where did the band name bee gees come from
Bee Gees
In August 1958 , the Gibb family , including older sister Lesley and infant brother Andy , emigrated to Redcliffe , just north - east of Brisbane in Queensland , Australia . The young brothers began performing to raise pocket money . They were introduced to leading Brisbane radio DJ Bill Gates by speedway promoter and driver Bill Goode , who had hired the brothers to entertain the crowd at the Redcliffe Speedway in 1960 . The crowd at the speedway would throw money onto the track for the boys , who generally performed during the interval of meetings ( usually on the back of a truck that drove around the track ) , and in a deal with Goode , any money they collected from the crowd they were allowed to keep . Gates renamed them the BG 's ( later changed to `` Bee Gees '' ) after his ( Goode 's ) and Barry Gibb 's initials -- thus the name was not specifically a reference to `` Brothers Gibb '' , despite popular belief . 
In August 1958 , the Gibb family , including older sister Lesley and infant brother Andy , emigrated to Redcliffe , just north - east of Brisbane in Queensland , Australia . The young brothers began performing to raise pocket money . They were introduced to leading Brisbane radio DJ Bill Gates by speedway promoter and driver Bill Goode , who had hired the brothers to entertain the crowd at the Redcliffe Speedway in 1960 . The crowd at the speedway would throw money onto the track for the boys , who generally performed during the interval of meetings ( usually on the back of a truck that drove around the track ) , and in a deal with Goode , any money they collected from the crowd they were allowed to keep . Gates renamed them the BG 's ( later changed to `` Bee Gees '' ) after his ( Goode 's ) and Barry Gibb 's initials -- thus the name was not specifically a reference to `` Brothers Gibb '' , despite popular belief .
The "Bee Gees" is named after the driver Bill Goode, who had hired the brothers to entertain the crowd at the Redcliffe Speedway in 1960, and Barry Gibb 's initials.
In August 1958 , the Gibb family , including older sister Lesley and infant brother Andy , emigrated to Redcliffe , just north - east of Brisbane in Queensland , Australia . They were introduced to leading Brisbane radio DJ Bill Gates by speedway promoter and driver Bill Goode , who had hired the brothers to entertain the crowd at the Redcliffe Speedway in 1960 . Gates renamed them the BG 's ( later changed to `` Bee Gees '' ) after his ( Goode 's ) and Barry Gibb 's initials -- thus the name was not specifically a reference to `` Brothers Gibb '' , despite popular belief .