B3

Anyone who wants to carry '70s nostalgia to a step beyond Rhino's Have a Nice Day series might look up the recordings of B3 — the trio, an *NSYNC-style ensemble, formed in New York City by actor/singer/guitarist Rod Michael, singer/dancer John Steven Sutherland, and Timothy Michael Cruz, a singer and model. They recognized their shared appreciation of the Bee Gees' music and worked up an act that encompassed the classic '70s songs of the legendary trio. Their sound was decidedly retro-disco, and was a better fit in Europe — where disco music never entirely died, and the Bee Gees also remained extremely popular — which was where the trio made their mark, despite their New York origins; indeed, their American origins only enhanced their appeal to the rest of the world, to judge by fan reaction at the time. They were signed to BGM's German division and hit number 19 on the German charts with their single of "You Win Again." That was followed by their 2002 debut LP, First, which consisted of a dozen Bee Gees songs and one original by Michael. Among the tracks on that album was the trio's version of "I.O.I.O.," which was released on a maxi-single with three different mixes and charted on its own. Since then, Michael has left the trio to be replaced by Blair Late. As of 2003, they remain exclusively a European phenomenon (their fandom concentrated among 14- and 15-year-old German girls), neither the group nor their releases appearing in most record-store databases (apart from that of Tower Records) in America.