Don't Forget to Remember
{{About|the song by the Bee Gees|the song by Carrie Underwood|Don't Forget to Remember Me|the album by Puressence|Don't Forget to Remember (album)}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Don't Forget to Remember
| cover = Dont Forget To Remember.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Bee Gees
| album = Cucumber Castle
| B-side = The Lord
| released = August 1969
| recorded = 7 May 1969
IBC Studios, London
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Country pop
| length = 3:28
| label = Polydor (United Kingdom)
Atco (United States)
| writer = Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb
| producer = Robert Stigwood, Bee Gees
| prev_title = Tomorrow Tomorrow
| prev_year = 1969
| next_title = If Only I Had My Mind on Something Else
| next_year = 1970
| misc = {{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = DontForgettoRemember.ogg
| description = "Don't Forget To Remember"
}}
}}
"Don't Forget to Remember", also called "Don't Forget to Remember Me", is a country ballad recorded by the Bee Gees, from the album Cucumber Castle. The song was written by Barry and Maurice Gibb. It was produced by the band with Robert Stigwood.
Recording
The song's genre is country, like much of what Maurice and Barry wrote together without input from their brother Robin, but all three brothers have written in the medium at other times, most notably the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton hit "Islands in the Stream", and its parent album Eyes That See in the Dark.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/dont-forget-to-remember-mt0008273548 |title= Bee Gees - Don't Forget to Remember |last=Guarisco |first=Donald A. |website= AllMusic |access-date=14 January 2013}}
The song was recorded on 7 May 1969, the same day as the unreleased track "Who Knows What a Room Is". Barry Gibb's lead vocal is in a lower register than usual.{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/69.html |title= Gibb Songs: 1969 |author=Joseph Brennan}} Peter Mason, Robin's intended replacement in the group, originally sang harmony vocals on the song, as Mason explains, "I did some harmonies, I remember doing three songs, there was 'Don't Forget to Remember' and I put the harmony down on that and two other songs. [I don't know] whether it's a tryout, although he'd said before that he wanted me, because we sat and sang together."{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KugbDQHX0R8C&q=barry+gibb&pg=PT551 |title=The Bee Gees - Tales of the Brothers Gibb |first=Andrew |last=Hughes |year=2009 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9780857120045 |access-date=22 January 2014}}
Mason also explained: "When I sit and listen to 'Don't Forget to Remember' I can't really tell whether it's me or not. He ran the tracks and said, 'Can you put a harmony to that?'". The song also sticks out in Mason's memory.
Structure
The song features Barry Gibb singing at a lower pitch than usual. The song's lyrics follow the country-song tradition of romantic laments with its tearful first-person lyrics about a man haunted by a failed love affair he can't put out of his mind. Its melody matches the yearning quality of the lyrics, especially on the chorus, which underpins the forlorn wish Don't forget to remember me/And the love that used to be with glorious runs of ascending notes. On paper, the song seems applicable to the group's usual pop style but their recording uses country-music elements to carry it into that genre, a prominent acoustic guitar cuts through the background orchestration and Barry Gibb adds a Nashville-inspired twang to his vocal.
Release
Maurice's reaction when the song was released was "The thing is that it is Jim Reeves-ish it's rather like 'Oh Lonesome Me' and that sort of song and you'll never forget the melody. It wasn't a deliberate dedication to Jim Reeves - it's just worked out that way". Maurice also explains, "We know we don't want to split up, maybe Colin will want to leave sometime in the future, but we all have different things we've involved in". The single covers of the song, (in all countries) features the three remaining Bee Gees after the departure of Robin Gibb.
Record World called it a "country-flavored ballad" that's "another solid winner for the Bee Gees."{{cite magazine|title=Single Reviews|magazine=Record World|date=August 23, 1969|page=6|accessdate=2023-05-04|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/69/RW-1969-08-23.pdf}}
The song was re-released in CD by RSO Records as a part in the EP of the same name (1987).{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/8852347 |title=45cat - The Bee Gees - Don't Forget to Remember |publisher=45cat |access-date=24 January 2015}}
Personnel
Credits from Bee Gees historian and sessionographer Joseph Brennan.{{cite web |last1=Brennan |first1=Joseph |title=Gibb Songs: 1969 |url=https://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/69.html |website=Gibb Songs |publisher=Columbia University |access-date=March 27, 2024}}
- Barry Gibb – lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
- Maurice Gibb – harmony vocals, bass, piano, guitar, Mellotron
- Colin Petersen – drums
- Peter Mason – harmony vocals (possibly erased from the final recording or not included in final mix)
- Uncredited – orchestral and string arrangements
- Robert Stigwood, the Bee Gees – producers
- unknown – orchestra members, audio engineer
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (1969)
!Position |
|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)
| style="text-align:center;"|16 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)
| style="text-align:center;"|20 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
| style="text-align:center;"|25 |
| Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade)
| style="text-align:center;"|10 |
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Chart (1970)
!Position |
|---|
| Norway Singles Chart (VG-lista)
| style="text-align:center;"|10 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Bee Gees|title=Don't Forget to Remember|award=Gold|relyear=1969|certyear=1970|nosales=true|certref={{cite magazine|title=Triple Crown|magazine=Cash Box|date=16 May 1970|page=64|url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1970/CB-1970-05-16.pdf|access-date=24 March 2023}}}}
{{end}}
Cover versions
- The version of this song by Elton John was released on "12 Top Hits" (Avenue-AVE034){{cite web|url=http://www.eltonography.com/albums/sessions/index.html |title=Elton John as a Session Musician |website=Eltonography.com |access-date=2016-10-02}}
- Swedish dansband Flamingokvintetten covered the song in 1972, with lyrics in Swedish, as "Jag vill leva mitt liv med dig" ("I want to live my life with you").
- Country singer Skeeter Davis covered the song and reached #44 on the country charts with it in 1974.
- Another country singer Kikki Danielsson covered the song with the original lyrics in English on her 1993 album Jag ska aldrig lämna dig.{{cite web|url=http://smdb.kb.se/catalog/id/001503758 |title=Jag ska aldrig lämna dig | Svensk mediedatabas |publisher=SMDB |access-date=2014-04-07}}
- Anna McGoldrick covered this song in 1998.
- Brian Letton covered this song in 1997.
- Daniel O'Donnell (1987),
- Donna Fargo covered this song in 1978
- John & Anne Ryder covered the song in 1969.
- South African singer Ray Dylan covered the song on his album Goeie Ou Country vol 2.{{cite web |author=Ray Dylan |url=http://www.musica.co.za/cd/id/6005298030511/Ray_Dylan-Goeie_Ou_Country_-_Vol2#contents |title=Ray Dylan, Goeie Ou Country - Vol.2, CDs, Musica A World awaits - 6005298030511 |publisher=Musica.co.za |date=2010-11-01 |access-date=2014-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110152019/http://www.musica.co.za/cd/id/6005298030511/Ray_Dylan-Goeie_Ou_Country_-_Vol2#contents |archive-date=2014-01-10 |url-status=dead }}
- Monika Martin has a German Version "Du warst da, als der Sommer kam"
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- {{cite magazine|last=Valentine|first=Penny|author-link1=Penny Valentine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Disc/1969/Disc-1969-08-09-S-OCR.pdf|title=Can the Bee Gees Hit with a Jim Reeves Sound?|magazine=Disc and Music Echo|date=9 August 1969|access-date=10 April 2023|pages=19|location=London|publisher=Disc Echo Ltd.|via=World Radio History|issn=0308-1168|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226190418/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Disc/1969/Disc-1969-08-09-S-OCR.pdf|archive-date=26 February 2023}}
{{Cucumber Castle}}
{{Bee Gees}}
{{Bee Gees singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Barry Gibb
Category:Songs written by Maurice Gibb
Category:Song recordings produced by Robert Stigwood
Category:Flamingokvintetten songs
Category:Kikki Danielsson songs
Category:Polydor Records singles
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles