Throwback to the time The Bee Gees blew everyone’s minds with a Beatles medley that’s still enchanting fans 50 years later…

Years before their worldwide disco success, The Bee Gees made a markedly different appearance on American television. The live set aired on the late-night music program The Midnight Special five years before the group became famous for three later songs: “How Deep Is Your Love,” “Night Fever,” and “Staying Alive.” Instead of performing their own material, the Gibb brothers devoted the appearance to The Beatles.

At the time, The Bee Gees had just issued their 1973 studio record, “Life In A Tin Can.” They nevertheless left songs from their own catalog out of the television performance and assembled a five-song Beatles medley. The source describes the decision as unprecedented and presents the set as an example of the group in its earlier, pre-disco period.

The tribute followed only three years after The Beatles had broken up. Rather than building the medley around familiar choices such as “Come Together,” “Love Me Do,” or “Penny Lane,” The Bee Gees concentrated mainly on cuts characterized by the source as less widely known. Only the final selection was identified as an outright hit.

The sequence opened with “If I Fell” before continuing into “I Need You.” The Gibb brothers then covered “I’ll Be Back” and “This Boy,” completing the group of four less prominent selections. For the medley’s conclusion, they turned to the much bigger Beatles song “She Loves You.”

Watch the full performance on page two