Massachusetts (Bee Gees song)

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"Massachusetts" is a song written, recorded and released by the Bee Gees in 1967 and later appearing on their 1968 album, Horizontal. It was their first Number 1 hit in the UK.

The song was the brothers' response to the flower power movement which they were growing tired of. The lyric turned songs like Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)" on their head by telling the tale of a man who had been to San Francisco at the height of the Haight-Ashbury era and was now homesick for his home state. The reason the lights had all gone out in Massachusetts was because everybody had gone to San Francisco.

[edit] Trivia

• For Maurice Gibb, the song had a painful memory attached. Shortly after it was recorded, Beatles manager Brian Epstein told him that it was beautiful and would be the hit of the summer. These proved to be Epstein's last words to Maurice - he died a few days later.

• This single is the first number-one hit single by non-Japanese artist on Japanese official hit chart Oricon.
• The B-side was a Barry Gibb composition "Barker of The UFO".

Preceded by "The Last Waltz" by Engelbert Humperdinck

UK number one single October 11, 1967

Succeeded by "Baby Now That I've Found You" by The Foundations