple of Love, and five Top 10...
, has recorded his own version of the song.
- The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus are a jazz trio from the United States, consisting of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer Dave King, originating out of Minneapolis, MN.-History:...
have a cover version on their collaboration with Wendy Lewis, For All I Care.
Take That version
Take That's version was released as a single from their
Greatest Hits- Album information :Following the band's announcement that they were to split on February 13, 1996, the greatest hits compilation was released through RCA Records on March 4, 1996, and contained their final single, cover of The Bee Gees How Deep Is Your Love, which became their final number one...
compilation in 1996. The single went on to become what was to be the band's final U.K. number one until their 2005 comeback a decade later. The song stayed at number one in the UK charts for three weeks. The single sold 670,000 copies and has received a Platinum sales status certification in the UK.
Music Video
The video saw the four members of the band tied to chairs and in a basement. A blond women looking slightly deranged with smeared mascara walks into the basement and circles the four members individually pulling their hair. She then puts them all into her van and drives down the motorway. She stops by a reservoir and has the four members placed on the edge, she points at each member before grabbing Gary's rope and pushes him back still holding on. Her fingers slip through the rope and he falls backwards, the others look shocked as she does. She then smirks and it is unsure whether she meant to get rid of him or not.
Track listings
U.K. Promo CD Single
(TAKE25)
- "How Deep Is Your Love" - 3:41
UK single CD
(74321 35631 2)
- "How Deep Is Your Love" - 3:41
- "Babe" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 6:10
UK Maxi-CD
(74321 35631 2)
- "How Deep Is Your Love" - 3:41
- "Every Guy" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 5:36
- "Back For Good" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 7:06
UK Maxi-CD single 1
(74321 3559 2)
- "How Deep Is Your Love" - 3:41
- "Every Guy" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 5:36
- "Lady Tonight" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 4:13
- "Sunday To Saturday" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 3:48
UK Maxi-CD single 2
(74321 35631 2)
- "How Deep Is Your Love" - 3:41
- "Back For Good" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 7:06
- "Babe" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 6:10
- "Never Forget" (Live From Earls Court & Manchester Nynex) - 7:38
Chart Performance
| Chart (1996) |
Peak
Position |
| Australian Singles Chart |
12 |
| Austrian Singles Chart |
7 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart |
5 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart |
4 |
| Dutch Singles Chart |
7 |
| Finnish Singles Chart |
2 |
| German Singles Chart |
7 |
| Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data...
|
1 |
| Italian Singles Chart |
1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart |
6 |
| Swedish Singles Chart |
7 |
| Swiss Singles Chart |
5 |
| UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
|
1 |
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|End of year chart (1996)
!align="center"|Position
|-
|align="left"|Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart
|align="center"|44
|-
|align="left"|Belgian (Walonia) Singles Chart
|align="center"|35
|-
|Italian Singles Chart
|align="center"|23
|-
|align="left"|Swiss Singles Chart
|align="center"|30
|-
|align="left"| UK Singles Chart (
1996
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January - At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the...
Year-End)
|align="center"| 12
|-
Track listing
- "How Deep Is Your Love?" (Radio Edit)
- "How Deep Is Your Love?" (Album Version)
- "How Deep Is Your Love?" (Instrumental)
- "How Deep Is Your Love?" (Club Remix)