It was 43 years ago today (July 30th, 1977) that Andy Gibb's debut U.S. single, “I Just Want To Be Your Everything,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of four straight weeks. The song, which was written and co-produced by his elder brother, Bee Gee Barry Gibb, can be seen as the musical link between the group's major 1976 Children Of The World singles — the chart-topping “You Should Be Dancing” and it's Top Three followup “Love So Right,” and 1977's blockbuster Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
Andy, who released his first album, Flowing Rivers, in September 1977, was only 19 at the time of the runaway success, which turned him into an instant teen idol and Top 40 force to be reckoned with. Shortly after the song's meteoric success, he recalled that he was unsure if he had the talent to carry the song to the top of the charts: “When I very first heard the song, when Barry played me the song, I thought, 'Oh, yeah, y'know, it's a monster song.' I thought that, y'know, maybe the song's great — but maybe it won't be a hit because I'm doing it, or whatever. I didn't really think that I, myself, could actually have a hit record — or a Number One record. And then it just kept climbing and it kept climbing, and when it got to the Top 50 — that was enough for me, I screamed my head off.”
Andy Gibb went on to score two more back-to-back Number One hits — “(Love Is) Thicker Than Water” and “Shadow Dancing” in 1978 — both before his 21st birthday.
Andy, who was the younger brother of the Bee Gees — Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb — died on March 10th, 1988, just five days after his 30th birthday from an inflammatory heart virus exacerbated by years of substance abuse. He was survived by his daughter Peta, his brothers, his sister Leslie, and his parents Barbara and Hugh.
