In 1985, The Bee Gees Gave This Song To Diana Ross — And It Topped Charts Around The World

While it wasn't anything close to a hit in the United States, Diana Ross's 1985 single "Chain Reaction" was a global sensation; it was also written by the Bee Gees, who were lying low after their 1970s dominance had come and gone. One false thing commonly believed about the Bee Gees is that the group was just a disco band, and when that genre went passé, they disappeared. Instead, they moved behind the scenes, writing and producing songs for other superstars. Just after the Bee Gees penned Kenny Rogers' defining duet, "Islands in the Stream," the trio consisting of brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb recorded "Chain Reaction," a lively dance song inspired by 1960s Motown-style R&B made by groups like the Supremes. Their version wasn't released, and they logically offered "Chain Reaction" to Diana Ross, who had left the Supremes and become a mega-star.

As the Bee Gees were in a bit of a slump, so too was Ross. But "Chain Reaction" restored her greatness in the eyes of fans around the world — but not so much in the U.S. Here's how a Bee Gees castoff became one of Diana Ross's signature songs and biggest worldwide smashes.

The Bee Gees collectively wrote 1985's "Chain Reaction" and recorded it, aiming to capture the classic Motown Records sound (through synthesizers). However, the Gibb brothers didn't release the track. After the death of disco in the 1970s, the Bee Gees struggled to be taken seriously and to get their singles back to the top of the pop charts, as they had with their tracks from the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack. Instead, the band opted to act on a lesson learned by composing a 1983 No. 1 hit for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. 

"When we did 'Islands In The Stream,' it was our way of getting other people to hear our songs," Barry Gibb told Classic Pop. "Because if we sang it, it wouldn't have got on the radio, and I wanted the songs to succeed no matter who was singing them." And so, the Bee Gees gave the Supremes-esque "Chain Reaction" to ex-Supremes Diana Ross.

In the U.S., "Chain Reaction" flopped. Released in November 1985, it only reached No. 66 on the pop chart and No. 85 on the R&B side. But outside of the U.S., "Chain Reaction" was massive. It's one of Ross's two career No. 1 hits in the U.K., spending three weeks at the top in early 1986. The single also went to No. 1 in Ireland and Australia, where it was the best-selling song of 1986.