(CNN) -- Robin Gibb, one of three brothers who made up the disco group the Bee Gees behind "Saturday Night Fever" and other now-iconic sounds from the 1970s, died on Sunday, according to a statement on his website.
He was 62.
Gibb "passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," said the statement, which was attributed to his family. He died in England at 10:47 a.m. (5:47 a.m. ET), according to a post on his official Twitter feed.
News of his death set off a torrent of reaction in social media. Musician Bryan Adams, for instance, lamented "another great singer dying too young" on Twitter, while fellow British band Duran Duran and current pop sensation Bruno Mars were among many who posted their condolences.
"The Bee Gees were/are the gold standard when it comes to pop/r&b melody, harmony and vocal arrangement. Massive loss," wrote prolific pop songwriter Claude Kelly on his Twitter feed.
Diagnosed with colon and liver cancer, Gibb had been in a coma as he battled pneumonia earlier this spring, representative Doug Wright said.
Doctors believe that Gibb had a secondary tumor, Wright said April 14, confirming a news account in the UK newspaper The Sun. Gibb had emergency surgery in 2010 for a blocked bowel and then had more surgery for a twisted bowel, Wright confirmed.
The only surviving member of the three Bee Gees is brother Barry, 65.
Robin's twin brother, Maurice, died in 2003 from a twisted bowel. And younger brother Andy Gibb -- who was not part of the group -- died at 30 from a heart infection.
Robin Gibb's death followed by just three days the loss of another major star of the 1970s disco era -- Donna Summer, who died Thursday of lung cancer at age 63.
"First Donna Summer passes and now another 70s icon, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees passes," actress Marlee Matlin tweeted Sunday.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/20/showbiz/robin-gibb-dies/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
He was 62.
Gibb "passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," said the statement, which was attributed to his family. He died in England at 10:47 a.m. (5:47 a.m. ET), according to a post on his official Twitter feed.
News of his death set off a torrent of reaction in social media. Musician Bryan Adams, for instance, lamented "another great singer dying too young" on Twitter, while fellow British band Duran Duran and current pop sensation Bruno Mars were among many who posted their condolences.
"The Bee Gees were/are the gold standard when it comes to pop/r&b melody, harmony and vocal arrangement. Massive loss," wrote prolific pop songwriter Claude Kelly on his Twitter feed.
Diagnosed with colon and liver cancer, Gibb had been in a coma as he battled pneumonia earlier this spring, representative Doug Wright said.
Doctors believe that Gibb had a secondary tumor, Wright said April 14, confirming a news account in the UK newspaper The Sun. Gibb had emergency surgery in 2010 for a blocked bowel and then had more surgery for a twisted bowel, Wright confirmed.
The only surviving member of the three Bee Gees is brother Barry, 65.
Robin's twin brother, Maurice, died in 2003 from a twisted bowel. And younger brother Andy Gibb -- who was not part of the group -- died at 30 from a heart infection.
Robin Gibb's death followed by just three days the loss of another major star of the 1970s disco era -- Donna Summer, who died Thursday of lung cancer at age 63.
"First Donna Summer passes and now another 70s icon, Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees passes," actress Marlee Matlin tweeted Sunday.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/20/showbiz/robin-gibb-dies/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
