I Started a Joke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“I Started A Joke”
“I Started A Joke” cover
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Idea
B-side "Kilburn Towers"
Released 1968
Format Vinyl record 45RPM
Recorded IBC Studios, London 1968
Genre Rock
Label Flag of the United Kingdom Polydor
Flag of the United States Atco Records
Writer(s) Barry Gibb
Robin Gibb
Maurice Gibb
Producer Robert Stigwood
Bee Gees singles chronology
"I've Gotta Get a Message to You"
(1968)		 "I Started A Joke"
(1968)		 "First of May"
(1969)

"I Started a Joke" is a 1968 song by the Bee Gees from their album Idea, which was released in September of that year. The song is mainly written and sung by Robin Gibb. "I Started a Joke" is supposedly about someone who has done or said something horribly wrong, which results in social alienation. Another interpretation, related to the previous one, is that the song is sung from the point of view of the Devil. [1]

Contents

[edit] Musical content

According to Robin Gibb, the melancholic melody of the song was inspired by the sounds on board an airplane:

“ The melody to this one was heard aboard a British Airways Vickers Viscount about a hundred miles from Essen. It was one of those old four engine 'prop' jobs, that seemed to drone the passenger into a sort of hypnotic trance, only with this it was different. The droning, after a while, appeared to take the form of a tune, which mysteriously sounded like a church choir. So it was decided! We accosted the pilot, forced him to land in the nearest village and there; in a small pub, we finished the lyrics. Actually, it wasn't a village, it was the city, and it wasn't a pub, it was a hotel, and we didn't force the pilot to land in a field... but why ruin a perfectly good story?"[2] ”

[edit] Covers

The song was parodied by a Radio Free Vestibule sketch in which a voiced-over commentary takes the lyrics completely literally. Skibby did a Reggae cover which has been released as part of the sampler CD set "It's Reggae" (1996). In 1998 it was covered by Robbie Williams with The Orb (for a Bee Gees tribute album) and by Faith No More. In 2001, a cover by The Wallflowers was featured in the Zoolander movie soundtrack. The song is also featured in the film Penn & Teller Get Killed. Richie Havens, The Beautiful South, The Dirtbombs, indie pop bands The Lucksmiths and Low, British singer Kathryn Williams and folkster James William Hindle have also recorded covers of the song. In addition, there are several instrumental versions with Francis Goya on guitar in his album Romantic Guitar [3] and James Galway on flute in his 1988 Greatest Hits album.[4]

[edit] Faith No More cover

“I Started a Joke”
“I Started a Joke” cover
Single by Faith No More
from the album Who Cares a Lot?
Released September 21, 1998
Format CD
Recorded Early 1995
Genre Alternative rock
Length 3:03
Label Slash
Producer Billy Gould
Dean Menta
Faith No More singles chronology
"Stripsearch"
(1997)		 "I Started a Joke"
(1998)
Alternate cover
Alternate cover

Faith No More originally covered "I Started a Joke" as a B-side to their fifth studio album King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime but following the bands dissolution in 1998 it was released as a single with their greatest hits album Who Cares a Lot?.

[edit] Music video

The music video for it was filmed on September 8, 1998,[5] after Faith No More had split up, and featured none of the band members. It was directed by Vito Rocco, filmed by Nick Sawyer with make-up by Julie Nightingale and Dani Richardson and had Gabi as the Norland clapper-loader.[5]

[edit] Track listing

Disc one
  1. "I Started a Joke" – 3:03
  2. "The World Is Yours" – 5:52
  3. "Midnight Cowboy" (Live) – 1:01
Disc two
  1. "I Started a Joke" – 3:03
  2. "This Guy's in Love with You" (Live) – 4:20
  3. "We Care a Lot" (Live) – 3:55

Live tracks recorded on October 21, 1997 at the Horden Pavilion, Sydney, Australia by MTV Australia.

[edit] Charts

Chart Peak
Flag of the United Kingdom UK Singles Chart[6] 49
Flag of Australia ARIA Charts 58
Flag of New Zealand RIANZ Charts[7] 58

[edit] Charts

Year Peak Positions
CA US BR GE NL IT FR AU
1968 1 6 1 3 3 19 5 1

[edit] References

  1. ^ VH1 Storytellers. Perf. Bee Gees. VH1, 1996. Prior to performing the song onstage, Barry Gibb remarks that one interpretation of the song is regarding the Devil.
  2. ^ p.188, Bee Gees Anthology, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1991.
  3. ^ Francis Goya - The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives
  4. ^ Sir James Galway-Discography
  5. ^ a b Faith No More – "I Started a Joke". mvdbase.com. Retrieved on 1 June 2008
  6. ^ chartstats.com page on Faith No More, retrieved on 27 January 2008
  7. ^ charts.org.nz, New Zealand charts page for Faith No More, retrieved on 27 January 2008

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Faith No More
Roddy Bottum · Billy Gould · Mike Bordin · Mike Patton · Jon Hudson
Chuck Mosely · Jim Martin · Dean Menta · Trey Spruance
Joe Pye · Walter · Paula Frazer · Courtney Love · Jake Crucifix · Mark Stewart · Desmond Trial · Scott Colbertson · Mark Bowen
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Videos
Singles
Related articles
Categories