How Many Birds

"How Many Birds" is a song written by Barry Gibb, recorded by the Bee Gees in 1966 for the Spicks and Specks album.^[1] Recording took place at St. Clair Studios, Hurstville outside Sydney.

Structure

Lead vocals by Barry Gibb. The song was recorded in one-track tape machines required the use of sound-on-sound for all overdubs. "How Many Birds" was recorded around April and May 1966 along with 11 songs.^[2] This song's original duration was 1:58. But on the 1963-1966: Birth of Brilliance and on the Songs of the Swingin' 60's the song ends at 1:58, 2:00 on To Be or Not to Be, The Great Bee Gees, Spicks & Specks, The Bee Gees, The Festival Album Collection: 1965-1967, Goldies and Bee Gees.

The song starts with a guitar riff and the chord became E as Barry sings I was so lonely without you baby, don't know what I'm going do, I'm goin' crazy without you, baby, look at what I'm goin' through'. After Barry sings the lines, the song gets faster. The singer stated that he's lonely without his girl and he don't know what to do, he's going crazy without her. And the singer says that how many times will he see high and flying.^[3]

Cover versions

The Kids covered this song, lead vocalist Michael Griffiths and Tony Borg singing to Bee Gees backing tracks recorded in 1966. The original version had been released just nine months earlier. Perhaps the Australian public agreed; the Kids never recorded again. It does raise one point though, that the Saint Clair tapes were not discarded when the studio closed, and were presumably in Nat Kipner's hands. But Kipner today has no idea where they went to.^[4]

Personnel

• Barry Gibb — vocals, acoustic guitar
• Maurice Gibb — electric and bass guitar
• Colin Petersen — drums
• John Robinson — bass

References