Monday, August 12, 2019

Song of the Day: 'Songbird' by Barbra Streisand


Another one of my favorite pop-rock songs that never arrived at Barbra Streisand's recent MSG concert. While I remember hearing this a lot as a child, it apparently only peaked at No. 25 on the singles chart. According to Wikipedia, one theory as to why it stalled is that she recorded the theme to "The Eyes of Laura Mars," which was released as a single a few weeks after "Songbird" came out. "Prisoner (Love Theme from Eyes of Laura Mars)" -- which I featured last Thursday -- reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and may have created competition with herself for airplay and single sales. When I searched "Barbra Streisand 1978" I came across the above magazine cover with Olivia Newton-John. "Grease" had turned the successful pop singer into an even bigger star than she already was. And speaking of hit musicals, Babs included on the "Songbird" album a cover of "Tomorrow" from "Annie," which had debuted on Broadway the previous year. (I remember seeing Andrea McArdle promoting the musical on "Good Morning America" when I was 10.) "Annie" hit the road in 1978 and became a global sensation, Naturally, my chorus at Hiller Elementary tackled it, although it paled in comparison to Grace Jones's disco take!

 

Diva squared ...

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