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"Fanny (Be Tender with My Love)" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees for their Main Course album in 1975.[1] It was the third single release from the album, and peaked at number 12 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart,[2] and reached number two in Canada.

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 [hide*1 History

History[edit][]

In 1975, the Bee Gees moved their operations to Miami BeachFlorida, at the suggestion of Eric Clapton following his comeback album, 461 Ocean Boulevard, the year before. The group recorded an album with Arif Mardin called Mr. Natural in 1974 with little commercial success. The album did, however, open the Gibbs to a new sound compared to the kind of music the brothers were producing in the early 1970s. This new R&B-flavored sound carried over on to their next album, 1975's Main Course, also produced by Arif Mardin.

Recording[edit][]

The Bee Gees had formed the nucleus of their band early in 1975 with Blue Weaver on keyboards, Alan Kendall on lead guitar and Dennis Bryon on drums. Also part of the Bee Gees mid- to late 1970s sound was The Boneroo Horns brought to Miami in 1973 by Dr. John. Recording for "Fanny" took place on 30 January, the same day as "Jive Talkin'", "Songbird", and "All This Making Love".[3] Additional recording took place in February when Barry Gibb began to use his falsetto as a lead vocal in addition to backing vocals. The complexity of falsetto and natural harmonies would become a Bee Gees trademark culminating with 1979's Spirits Having Flown. The group did not perform "Fanny" live because of the layers of harmonies used to create the studio recording. A promotional film was made for distribution.

Chart performance[edit][]

Chart Peak position
Canada 2
New Zealand 7
United States[2] 12
Belgium 18
Germany 42
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