Stayin’ Alive

If you ever have to administer CPR, then this is your jam. “Stayin’ Alive” clocks in at roughly 104 BPM which just so happens to be the ideal speed for chest compressions. While the Bee Gee’s might not have had CPR in mind when they wrote it, they certainly knew they were working with a heart-thumping rhythm as they composed the song in the studio. They had their keyboardist, Blue Weaver, lie down on the studio floor while they stuck electrodes on his chest so that the drummer could play along to his heartbeat. This is likely the first instance of a drum loop set to the beat of the heart.

Used in the opening credits of the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, “Stayin’ Alive” became a disco anthem, despite the Bee Gee’s desire objections to the association. Asked about disco, the Bee Gee’s said that disco artists were emulating their original sound, and that they never once used an artificial drum machine on their records, unlike disco music, which was filled with synth drums.

Did you know this song won a grammy for the Best Arrangement For Voices? There’s no mistaking that classic Bee Gee’s high falsetto sound. After its release in 1977, it stayed on the US charts for over 6 months, with a whole month spent at number one. It’s an undeniable classic, so enjoy the lesson, and see if you can sing along!