I've Gotta Get a Message to You

"I've Gotta Get a Message to You"
Single by Bee Gees
from the album Idea
B-side	"Kitty Can"
Released	7 September 1968
Format	7"
Recorded	12 July 1968
Genre	Soft rock, psychedelic pop, baroque pop
Length	2:59 3:01 (single mix)
Label	Polydor Atco (United States, Canada)
Writer(s)	Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb
Producer	Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees
Bee Gees singles chronology
"Jumbo" (1968) "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (1968) "I Started a Joke" (1968)
Music sample "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" Idea track listing 12 tracks Side one "Let There Be Love" "Kitty Can" "In the Summer of His Years" "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" "Down to Earth" "Such a Shame" (UK version) "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (US version) Side two "Idea" "When the Swallows Fly" "I Have Decided to Join the Air Force" "I Started a Joke" "Kilburn Towers" "Swan Song"

"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" is a rock ballad by the British rock band Bee Gees. Released as a single on September 7, 1968, it became their second number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, and reached number eight on the US pop chart. In the United Kingdom the song was released as a single only. The song appeared on the US edition of the Bee Gees' third album Idea, but not in the United Kingdom, where the Vince Melouney track "Such a Shame" appeared instead. Both songs are featured on the CD edition released circa 1991. This song was sent to Atlantic Records with "I Laugh in Your Face", therefore it would be reasonable to assume that the latter was the intended B-side. However, it was dropped in favour of "Kitty Can". The song was written with Percy Sledge in mind to record it. (In fact, Sledge did record it in February, 1970, but Atlantic did not issue it in the United States at the time.)

Writing and recording

The song is about a man who, awaiting his execution in the electric chair, begs the prison chaplain to pass a final message on to his wife. Robin Gibb, who wrote the lyrics, said that the man's crime was the murder of his wife's lover, though the lyrics do not allude to the latter premise. Robin said:

"This is about a prisoner on Death Row who only has a few hours to live. He wants the prison chaplain to pass on a final message to his wife. There's a certain urgency about it. Myself and Barry wrote it. It's a bit like writing a script. Sometimes you can sit there for three hours with your guitar and nothing will happen. Then in the last ten minutes something will spark."

"I've Gotta Get a Message to You" was recorded with "I Laugh in Your Face" (released on Odessa in 1969) on July 12, 1968. This track was not recorded during the Idea sessions, the last recording session was June 25, 1968 when they recorded "I Started a Joke". The song features bass lines by Maurice Gibb as Barry explained: "He had a lot of intensity in his bass, Mo was a real [Paul] McCartney bass freak, as a lot of us were. He would pick up on all the things that McCartney would [do]. Maurice was very good on different instruments, you know. Good lead guitarist, good bass player, good keyboard player. He was versatile. He loved playing bass more than anything else, I think, at that time."

Versions

"I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You" has appeared in five versions all made from the same recording, but heard at three different speeds, faded out at three different points, and with different elements mixed forward. As to the speed, Bill Inglot said in 1999 that the mix he made for the Tales from the Brothers Gibb box in 1990 is at the correct real tape speed. This speed is intermediate between the mono and stereo mixes released in 1968. The correct speed can be achieved by playing the mono single mix at 98.8% and the LP stereo mix at 103.0%, which brings them to the correct timing.

The first mix to appear was the mono mix for the single, followed closely by a stereo mix that appeared on North American copies of the Idea album. The two sound very different. For most of the song the album mix has percussion effects and string overdubs not heard (or barely heard) in the single mix. In the ending, most of the second pass through the chorus (2:28-2:37 at the correct speed) has lead vocal in the album mix but wordless backing vocal in the single mix, until at ‘hold on’ they resume the same vocal tracks. The slower album mix is shorter because it fades out much sooner, 4 seconds sooner at the speed given, or 11 seconds sooner at corrected speed. At 2:45 (correct speed) fans hear a spoken ‘save your voice’ in the stereo album mix, and also less distinctly in the Tales from the Brothers Gibb mix.

During preparation of The Studio Albums 1967-1968 box set, another mix from 1968 was discovered, a mono mix that sounds like the 1968 stereo mix. Since the North American Idea LP was released only in stereo, this companion mono mix was never released. It plays faster than the stereo mix, but that is true of all the mono mixes for Idea.

Personnel

• Robin Gibb – lead and backing vocals
• Barry Gibb – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar
• Maurice Gibb – bass, piano, backing vocals
• Vince Melouney – lead guitar
• Colin Petersen – drums

Chart performance

Chart (1968)	Peak position
German Media Control Charts	3
Netherlands Dutch Top 40 Charts	3
Canadian RPM Singles Chart	3
United Kingdom Singles Chart	1
Australia ARIA Singles Chart	3
New Zealand RIANZ Charts	2
South Africa Singles Chart	2
Irish Singles Chart	1
US Billboard Hot 100	8

Cover versions

• Gavin Castleton
• Percy Sledge
• Dusty Springfield
• Jose Feliciano
• Cleopatra
• Swamp Dogg
• Moxy Früvous

The Soldiers version

"I've Gotta Get a Message to You"
Single by The Soldiers
from the album Message to You
Released	23 October 2011
Format	CD single, Digital download
Recorded	2011
Genre	Vocal
Length	3:19
Label	Demon Music Group
The Soldiers singles chronology
"Letters Home" (2010) "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (2011)

In 2011, The Soldiers recorded the song with Robin Gibb for the Royal British Legion's annual charity single. It was released on 23 October 2011 in the United Kingdom on iTunes. This song charted at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart. A music video to accompany the release of "I've Gotta Get A Message To You" was first released onto YouTube on 13 October 2011 at a total length of three minutes and twelve seconds.

Track listing

CD/Digital download

1. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" - 3:19
2. "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" (Full Instrumental Version) - 3:17

Chart performance

Chart (2009)	Peak position
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)	10
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	75

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Do It Again" by The Beach Boys	UK Singles Chart number-one single (Bee Gees version) 4-10 September 1968	Succeeded by "Hey Jude" by The Beatles
Preceded by "Hey Jude" by The Beatles	Irish Singles Chart number-one single (Bee Gees version) 21-27 September 1968	Succeeded by "Hey Jude" by The Beatles