Introduction:
The Bee Gees were awarded a Grammy Legend award in 2003, just one month after Maurice’s untimely death.
To be the recipient of a Grammy Legend Award is an emotional honour for any star, but it was an especially emotional one for the Bee Gees.
The group (made up of brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb) were given their award at the 45th annual Grammys in February 2003, a mere month and a half on from Maurice’s untimely passing.
At the ceremony, an emotional Barry and Robin Gibb took to the public stage as a duo for one of the first times since their brother’s death.
“I think this is just a little bit harder than Robin and I ever thought it would be,” Barry shared, while visibly fighting back tears.
Earlier during the ceremony, best pop performance nominees *NSYNC had performed a moving medley of Bee Gees hits in memory of Maurice.
But Barry and Robin had their own plans for how they would remember their brother and the beloved Bee Gees star.
“You know, the measure of a man is his family – we think anyway,” Barry reflected: “And so we want you to meet Maurice’s family.”
Calling the crowds and cameras to focus on Maurice’s widow Yvonne and their grown-up children Adam and Samantha Gibb, all three of whom were present at the event, he continued lovingly: “There’s the measure of a man, right there!”
Still tearful, Barry explained that in a gesture which he knew Maurice “would have loved,” he wanted Adam to come up and accept the group’s award on behalf of his father.
“We know he’s watching – [Maurice] always watched the Grammys,” Barry recalled, adding: “And I think the nicest thing that could happen is if his son came up and took this award, that we’re giving to Maurice.”
As Adam took to the stage to accept the award, Robin paid tribute to his twin brother by saying: “We loved Maurice very much, and he’s in our hearts forever and we’re very proud of him tonight.”
Adam then stepped up to the mic to say: “I know how much my dad loved doing what he did, and he would have loved being here right now.
“I know he’d want to thank one person, and that’s my mom. Because she was his rock,” he added.
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The Bee Gees were the 15th recipient of the Grammy Legend Award. They were the first band to receive the accolade, and they remain the only Grammy Legend honourees of the 21st century.
Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Liza Minnelli, Smokey Robinson and Willie Nelson were the first four music icons to receive the award when it launched back in 1990.
Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Johnny Cash and Quincy Jones were then given the prize in 1991.
The other 90s recipients were: Barbra Streisand (1992), Michael Jackson (1993), Curtis Mayfield and Frank Sinatra (1994), Luciano Pavarotti (1998), and Sir Elton John (1999).
The Bee Gees won five Grammys during their career. Barry Gibb also picked up the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the group in 2015.