Слишком много рая: История хита Bee Gees

1978 single by Bee Gees

"Too Much Heaven" is a song by the Bee Gees, which was the band's contribution to the "Music for UNICEF" fund. They performed it at the Music for UNICEF Concert on 9 January 1979. The song later found its way to the group's thirteenth original album, Spirits Having Flown. It hit No. 1 in both the US and Canada. In the United States, the song was the first single out of three from the album to interrupt a song's stay at #1. "Too Much Heaven" knocked "Le Freak" off the top spot for two weeks before "Le Freak" returned to #1 again. "Too Much Heaven" also rose to the top three in the UK. In the US, it would become the fourth of six consecutive No. 1s, equalling the record set by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles for the most consecutive No. 1 songs. The six Bee Gee songs are "How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive", "Night Fever", "Too Much Heaven", "Tragedy" and "Love You Inside Out". The songs spanned the years of 1977, 1978 and 1979. Robin Gibb reportedly said on the Bee Gees' interview for Billboard in 2001 that this track was one of his favourite songs of the Bee Gees.

Cash Box said it is "gentle and silky with the famous falsettos rising upwards." Record World called it a "flowing ballad, with [the Bee Gees'] trademark falsettos and a light touch." Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys spoke positively of the song, stating, "I was really loved and impressed with the harmonies they achieved on that record. I'm very very proud of those guys; they're exceptionally good at harmony. They’re a very heavy duty harmony group."

In 1997, Nana covered the hit for his album Father. Compared to the original, this version is increasingly listening to rap passages while retaining much of the original's lyrics. Nana is responsible for the rap, while Van der Toorn sings the lyrics and chorus of the original. In German speaking countries, this cover version was a top ten success. In Germany, this version was also awarded with Gold.

The music video plays both in a sky setting and in a detached house. In a family home, the coexistence of a large family is the focus. In parallel, Nana mimics the song in the sky and beamed to the extended family. In the course of the video, the parents argue in the video, but find themselves together again in the end.

In 1979, the Cantonese singer Alan Tam covered and released it as 唱一首好歌 ("Sing A Good Song"). Hip hop boy band US5 released a cover of "Too Much Heaven" in 2007 as a duet with Robin Gibb. "Too Much Heaven" was their first single with new member Vincent. Norwegian pop duo M2M used the chorus from "Too Much Heaven" in the chorus of their own song "Our Song" which appears on their debut album Shades of Purple. British soul singer Beverley Knight released a cover version of "Too Much Heaven" in 2009 on her album 100%. Knight's version featured backing vocals at the request of Robin Gibb, as they had previously collaborated on the song live. Paul McCartney recorded this song in December 2004 in Sussex as a tribute to Maurice Gibb but it was not released. American gospel recording group Winans Phase 2, released a cover of "Too Much Heaven" on their 2000 album, We Got Next. In 1999, South Korean singer, 조관우 (Joe Kwan Woo) covered the song on his album Special 99 Edition. American R&B singer songwriter Criss Starr released a cover version of "Too Much Heaven" for his Yours 4Ever CD in 2013. British comedian Tim Vine occasionally closes his shows by performing a comedic version of the song. Barry Gibb re recorded the song with Alison Krauss as part of his 2021 album Greenfields.