Barbra Streisand, The #20 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"The greatest female singer of all-time; simply angelic."

"Her voice is not of this world.  What a gift."

"She takes us on an incredible journey.  What a joy."

"Barbra Streisand is one of the greatest vocalists ever.  Her tone, her vocal control, her vibrato, her power, her phrasing, her incredible, phenomenal voice.  She is a one of a kind."

"No one can hold a note like Barbra."

"Treasurable voice."

"She is outrageously talented."

"This is a woman in complete control of her beautiful instrument."

"This is how I imagine angels would sing to us."

"She sings with so much passion, love and such strength."

"Barbra takes me to another place.  Tears.  Goosebumps."

"Oh the sheer delight in listening to Ms. Streisand...an absolute honour.  Thank you for bringing joy to my soul and happiness to my heart."

"She stands out as one of the greatest singers of all-time."

"Barbra is magical!"

"Best voice I ever heard, range unequalled, interpretation masterful."

"She gives me chills when she sings."

"Pure perfection."

"A legendary talent."

"She is absolutely amazing."

"One of the best female artists and one of the best artists period."

"Great music causes a physical reaction.  A literal chill goes up my spine when she hits the high notes."

"She is phenomenal!"

"Greatest voice of all-time, male or female.  No one else compares."

"Simply stunning."

"She is God's gift to this earth.  There will never be another like her."

"One of the most talented human beings in history."

"She is just amazing."

"Oh my.  THAT voice!"

She is one of only a handful of artists who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.  Had she focused exclusively on music, she would likely rank much higher.  But this multi-talented superstar's main love has always been movies.

Barbara Streisand (she later dropped the second "a") was born April 24, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York.  Just a few months after Barbra's first birthday, her father died at the age of 34 after suffering an epileptic seizure.  Afterwards, her mother struggled to keep the family above poverty.    Barbara first went to the Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva of Brooklyn and then Public School 89.  

Streisand practiced singing in the hallway of her apartment building.  She performed in public for the first time at a PTA assembly, and was invited to sing at weddings, and even auditioned for MGM Records when she was just nine.  During a family trip to the Catskills in 1955, Barbara recorded a four-song demo tape with her mother, who herself sang semi-professionally at times. 

As much as she loved singing, Streisand aspired to be an actress.  She saw her first Broadway play, The Diary of Anne Frank, when she was 14.  Barbara began studying the biographies of stage actresses such as Sarah Bernhardt and Eleanora Duse and studying acting theories of Michael Chekhov and Konstantin Stanislavski.

Streisand was an honor student at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, singing in choir with Neil Diamond.  Barbara was a walk-on at the Playhouse in Malden Bridge, New York in 1957.  She soon appeared in Picnic and Desk Set.  As a senior, Streisand co-starred with Joan Rivers in the play Driftwood.

After graduation at the age of 16, Streisand moved out on her own and continued to try out for parts on stage in New York City.  While working as an usher at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, the stage version of The Sound of Music played in 1960.  Barbara auditioned for a singing role and although she did not get a part, the director encouraged her to emphasize her singing on her resume.  

With the help of Barry Dennen, Barbara recorded a tape, accompanied by a guitarist, to give to prospective employers in the future.  Dennen recollected the session to Christopher Nickens and Karen Swensen for the 2000 book The Films of Barbra Streisand: 

We spent the afternoon taping, and the moment

       I heard the first playback I went insane ... This 

      nutty little kook had one of the most breathtaking 

      voices I'd ever heard ... when she was finished

      and I turned off the machine, I needed a long 

      moment before I dared look up at her.

Dennen convinced Streisand to enter a talent contest at a club called the Lion in Greenwich Village, which she won.   She performed several more times at the club, changing her first name to Barbra during this time.  Streisand then was hired at the Bon Soir nightclub for $125 a week in 1960, opening for comedian Phyllis Diller.  Listening to records by Billie Holiday, Ethel Waters, Edith Piaf, and Mabel Mercer, Barbra broadened her singing style.

Streisand's own spontaneous humor in between songs won over audiences everywhere she went.

Streisand landed her first role on the New York Stage in Another Evening, a play in which she also sang two solos.  The play received bad reviews and closed, but her manager, Martin Erlichman, helped her get parts in Detroit and St. Louise.  Erlichman helped Barbra perform at an upscale club in Manhattan known as the Blue Angel in 1961 and 1962.
Syndicated columnist Robert Ruark had this to say after seeing her 1963 shows at the Blue Angel:

             Her name is Barbra Streisand. She is 20             years old, she has a three-octave            promiscuity of range, she packs more            personal dynamic power than anybody I            can recall since Libby Holman or Helen            Morgan.  She can sing as loud as Ethel             Merman and as persuasively as Lena or            Ella, or as brassy as a Sophie Tucker...            and only Barbra Streisand can turn "Cry            Me A River" into something comparable             to Enrico Caruso having his first bash at            Pagliacci.  When Streisand cries you a river,             you got a river, Sam... and she will be            around 50 years from now if good songs            are still written to be sung by good singers.

Director and playwright Arthur Laurents asked Streisand to audition for a new musical comedy he was directing, I Can Get It for You Wholesale, in which Barbra would co-star with Elliott Gould.  Streisand and Gould fell in love and soon moved into an apartment together.  The play opened at the Shubert Theater and both Barbra and the show itself received rave reviews.  Streisand received a Tony nomination for her performance and the show was recorded and released on an album.
While appearing and singing on The Tonight Show in April of 1961, fellow guest Phyllis Diller called her "one of the great singing talents in the world."
Later in the year, she appeared often on PM East/PM West, a talk and variety series hosted by Mike Wallace and Joyce Davidson, and starred in the play Another Evening with Harry Stoones.

In 1962, Barbra recorded the album for I Can Get It for You Wholesale with the rest of the cast at the Columbia Records Studio and also sang for the studio recording of the musical Pins and Needles.  She appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson six times in 1963 and 63, where both her amazing singing and brand of humor were popular with the television audience, and also on The Garry Moore Show.
Also that year, Streisand performed for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show, was a co-host on The Mike Douglas Show, and appeared in several specials by Bob Hope.  Piano great Liberace saw her and encouraged Barbra to come to Las Vegas, Nevada, to be his opening act at the Riviera Hotel.  
The next year while performing at Harrah's Hotel in Lake Tahoe, Streisand and Gould were married in Carson City, Nevada.  They were married until they announced their divorce on July 6, 1971.
 In 1963, Barbra released her debut The Barbra Streisand Album, which reached the Top 10 and went Gold.  She captured two Grammy Awards for her first album (Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal Performance), and she was nominated for Record of the Year for "Happy Days Are Here Again", and already was the best-selling female vocalist in the U.S.  
 Arthur Hamilton wrote this standard, first recorded by Julie London in 1955.  Here is Streisand's great version of "Cry Me A River".

  Later in the year, she released The Second Barbra Streisand Album, which reached #2 and also was certified Gold, and performed several concerts in cities in the West and Midwest of the United States.  We want to feature "Down With Love", a song written in 1937 for Kay Thompson but introduced by her replacement, Vivian Vance, for the Broadway musical Hooray for What!  Judy Garland and Bobby Darin are among the notable people to record the song.  Streisand recorded it and sang it live on The Judy Garland Show.


 In 1964, Barbra returned to Broadway as entertainer Fanny Brice in Funny Girl at the Winter Garden Theatre.  Barbra again turned heads with her performance, leading to an appearance on the cover of Time magazine. "People", from the soundtrack album, rocketed to #1 among Adults and #5 overall.   In 1966, Streisand performed the same role at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London.  

Streisand captured another Grammy for Best Female Vocal Performance, while also being nominated for Record of the Year for "People" and Album of the Year.  She was nominated for another Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her work in Funny Girl.  

Streisand released The Third Album later in 1964, a #5 effort which gave her three straight Gold albums.  Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday are among the artists to give this great song a shot.  Here is Barbra's version of "It Had To Be You".






 "My Melancholy Baby" was originally published in 1912.  It is another of Streisand's career best songs.
The album People sold over one million copies, became her first #1 album, and featured the title song that was her first career hit.
Streisand was presented the Distinguished Merit Award by Mademoiselle magazine in 1964, and selected as Miss Ziegfeld in 1965.
 In 1965, she released the albums My Name Is Barbra  and My Name Is Barbra Two, both of which rose to #2 and went Gold.  The former includes "Someone To Watch Over Me", which Gershwin biographer Deena Rosenberg called "the second in a series of great Gershwin ballads about looking for an elusive companion".





Streisand was honored for Best Female Vocal Performance for My Name is Barbra and nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys.  Peter Matz provided the arrangement for "I've Got No Strings", made famous in the Walt Disney movie Pinocchio.






 My Name Is Barbra Two achieved Platinum status (over one million units sold) and contained the #2 Adult hit "He Touched Me".







 "The Shadow Of Your Smile" is also known as "Love Theme from 'The Sandpiper'" for the movie of that name.  It captured the Grammy for Song of the Year and the Oscar for Best Original Song.  Streisand adds her touch to it here.

We're just getting started in the fabulous career of this extremely gifted performer!