Watch Bee Gees Live Performance Of “Words” on The Ed Sullivan Show

After making the transition to disco in the late ‘70s, the Bee Gees are justly celebrated as disco legends; their contributions to the Saturday Night Fever and Staying Alive soundtracks helped bring disco to a wider audience.

However, the Gibb brothers had a career before disco, putting out a dozen or more records before making the transition to funk and soul. One of their best songs, “Words,” was released in 1968 as a stand-alone single and became a worldwide phenomenon as well as their third UK top 10 success, about a decade before they went disco.

Although the Bee Gees’ March 17, 1968 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was brief, it was still significant since it was the first time the group would sing “Words” and another one of the group’s hits, “To Love Somebody,” to an American audience. Barry Gibb once remarked: “Promotion is all important. Not in the matter of gimmicks and stunts, but in doing the right work at the right time. You have to have a basic talent and also the right promotion. We do what we think boosts our career – avoid that danger of sitting back and saying, ‘Right, we’re number one, so there’s nothing more we can do.”

Thankfully, Bee Gees did their performance smoothly that you’re definitely missing one of the greatest moments on the Sullivan stage if you haven’t seen it. Check it out below.