Editing Maurice Gibb (section)

== 1949–1958: early years and the Rattlesnakes ==
{{further|The Rattlesnakes (1955 band)}}
[[File:The birth of Maurice & Robin Gibb.png|thumb|left|Record of the birth of Maurice & Robin Gibb (''Isle of Man Examiner, 23 December 1949)'']]
Maurice Ernest Gibb was born in [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]], Isle of Man,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Story About the Bee Gees / Part 1: 1940–1950 |url=http://www.brothersgibb.org/history-part-1.html |publisher=BrothersGibb.org |access-date=17 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117155219/http://www.brothersgibb.org/history-part-1.html |archive-date=17 January 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref> on 22 December 1949, the son of [[Hugh Gibb]], a drummer, and his wife Barbara (''[[née]]'' Pass). He was the [[fraternal twin]] of [[Robin Gibb]], and was the younger of the two by 35 minutes. At that time, he had one sister, Lesley, and one additional brother, [[Barry Gibb|Barry]] (another brother, [[Andy Gibb|Andy]], would be born in 1958).

In January 1955, the Gibb family moved back to their hometown in [[Manchester]], England. Around that time, Gibb and his brothers were heard harmonising by their parents. Also in 1955, he started his music career when he joined the skiffle/rock-and-roll group [[The Rattlesnakes (1950s band)|the Rattlesnakes]] with his brothers and two friends, Paul Frost and Kenny Horrocks, who were their neighbours. The group's first major appearance was on 28 December 1957 when they performed at a local Gaumont cinema where children were invited to sing between films. They had planned to sing along to a 78 rpm record which Lesley had just been given as a Christmas present, but on the way Gibb dropped and broke it, so they sang live. The audience were pleased by their singing, which may have been the song "[[Wake Up Little Susie]]" by [[the Everly Brothers]].<ref name="around">{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Andrew |title=The Bee Gees – Tales of the Brothers Gibb |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KugbDQHX0R8C&q=i%27ll+kiss+your+memory+bee+gees&pg=PT571 |year=2009 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=9780857120045 |access-date=7 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brennan |first=Joseph |url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/62.html |title=Gibb Songs:1946–1962 |access-date=11 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203140217/http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beegees/62.html |archive-date=3 February 2023 |url-status=live }}</ref>