Shadow Dancing – Andy Gibb | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 7 weeks) & R&B (#11); 1978
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
It’s impossible to overstate how the Gibb brothers overwhelmingly dominated popular music in 1978. Singles involving the Gibbs held down the #1 slot 25 of the first 35 weeks, and in each of the 12 weeks between January 28th and April 15th, they accounted for three to five of the Top 10 records.
Everything they touched turned to gold, especially with younger brother Andy who became the first solo artist to reach the top with his first three releases. Hit number three, Shadow Dancing was essentially a Bee Gees record: all four brothers wrote it, and Andy’s three siblings sang backup.
In addition, Eagles Joe Walsh and Don Felder played on the track, as did the Hotel California string musicians. Shadow Dancing finished as the #2 single of 1978, right behind his brothers’ Night Fever, and (Love Is) Thicker Than Water ended up at #9 for the year.
The first of Andy’s hits, I Just Want To Be Your Everything, had been the #3 single of 1977.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Gibb-Galuten-Richardson
Lyrics Written by:
- Barry
- Robin
- Maurice Gibb
- Andy Gibb
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).