Samantha, who is the daughter of late Bee Gees bassist Maurice Gibb, joined Barry onstage at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia on May 19, 2014 for a moving duet. The pair shared a hug onstage before the performance and Barry introduced the song by saying “We’re going to sing a song that is our favourite, and certainly one of her dad’s favourites, and we hope you like it.”
The ballad took on an air of a tribute to Maurice, who died suddenly at age 53 on January 12, 2003, after a cardiac arrest following surgery for a twisted intestine. Samantha took the opening verse, singing Skeeter Davis’s hit “The End of the World”, which recounts the pain of missing a loved one. Clearly, she inherited plenty of her father’s talent, as she skillfully reinterpreted the country pop vocal into an R&B vibe.
Barry chimed in next and transitioned into “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?”, which has a similar theme to the lyrics. Samantha then took the second verse of the Bee Gees number, and again made it her own by adding a soulful vibe. The pair then joined their voices together for the chorus, creating a truly beautiful moment. The Bee Gees gave another excellent performance of the song on April 17, 2001 at the Manhattan Center, with all three brothers present and singing their hearts out.
Samantha is based in Nashville and has launched her own career in the biz. She began a songwriting partnership with Lazaro Rodriguez in 2004 and has since been releasing her own original music and writing songs for other artists.
“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” holds a special place in Bee Gees history, as the song became the band’s first US number one hit. The ballad was released as the first single from the band’s 1971 studio album Trafalgar and it eventually went Gold in the US.
The song was written in August 1970 and was initially credited to Barry and Robin Gibb. However, Maurice eventually received a writing credit for “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” when it was included on the 2009 compilation album Ultimate Bee Gees.
“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” was recorded on January 28, 1971 at IBC Studios, London. The track was recorded at breakneck speed, as Robin later recalled, saying “The whole thing took about an hour to complete. The song reached the number one spot, to our great satisfaction.” The performances on the track are top-notch so to have recorded the whole thing in an hour flat is a remarkable musical feat.