I Started a Joke

Infobox Single
Name = I Started a Joke


Artist = Bee Gees
from Album = Idea
B-side = "Kilburn Towers"
Released = 1968
Format = Vinyl record 45^RPM
Recorded = IBC Studios, London 1968
Genre = Rock
Length =
Label = Polydor (UK)
Atco Records (U.S.)
Writer = Barry Gibb
Robin Gibb
Maurice Gibb
Producer = Robert Stigwood
Reviews =
Last single = "I've Gotta Get a Message to You"
(1968)
This single = "I Started A Joke"
(1968)
Next single = "First of May"
(1969)"I Started a Joke" is a 1968 song by the Bee Gees from their album "Idea", which was released in September of that year. The song is mainly written and sung by Robin Gibb. "I Started a Joke" is supposedly about someone who has done or said something horribly wrong, which results in social alienation. Another interpretation, related to the previous one, is that the song is sung from the point of view of the Devil. [VH1 Storytellers. Perf. Bee Gees. VH1, 1996. Prior to performing the song onstage, Barry Gibb remarks that one interpretation of the song is regarding the Devil.]

Musical content

According to Robin Gibb, the melancholic melody of the song was inspired by the sounds on board an airplane: cquote|The melody to this one was heard aboard a British Airways Vickers Viscount about a hundred miles from Essen. It was one of those old four engine 'prop' jobs, that seemed to drone the passenger into a sort of hypnotic trance, only with this it was different. The droning, after a while, appeared to take the form of a tune, which mysteriously sounded like a church choir. So it was decided! We accosted the pilot, forced him to land in the nearest village and there; in a small pub, we finished the lyrics. Actually, it wasn't a village, it was the city, and it wasn't a pub, it was a hotel, and we didn't force the pilot to land in a field... but why ruin a perfectly good story?" [p.188, Bee Gees Anthology, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1991.]

Parodies, appearances in other media, etc.

* The song was parodied by a "Radio Free Vestibule" sketch in which a voiced-over commentary takes the lyrics completely literally.
* The song is featured in the film "Penn & Teller Get Killed".

Cover versions

* Skibby did a reggae cover which has been released as part of the sampler CD set "It's Reggae" in 1996.
* In 1998 it was covered by Robbie Williams with The Orb (for a Bee Gees tribute album).
* In 2001, a cover by The Wallflowers was featured in the "Zoolander" movie soundtrack.
* Richie Havens, The Beautiful South, The Dirtbombs, indie pop bands The Lucksmiths and Low, British singer Kathryn Williams and folkster James William Hindle have also recorded covers of the song.
*In 1995 Faith No More released a cover version of I Started a Joke as a single. It's also on certain versions of the album "King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime" as a bonus track.
* There are several instrumental versions with Francis Goya on guitar in his album "Romantic Guitar" [ [http://houbi.com/belpop/groups/goya.htm Francis Goya - The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives ] ] and James Galway on flute in his 1988 "Greatest Hits" album. [ [http://www.thegalwaynetwork.com/newdisk.htm Sir James Galway-Discography ] ]

Faith No More cover

Infobox Single
Name = I Started a Joke


Cover size =
Border =
Caption =
Artist = Faith No More
Album = Who Cares a Lot?
Released = September 21, 1998
Format = CD
Recorded = Early 1995
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 3:03
Label = Slash
Writer =
Producer = Billy Gould
Dean Menta
Audio sample? =
Certification =
Last single = "Stripsearch"
(1997)
This single = "I Started a Joke"
(1998)
Next single =
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = single


Cover size =
Lower caption =
Faith No More originally covered "I Started a Joke" as a bonus track on some versions of their fifth studio album "King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime" but following the bands dissolution in 1998 it was released as their final single with their greatest hits album Who Cares a Lot?.

Music video

The music video for it was filmed on September 8, 1998, [http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=10323 Faith No More – "I Started a Joke"] . mvdbase.com. Retrieved on Date|2008-06-01] after Faith No More had split up, and featured none of the band members. It was directed by Vito Rocco, filmed by Nick Sawyer with make-up by Julie Nightingale and Dani Richardson and had Gabi Norland as the clapper-loader. Martin Freeman features in the clip.

Track listing

;Disc one
#"I Started a Joke" – 3:03
#"The World Is Yours" – 5:52
#"Midnight Cowboy" (Live) – 1:01

;Disc two
#"I Started a Joke" – 3:03
#"This Guy's in Love with You" (Live) – 4:20
#"We Care a Lot" (Live) – 3:55

Live tracks recorded on October 21, 1997 at the Horden Pavilion, Sydney, Australia by MTV Australia.

Charts

Charts

References

External links

* [http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1039823 A short "I Started A Joke" background and song themes]
* [http://www.napathon.net/IStartedAJoke.php "I Started A Joke" interpretive study]
* [http://www.amiright.com/parody/performers/b/beegees.shtml List of Bee Gees song parodies, including "I Started a Joke"]