"Jive Talkin'" is a song by the Bee Gees, which hit number
one on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top-five on the UK
singles chart in the summer of 1975. Largely recognized as the
group's "comeback" song, it was their first U.S. top ten hit
since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" in 1971.
The song was originally called "Drive Talking". The song's
rhythm was modeled after the sound a car would make crossing
the bridge from Biscayne Bay into Miami. The sound of the car's
tires were making a "Chicka, Chicka, Chicka," sound, which was
used vocally before the group sings the title of the song.
Producer Arif Mardin wished to market the song toward the teen
market, and suggested the change to "Jive Talkin'" (the phrase
"jive talkin'", slang for "telling lies", was a popular
colloquialism at the time). Barry Gibb wrote the song and then
had to fix the lyrics upon completion because he had assumed
"jive talkin'" referred to "speaking in jive", a then-popular
term for African-American Vernacular English. All actual
"talking jive" references were fixed so they meant "lying".
Upon its release to radio stations, the single was delivered
in a plain white cover, with no immediate indication of what
the song's name was or who sang it. The DJs would only find out
what the song was and who played it when it was placed on the
turntable; RSO did provide the song with a label on the record
itself.
The disco-oriented sound was a departure from the pop
ballads the Bee Gees had become known for. With the new sound,
the public had gained a newfound interest in the Bee Gees and
their music. The single sold over a million copies in the
United States alone, and sold in excess of a hundred thousand
copies in Canada. While not a top seller in the United Kingdom,
it did mark the first time in three years that a Bee Gees
single had charted there.
Two years after its release as a single the song was
included on the Bee Gees-dominated soundtrack to Saturday Night
Fever.
In 1987 this song was covered by the Boogie Box High. Boogie
Box High was a musical project by Andros Georgiou in the late
1980s, that featured a range of vocal collaborations such as
his relative George Michael (of Wham!) and Nick Heyward (of
Haircut 100). A cover of the Bee Gees song Jive Talkin' was
their biggest hit in 1987.
On Iron Maiden's song "More Tea Vicar", towards the end,
Bruce Dickinson sings a bit of the song in a voice imitating
The Bee Gees as a joke, then follows it up with "No, no no! You
got the wrong track, you have to go in the studio next door."
Then sings "Okay" in a Bee Gees voice.