The hit came home under the Las Vegas lights. In the Bee Gees’ MGM Grand performance of “Grease” for One Night Only, released in 1998, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb reclaimed a song Barry had written for Frankie Valli’s 1978 film single. Valli’s version had reached No. 1, and for many listeners it remained tied to the movie’s opening rush. But live, with the brothers’ harmonies surrounding it, the song stopped feeling only like a borrowed soundtrack memory and started sounding like a missing piece of the Gibb family map. It was not a rivalry, not a correction, just a familiar hit quietly returning to its source.
Introduction THE NIGHT “GREASE” CAME HOME — WHEN THE BEE GEES RECLAIMED A SONG THE...