Islands in the Stream (song)

Background

Named after the 1970 novel by Ernest Hemingway, the song was originally written for Diana Ross in an R&B style but later reworked for the duet by Rogers and Parton.

It has been claimed that the song was also intended for Marvin Gaye. This is attributed to a 2001 Good Morning America interview with the Bee Gees. When Barry Gibb said the song was written for Ross, Robin Gibb interrupted and said, "No, we wrote it for Marvin Gaye ... We sent it to him but he was dead so it was a bit difficult for him to sing it." Gaye actually died in 1984, a year after the recording. Separately, Robin Gibb has said the song was stylistically written "... as a Tamla kind of soul song in a Marvin Gaye type feel", though not asserting it was for Gaye. In other interviews, Barry Gibb has always maintained that Ross was the original artist for the song with no mention of Gaye.

For licensing reasons, the song was not included on the digital release of Eyes That See in the Dark from Capitol Records Nashville. Sony Music, the current owner of RCA Records, protected copyrights in the recording, which is digitally available only in various compilations from Sony Music, especially those of Dolly Parton.

Musical structure

The song is sung in moderate time, with Rogers and Parton alternating lead vocals. Their version is in C major when Rogers sings lead, but changes to A-flat major when Parton takes over the lead.

Critical reception

Cash Box said that "the sound is simply gorgeous, as is the melody, as are the voices."

In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #104 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.

Commercial performance

The song knocked Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" out of No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, also topping the Country and Adult Contemporary listings. In December of that year, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over two million physical copies in the US. After becoming available for digital download, it had sold a further 834,000 digital copies in the US, .

In Australia, the song was number one for one week in December 1983 and became one of the highest selling singles of 1984.

The song reached a peak of No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart in 1983. , it had also sold 245,577 digital copies in the UK. , it had racked up 287,200 downloads and 4.83 million streams in the UK.

In popular media

In April 2008, South Bend, Indiana, radio station WZOW played the song continuously for several days on end, a stunt drawing attention to the station's format change from alternative rock to adult contemporary. The song is prominently featured in the 2025 film, You're Cordially Invited, starring Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon. Barbara Rachel mentions it in her 2025 novel Delayed Intentions.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Sampling

The song was sampled in "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)", recorded by American rapper Pras featuring Mya and Ol' Dirty Bastard.

Bee Gees' recorded version

• Barry Gibb
• Robin Gibb
• Maurice Gibb
• Barry Gibb
• Robin Gibb
• Maurice Gibb

The Bee Gees performed their version live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 14 November 1997, which was released a year later on One Night Only, with solo vocal by Barry Gibb. A studio version was recorded for their 2001 retrospective Their Greatest Hits: The Record, which has since featured on the 2004 Number Ones and on the 2010 Mythology box set. The chorus of Pras's 1998 hit "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)", which in turn is a reworking of the original Rogers and Parton release, replaces the final chorus in the studio recording. The live version of the song appears on their Love Songs compilation.

Personnel (studio version)

• Robin Gibb – vocals
• Maurice Gibb – keyboard, programming
• John Merchant – sound engineer

Personnel (live version)

• Barry Gibb – lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
• Robin Gibb – harmony and backing vocals
• Maurice Gibb – harmony and backing vocals, keyboard with
• Alan Kendall – lead guitar
• Steve Gibb – guitar
• Steve Rucker - drums
• Matt Bonelli - bass
• Ben Stivers - keyboard/synth

Comic Relief version

• Country
• comedy
• Barry Gibb
• Maurice Gibb
• Robin Gibb

On March 8, 2009, Welsh celebrities Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon, in character as Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West from the hit BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey, released a version of the song as a single for Comic Relief. Sir Tom Jones also features on the song, performing the final verse and chorus, whilst Robin Gibb appears on the single as a backing vocalist.

Re-titled "(Barry) Islands in the Stream", in reference to the Barry Island setting of Gavin & Stacey, it entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart on March 15, 2009. This meant the Gibb Brothers had achieved number one songs in five successive decades, the first songwriters to achieve this feat. It also made Tom Jones, at the age of 68, the oldest person to have a UK number one song, until the record was taken in 2020 by Captain Tom Moore for his involvement in "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the age of 99.

The video was filmed in Barry Island, Las Vegas and the Nevada desert, with both Gibb and Jones appearing in the video alongside Jones and Brydon. Nigel Lythgoe also makes a cameo appearance as a talent competition judge.

Track listing

• CD single

1. "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" – 3:56
2. "Wisemen" – 3:14
3. "Somethin' Stupid" – 2:48
4. "Islands in the Stream" (music video) – 4:21

• DVD single

1. "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" (full-length video) – 8:56
2. "(Barry) Islands in the Stream" (making of the video) – 14:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other cover versions

• Danish blues-rock singer Peter Thorup and pop singer Anne-Grete Rendtorff had great success with a version with Danish lyrics in 1984 called "Skibe uden Sejl" (Ships Without Sails). The song was used as title track for the Danish TV series Måske i morgen (Maybe Tomorrow) shown on Danish national television DR.
• Feist and Constantines released a single of the song in 2008.
• Country artists Hailey Whitters and Ernest, under the moniker Countrypolitan, covered the song in 2021.
• Jennifer Love Hewitt released a solo cover of the song from her series 9-1-1 in 2024.

References

• The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits

References

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4. Newman, Melinda. (5 January 2021). "Barry Gibb on Reuniting with Dolly Parton & Who He 'Freaked Out' Over While Recording New Country Duets Album".
5. (October 29, 2014). "Flashback: Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers Take 'Islands in the Stream' to New Heights".
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12. (May 24, 2014). "The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time".
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14. (13 July 2014). "Country Bites News snippets June 30 - July 6, 2014". Country Routes News.
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21. (November 21, 1983). "Las canciones más populares en América Latina". [[La Opinión (Los Angeles)]].
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26. Kent, David. (1993). "Australian Chart Book 1970–1992". Australian Chart Book.
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29. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart".
30. (March 29, 2023). "Dolly Parton: An Island In the Stream".
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33. (24 April 2020). "Captain Tom Moore claims Number 1 victory on the Official Chart".
34. (March 28, 2009). "European Hot 100".
35. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2009". [[UKChartsPlus]].
36. (April 16, 2008). "Constantines & Feist "Islands in the Stream"".
37. (July 30, 2021). "Hailey Whitters and Ernest Cover 'Islands in the Stream' for New Duets EP".
38. "'9-1-1' Releases Jennifer Love Hewitt's "Islands in the Stream" Cover In Honor Of Maddie And Chimney's Wedding".