I Started a Joke

Composition and recording

Songs for the Idea album were completed on 20 June. "I Started A Joke" was the last to be recorded.

According to Robin Gibb, the melancholic melody of the song was inspired by the sounds on board an aeroplane:

"There was a lot of that in those days," Barry laughed, "There was a lot of psychedelia and the idea that if you wrote something, even if it sounded ridiculous, somebody would find the meaning for it, and that was the truth."

Structure and release

The promotional video for "I Started a Joke" was directed by Jean-Christophe Averty. It was filmed in Brussels as part of the Idea TV Special and features floating question marks on the song while Robin sings. In the video, Maurice is shown playing a Rickenbacker 4001 and Vince Melouney playing a Gibson ES-335.

The song reached #1 in Canada, New Zealand and Australia. In Canada, it spent two weeks as the number one in RPM charts. "I Started a Joke" debuted at #66 at the United States Cashbox magazine in the week of 14 December 1968 and reached #6.

Robin Gibb's son played "I Started a Joke" on his phone just after his father died on 20 May 2012. Robin-John Gibb told The Sun:

When he passed away we went out, they took the equipment away and we came back in, I picked up my phone and found "I Started a Joke" on YouTube and played it. I put the phone on his chest and that was the first time I broke down. I knew that song and its lyrics were perfect for that moment. That song will always have new meaning to me now.

Cash Box described it as being in the Bee Gees' "softer" style, saying it was more in the style of "Words" than "Gotta Get a Message to You," and said that "paradoxical imagery offers magnetic charm to mystical interpretation."

Personnel

Musicians:

• Robin Gibb – lead vocals
• Barry Gibb – acoustic rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Maurice Gibb – mellotron, organ piano, bass guitar
• Vince Melouney – electric lead guitar, acoustic guitar intro
• Colin Petersen – drums
• Bill Shepherd – string arrangements

Technical:

• Bee Gees – producer
• Robert Stigwood – producer
• John Pantry – engineer
• Damon Lyon Shaw – engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Faith No More version

Dean Menta Faith No More originally covered "I Started a Joke" as a B-side for their 1995 single "Digging the Grave". It also appeared on some versions of their fifth studio album King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime but following the band's dissolution in 1998 it was released as a single with their greatest hits album Who Cares a Lot? The Greatest Hits. The music video was filmed on 8 September 1998, after Faith No More had disbanded five months earlier 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 with Gabi Norland as the clapper loader. British actors Martin Freeman and Shaun Dingwall both feature in the promo, along with performance artist David Hoyle as the karaoke singer, and also stars Michelle Butterly of the ITV series, Benidorm. Derren Litten, the writer of Benidorm and a contributor to The Catherine Tate Show, is also seen in the video.

Track listing

Disc one

1. "I Started a Joke" – 3:03
2. "The World Is Yours" – 5:52
3. "Midnight Cowboy" (Live) – 1:01

Disc two

1. "I Started a Joke" – 3:03
2. "This Guy's in Love with You" (Live) – 4:20
3. "We Care a Lot" (Live) – 3:55

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

Charts

Other notable cover versions

• In 1998, Robbie Williams with The Orb released a reggae rendition of the song and it was included on the Bee Gees Tribute Album: Gotta Get a Message for You as a fundraiser for Live Challenge '99.
• In 2012, Pet Shop Boys included a cover on their Winner single.
• In June 2016, German satirist Jan Böhmermann covered the song live on his TV show Neo Magazin Royale, commenting on the Böhmermann affair.
• In June 2025, Paul Weller released his cover version of the song ahead of his forthcoming covers album, Find El Dorado.

Parodies

"I Started a Joke" was parodied by a Radio Free Vestibule sketch in which a voiced-over commentary takes the lyrics completely literally, appeared on the film Zoolander as covered by The Wallflowers. The song "I Started a Joke" was featured heavily in the ending of the film Penn & Teller Get Killed, which features the two magicians playing a succession of increasingly elaborate practical jokes on each other with a fatal conclusion.

References

References

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2. Dale, Jon. (24 June 2015). "Robin Gibb – Saved By The Bell – The Collected Works Of Robin Gibb 1968-1970".
3. Echols, Alice. (March 29, 2010). "Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture". [[W. W. Norton & Company]].
4. (6 February 2010). "Covers Revue, Vol. 25 – The Wallflowers cover "I Started a Joke" :: Originally by the Bee Gees".
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6. (1991). "Bee Gees Anthology". Hal Leonard.
7. Hughes, Andrew. (2009). "The Bee Gees – Tales of the Brothers Gibb". Omnibus Press.
8. (14 December 1968). "Cash Box Top Singles". Cashbox Magazine Archives.
9. Songfacts.com. "Bee Gees - I Started a Joke".
10. (December 7, 1968). "CashBox Record Reviews".
11. "Songs Written by the Gibb Family on the International Charts - Part 1". brothersgibb.org.
12. (8 February 1969). "Cash Box Top 100". Cashbox Magazine Archives.
13. (17 July 2013). "RPM Top Singles of 1969". [[RPM (magazine).
14. "Bee Gees - I Started A Joke". hitparade.ch.
15. "Bee Gees - I Started A Joke". Dutch Charts.
16. (27 December 1969). "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1969". [[Cashbox (magazine).
17. (1998-09-08). "Faith No More - "I started a joke"".
18. Ryan, Gavin. (2011). "Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010". Moonlight Publishing.
19. (1998-08-04). "How bleep is your love?". NME.com.
20. "Winner single". petshopboys.co.uk.
21. (25 August 2016). "Böhmermann steckt in der Erdogan-Falle". Der Tagesspiegel Online.
22. (13 June 2025). "Paul Weller's striking cover of The Bee Gees' 'I Started A Joke'". NME.com.
23. D'Angelo, Mike. (March 13, 2013). "Two magic legends screw with viewers and each other in ''Penn & Teller Get Killed''". [[The A.V. Club]].