The Barbra Streisand Album

Last updated
The Barbra Streisand Album
The-barbra-streisand-album.jpg
Studio album by
Barbra Streisand
ReleasedFebruary 25, 1963
RecordedJanuary 23–25, 1963
Studio Columbia 7th Ave, New York City
Genre Classic pop
Length32:52
Label Columbia
Producer Mike Berniker
Barbra Streisand chronology
The Barbra Streisand Album
(1963)		 The Second Barbra Streisand Album
(1963)
Singles from The Barbra Streisand Album
  1. "Happy Days Are Here Again"
    Released: November 1962

The Barbra Streisand Album is the debut album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released February 25, 1963, on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 2007 in mono and CS 8807 in stereo. It peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Top LPs , and has been certified a gold album by the RIAA. By 1966, the album had sold over one million copies worldwide.

Contents

The album was nominated for five Grammys at the 1963 Grammy Awards and won Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal Performance. [1] The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2006. [2]

Background

Columbia label president Goddard Lieberson initially resisted signing Streisand to a contract, finding her style too close to the cabaret singers he disliked and too far from the understated approach of Jo Stafford or Rosemary Clooney, who recorded for the label in the 1950s. [3] Lieberson relented and agreed to sign her. Nearly three decades later Streisand said:

The most important thing about that first contract – actually, the thing we held out for – was a unique clause giving me the right to choose my own material. It was the only thing I really cared about. I still received lots of pressure from the label to include some pop hits on my first album, but I held out for the songs that really meant something to me. [4] [5]

Streisand exercised her creative control and chose the straightforward album title, rejecting Columbia's choice of Sweet and Saucy Streisand. [6] Streisand said, "'What is the truth of it? It's the Barbra Streisand album.' If you saw me on TV, you could just go [to the record shop] and ask for the Barbra Streisand album. It's common sense." [5] Despite Lieberson's initial reservations, Streisand went on to become one of Columbia's most enduring artists.

The album was originally conceived as a live recording, since Streisand had made a name for herself performing at New York City nightclubs such as the Bon Soir and the Blue Angel. Her producer Mike Berniker brought a crew to the Bon Soir to record Streisand accompanied by the nightclub's house musicians and her pianist, Peter Daniels. [7] The live recordings were shelved in favor of studio recordings, although the photograph for the album cover was taken during the Bon Soir session.[ citation needed ] Some material from the Bon Soir sets would later appear on Streisand's Just for the Record... retrospective box set in 1991; and, coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of those sessions, the full recordings were released as Live at the Bon Soir in 2022. [8]

Recording

Recording studio sessions took place January 23–25, 1963, at Columbia's Studio A in New York City with a budget of $18,000. Material was mostly chosen from Broadway standards, many of which were fairly obscure. [7] "I'll Tell the Man in the Street" was originally performed by Dennis King in the 1938 production of I Married An Angel , and "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" was taken from the 1933 Disney cartoon Three Little Pigs . Streisand's rendition of the Disney song began with the quoting of the first 11 notes from the "Cat Theme" from Russian composer Serge Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf", which did result in a lawsuit against Columbia Records, from Prokofiev's estates, which was settled out of court, with Prokofiev's widow receiving half of the proceeds for the unapproved quote. The Disney song ended on a Spike Jones style of rhythm and slide whistles, heard at the end of the track, before the song's fade. Not one of Cole Porter's well-known numbers, "Come to the Supermarket (in Old Peking)" appeared in a 1958 television special with music by Cole Porter, while "A Sleepin' Bee" came from the 1954 musical House of Flowers .

"Soon It's Gonna Rain" and "Much More" were both introduced in the 1960 off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks , and the 1930 film Chasing Rainbows provided "Happy Days Are Here Again". "Cry Me A River" was a signature song of singer Julie London, while "A Taste of Honey" was coincidentally recorded less than three weeks later by the Beatles for their 1963 debut album, Please Please Me .

"Happy Days Are Here Again" was released as Columbia single 42631 with "When the Sun Comes Out" on the b-side, but it did not chart. [9] Notwithstanding, at the 1964 Grammy Awards, The Barbra Streisand Album won awards in the categories of Album of the Year, Best Female Vocal Performance, and Best Album Cover - Other Than Classical, the latter presented to art director John Berg. [10]

The only song recorded but not included on this album was "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered which Streisand and Mike Berniker recorded on two separate dates (including a later session on January 29). The song was included instead on Streisand's The Third Album using a Peter Daniels arrangement. [11]

Streisand chose Century Expanded Italic, the typeface for the album sleeve of her debut album, which would also be used on 19 other Streisand album covers. [11]

The album made its digital debut on CD in 1987 and was re-released in a remastered CD edition on October 19, 1993.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [12]

AllMusic gave the album a retrospective five (out of five) stars, and called it "an essential recording in the field of pop vocals because it redefines that genre in contemporary terms," and "the first thing that strikes you listening to it, is that great voice. And it isn't just the sheer quality of the voice, its purity and its strength throughout its register, it's also the mastery of vocal effects that produce dramatic readings of the lyrics -- each song is like a one-act musical."

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cry Me a River" Arthur Hamilton 3:37
2."My Honey's Lovin' Arms"
2:14
3."I'll Tell the Man in the Street"
3:09
4."A Taste of Honey"
2:51
5."Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"
2:35
6."Soon It's Gonna Rain"
3:44
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Happy Days Are Here Again"
3:04
2."Keepin' Out of Mischief Now"
2:11
3."Much More"
  • Tom Jones
  • Harvey Schmidt
3:02
4."Come to the Supermarket in Old Peking" Cole Porter 1:56
5."A Sleepin' Bee"
4:21

Personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales

‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd›

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [19] Gold500,000^
Summaries
Worldwide—1,000,000 [20]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbra Streisand</span> American singer and actress (born 1942)

Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being among the first performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Taste of Honey (song)</span> Pop standard by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow

"A Taste of Honey" is a pop standard written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow. It was originally an instrumental track written for the 1960 Broadway version of the 1958 British play A Taste of Honey which was also made into the film of the same name in 1961. The original and a later recording by Herb Alpert in 1965 earned the song four Grammy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People (Barbra Streisand song)</span> 1964 single by Barbra Streisand

"People" is a song composed by Jule Styne with lyrics by Bob Merrill for the 1964 Broadway musical Funny Girl starring Barbra Streisand, who introduced the song. The song was released as a single in 1964 with "I Am Woman", a solo version of "You Are Woman, I Am Man", also from Funny Girl.

<i>Guilty</i> (Barbra Streisand album) 1980 studio album by Barbra Streisand

Guilty is the twenty-second studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand released on September 23, 1980, by Columbia Records. It was produced by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees and his group's regular production team of Albhy Galuten and Karl Richardson.

<i>The Second Barbra Streisand Album</i> 1963 studio album by Barbra Streisand

The Second Barbra Streisand Album is the title of Barbra Streisand's second solo studio album. It was released in August 1963, just six months after the release of her debut album, The Barbra Streisand Album, and was recorded in four days in June 1963.

<i>People</i> (Barbra Streisand album) 1964 studio album by Barbra Streisand

People is Barbra Streisand's fourth solo studio album, released in September 1964. The title track was a newly recorded version of the hit song from the Broadway musical Funny Girl in which Streisand starred.

<i>My Name Is Barbra</i> 1965 studio album by Barbra Streisand

My Name Is Barbra is the first of two studio album tie-ins by Barbra Streisand for her debut television special of the same name, which aired April 28, 1965, on CBS-TV. Boosted by the critical acclaim for the broadcast, the album was certified gold and peaked at #2 on the US charts; by 1966, the album sold over one million copies worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbra Streisand discography</span>

Barbra Streisand is an American actress and singer. Her discography consists of 118 singles, 36 studio albums, 12 compilations, 11 live albums, and 15 soundtracks. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Streisand is the second-best-selling female album artist in the United States with 68.5 million certified albums in the country, and a career total ranging from 150 to 200 million making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Don't Bring Me Flowers</span> 1978 single by Barbra & Neil

"You Don't Bring Me Flowers" is a song written by Neil Diamond with Alan and Marilyn Bergman for the daily TV sitcom All That Glitters. The song was intended to be the theme song, but Norman Lear, the show's creator, changed the concept of the show and the song was no longer appropriate. Diamond then expanded the track from 45 seconds to 3:17, adding instrumental sections and an additional verse. The Bergmans contributed to the song's lyrics, which tell the story of two lovers who have drifted apart while they "go through the motions" and heartache of life together.

<i>Wet</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Barbra Streisand

Wet is the twenty-first studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released in 1979. It is a concept album of sorts with all the songs referring to, or expressing different interpretations of, water. Wet is also the first and the last word sung on the album.

<i>Barbra Streisands Greatest Hits</i> 1970 greatest hits album by Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits album recorded by American vocalist Barbra Streisand. It was released in January 1970, by Columbia Records. The record is a compilation consisting of 11 commercially successful singles from the singer's releases in the 1960s, with a majority of them being cover songs. The songs on Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits originally appeared on one of the singer's eight previous albums and span in release from 1963 to 1968. It contains her most commercially successful tracks, including her first Billboard Hot 100 top ten single "People" and top 40 entry "Second Hand Rose". The album was distributed on compact disc in 1986 and rereleased under the title The Hits in 2006.

"Lover, Come Back to Me" is a popular song composed by Sigmund Romberg with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II for the Broadway show The New Moon, where the song was introduced by Evelyn Herbert and Robert Halliday. The song was published in 1928.

<i>The Broadway Album</i> 1985 studio album by Barbra Streisand

The Broadway Album is the twenty-fourth studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released by Columbia Records on November 4, 1985. Consisting mainly of classic show tunes, the album marked a major shift in Streisand's career. She had spent ten years appearing in musicals and singing standards on her albums in the 1960s. Beginning with the album Stoney End in 1971 and ending with the album Emotion in 1984, Streisand sang mostly rock, pop, folk, and disco-oriented songs for Columbia records. Noted Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim personally penned additional lyrics for the songs "Putting It Together" and "Send in the Clowns" on request of the singer. The album, originally released on the Columbia label and subsequently re-released by Columbia and Sony Records, was a critical and commercial success. First certified gold by the RIAA on January 13, 1986, it reached four times platinum on January 31, 1995.

<i>The Way We Were</i> (Barbra Streisand album) 1974 studio album by Barbra Streisand

The Way We Were is the fifteenth studio album recorded by American singer Barbra Streisand. The album was released in January 1974, preceded by the commercial success of its lead single "The Way We Were" first released in September 1973.

Michael Berniker was an American record producer who was recognized with nine Grammy Awards over the course of his career for his work on albums with such performers as Perry Como, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Johnny Mathis and Barbra Streisand, as well as Broadway theatre cast recordings, Latin jazz, classical, spoken word and comedy albums in a career that lasted some forty years for labels including Columbia Records and RCA Records.

<i>I Can Get It for You Wholesale</i> (album) 1962 cast recording by various artists

I Can Get It for You Wholesale: Original Broadway Cast Recording contains the songs from the Broadway musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale, with music and lyrics by Harold Rome. The album contains Barbra Streisand's show-stopping solo "Miss Marmelstein", which became the most memorable song of the show.

"My Coloring Book" is a song written by Fred Ebb and John Kander. First performed by Sandy Stewart in 1962 on the television program The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall, she was one of the first artists to record the work in 1962 when it was released as a single. She also included the song on her 1963 album which was also named My Coloring Book. Stewart's single charted in the top 20, and so did another 1962 single version of the song recorded by Kitty Kallen. Stewart's recording of the song was nominated for the 1963 Grammy Award for Best Solo Vocal Performance, Female and Kander and Ebb were nominated for the 1963 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Barbra Streisand also recorded the song as a single in 1962, but it was a financial flop. She made a different recording of the work on her 1963 album, The Second Barbra Streisand Album, which was a critical success and has enjoyed enduring popularity. Many other artists have recorded and performed the song in succeeding decades, most recently Kristin Chenoweth in 2014. While not originally written for one of their musicals, the song was included in the Off-Broadway musical revue And the World Goes ‘Round: The Songs of Kander and Ebb in 1991.

<i>Just for the Record...</i> 1991 compilation album by Barbra Streisand

Just for the Record... is a box set by American singer Barbra Streisand. It was released by Columbia Records on September 24, 1991. Streisand and her manager, Martin Erlichman, were credited as the album's executive producers. Just for the Record... includes a variety of performances throughout Streisand's career, including a song taken from her first studio recording session in 1955: a cover of "You'll Never Know". Other tracks were compiled from various live performances, TV specials, and previous albums from her back catalog.

<i>Funny Girl (Original Broadway Cast Recording)</i> 1964 cast recording by Barbra Streisand / various artists

Funny Girl is the original Broadway cast recording of the musical of the same name, starring Barbra Streisand. The Funny Girl cast album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in June 1964, selling 250,000 copies by the following month. The recording went on to beat Fiddler on the Roof and Hello, Dolly! to win the Grammy for Best Original Cast Show Album.

<i>Live at the Bon Soir</i> 2022 live album by Barbra Streisand

Live at the Bon Soir is the tenth live album by American singer Barbra Streisand. Originally intended as her debut album, the material was recorded over three nights in November 1962 shortly after Streisand was signed by Columbia Records. Retrieved from Streisand's archives and remastered, the live recordings were released November 4, 2022, to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of the original tapings.

References

  1. ↑ "1963 Grammy Awards – 6th Annual Grammy Awards". Grammys . Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Grammy Hall of Fame Award". Grammys . Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  3. ↑ Gary Mamorstein. The Label: The Story of Columbia Records. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2007. p. 321.
  4. ↑ Barbra Streisand. Just for the Record... Columbia C4K 44111, 1991, liner notes.
  5. 1 2 Savage, Mark (4 August 2021). "Barbra Streisand: 'I've always had the right to sing what I want'". BBC News.
  6. ↑ Mann, William J. (2012). Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p.  306. ISBN   978-0-547-36892-4.
  7. 1 2 Mamorstein, p. 322.
  8. ↑ Blistein, Jon (Sep 23, 2022). "Barbra Streisand Unearths 'Live at Bon Soir' Nightclub Recordings That Were Supposed to Be Her First Album". Rolling Stone .
  9. ↑ Barbra Archives website retrieved 10/02/11 Archived 2011-01-01 at the Wayback Machine The November release date for the single as stated in most histories conflicts with January recording sessions for the album of two months later, unless this track was recorded for single release earlier, or derived from the rejected club recordings.
  10. ↑ "Past Winners Search".
  11. 1 2 "Barbra Streisand Archives - 1963 The Barbra Streisand Album - LP, CD".
  12. ↑ AllMusic review
  13. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  14. ↑ "Barbra Streisand Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Who's Who in the World of Music" (PDF). Billboard. December 28, 1963. p. 36. Retrieved January 18, 2023– via World Radio History.
  16. ↑ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1963". Archived from the original on October 10, 2012.. Cash Box magazine .
  17. ↑ "The Billboard 200: 1964". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  18. ↑ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1964". Archived from the original on August 26, 2012.. Cash Box magazine .
  19. ↑ "American album certifications – Barbra Streisand – The Barbra Streisand Album". Recording Industry Association of America.
  20. ↑ Lurie, Diana (18 March 1966). "Stricken with phenomenal success at 23, Barbra Streisand is more ridden than ever by self-doubts and fears". Life . Time Inc. pp. 93–. ISSN   0024-3019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.