Oliver Sipple

Oliver Wellington "Billy" Sipple (November 20, 1941 – February 2, 1989) was a decorated US Marine and Vietnam War veteran.

On September 22, 1975 he saved the life of US President Gerald Ford during an assassination attempt by Sara Jane Moore in San Francisco. The subsequent public revelation that Sipple was gay turned the news story into a cause célèbre for LGBT rights activists.

Early life

Oliver Wellington Sipple was born in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the United States Marine Corps and fought in Vietnam. Shrapnel wounds suffered in December 1968 caused him to finish out his tour of duty in a Philadelphia veterans hospital, from which he was released in March 1970. Sipple, who was closeted in his hometown of Detroit had met Harvey Milk back in New York and had participated in San Francisco's gay pride parades and gay rights demonstrations. Sipple was active in local causes, including the historic political campaigns of openly gay City Council candidate Milk. The two were friends and Sipple would also be later described as a "prominent figure" in the gay community who had worked in a gay bar and was active in the Imperial Court System.

Shine, Shine

"Shine, Shine" is a song recorded and released by Barry Gibb. The first single from his debut solo album Now Voyager, it proved to be another hit single for Gibb, as he had previously released the US Top 10 singles "Guilty" and "What Kind of Fool," on both of which he had collaborated with Barbra Streisand. "Shine, Shine," however, was his first entirely solo hit single.

Background

The selection was written and composed by Gibb, his brother Maurice before the latter's death, and George Bitzer. The song has a fast percussion beat and a relatively straight melody line. Though the date, in 1984, of its recording in Middle Ear Studios was undocumented as of late April of 2015, it employed string arrangements which were added later in Ocean Way Studios, Los Angeles. Gibb also sings background and harmony vocals and played acoustic guitar on this track.

As its music video implies, the selection's lyrics are about a man who is watching a woman he loves marry someone else.

Release and reception