Get out your boogie shoes: Bee Gees Gold playing Rockin' on the River

Just as the Bee Gees famously sang "You Should Be Dancing," John Acosta learned a decade ago he should be singing the platinum-selling band's disco catalog to audiences everywhere. "I was spotted doing an Italian Easter brunch at a fancy little place in Toronto with a female accompanying me," said Acosta, calling from his Las Vegas studio. "When you're doing that stuff, I would always throw in some Bee Gees and Beatles, obviously. "So someone came up to me that day and said, 'Wow. You know how you sound like and kind of look like?' In the end, they were looking for a new Barry Gibb. I said, 'Is that a job title because it sounds kind of vague.'" It turns out that was the exact job title and offer the '90s pop music songwriter/producer, who flirted with fame for decades, needed entering the next chapter of his musical career as the lead singer of national-touring tribute act Bee Gees Gold. The act makes its Rockin' on the River debut July 29 at the Lorain Port Authority Black River Landing. Ironically, Acosta's story mirrors that of Gibb, told fabulously in the 2020 documentary "The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." "I was transforming my career as a songwriter/producer, as we all do," he said. "The times were changing, I got older. "And Barry Gibb and the brothers had to adapt to the times just like I did in my day. They were chameleons. You could pinpoint them in the '60s when they had that Beatles sound. Then in the '70s, they had to change it all up. They invented their own era. It was called disco but it was really R&B." When it comes to performing the Bee Gees' platinum "Saturday Night Fever"-era catalog ("You Should be Dancing," "How Deep is Your Love," "More Than a Woman," "Night Fever" and "Stayin' Alive"), it all comes down to Gibb's falsetto. Either you have it or you don't. Luckily for Acosta, his youth was spent singing along to The Beatles and the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack. Little did he know the latter would come in handy decades later. "Barry is a monster, one of the more unique voices," he said. "It's a different falsetto from the rest of the clan that came before him, including Frankie Valli or even The Stylistics. "Barry basically took the influence of Black music at that time in the late '70s. He kind of made that falsetto his own thing, a blue-eyed soul version. That's something I based myself on because it's in the highest registers and it comes down to my white tight pants." Dressed perfectly as Gibb, Acosta — along with Bee Gees Gold — performs more than 60 dates annually to audiences looking to relive the disco era or wishing they were around to enjoy the moment. "I'm 55 years old, so I play to the generation — my generation — that didn't get to see them," he said. "These are the cats that represent that white suit or funky-looking outfits of the '70s. I play it to my generation that we never got a chance. "Of course, there's the generation before us that really did see them and they're a huge fanbase of ours because they remember the great times, whereas we lived it out through the movie." No matter the age of folks planning to attend the upcoming Rockin' on the River show, it goes without saying they should expect to be dancing. "This is an escape to 1977," Acosta said. "I say that right at the top of the show. So, yeah, they better bring their boogie shoes." Contact John Benson at ndiffrence@att.net. IF YOU GOWHAT: Rockin' on the River presents Bee Gees Gold with Dancing Queen, An ABBA Salute and special guest The Michael Weber Show WHEN: 6:15 p.m. July 29WHERE: Lorain Port Authority Black River Landing, 421 Black River Lane, LorainTICKETS: $15 in advance/$20 day of the showINFO: rockinontheriver.com