December 6, 2014

As we come closer to the date of Maurice and Robin’s birthday, I thought it might be nice to post some of the stories I have collected about them. Today it’s Mo’s turn, and we honor him with Melissa’s simply beautiful thoughts.

Melissa–Philadelphia

I have been a Bee Gee fan since I fell in love with Maurice Gibb when I was 15. At that time, he had married Lulu, and I was devastated because I wanted to marry him myself some day. I liked him because he was the Bee Gee who didn’t get to be in the limelight much, and he was sort of like me. I was the perfect example of the wall flower all through middle and high school. When I look back, I see that I was smart and had so much to offer, but I was overshadowed by my two sisters who were strong personalities and outspoken. I identified with Maurice because I could see he had so much talent and I thought he was cute, but more because Barry and Robin seemed to be in the spotlight and Maurice seemed to be behind the other two. As they got older, that changed a bit, and I thought things were great in the 90’s (and my love for him never waned one bit). I was happy that he was singing more solo pieces, and he seemed to have won his battles with his health and self-esteem. Studying to become a social worker, I often thought of how I would discuss life’s challenges with him and what he would say to me. I was in awe of him for decades, and then he passed away suddenly and my heart broke. I think of him every day, and I feel lucky to have had the experience of growing up with this great music but even more for watching Maurice become a cooler person as he grew older. I do love Barry and Robin, but Maurice has my heart.