Showing posts with label Barbra Streisand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barbra Streisand. Show all posts

Thursday, October 31, 2024

Book Review: My Name Is Barbra


Barbra Streisand is by any account a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment. She is among the handful of EGOT winners (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) and has one of the greatest and most recognizable voices in popular music. She has been nominated for a Grammy 46 times, and with Yentl she became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major motion picture.

In My Name Is Barbra, she tells her own story about her life and extraordinary career, from growing up in Brooklyn to her first star-making appearances in New York nightclubs to her breakout performance in Funny Girl (musical and film) to the long string of successes in every medium in the years that followed. The book is, like Barbra herself, frank, funny, opinionated, and charming. She recounts her early struggles to become an actress, eventually turning to singing to earn a living; the recording of some of her acclaimed albums; the years of effort involved in making Yentl; her direction of The Prince of Tides; her friendships with figures ranging from Marlon Brando to Madeleine Albright; her political advocacy; and the fulfillment she’s found in her marriage to James Brolin.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Barbra Streisand - Guilty (35th anniversary)


Today (September 23rd) marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Guilty, the twenty-second studio album from the legendary Barbra Steisand. The album hit number 1 all over the world, including on the US Billboard Album chart. It spent forty-nine weeks on the US Billboard Album chart as well.

For further details on this one, click here.

For more from Barbra, click here.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Barbra Streisand - Emotion

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of Emotion, the twenty-third studio album from Barbra Streisand. The Platinum seller spent twenty-eight weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 19. It also reached number 44 in Canada, number 40 in Germany, number 25 in New Zealand, number 23 in Sweden, number 17 in Switzerland, number 15 in the UK, number 13 in Australia, Austria and Norway, and number 11 in the Netherlands.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The Main Event (soundtrack) (35th anniversary)


Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

This month marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of The Main Event. It started Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, and it was one of the top grossing films of 1979.

Click here for my full review of the soundtrack album, which spent eighteen weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 20.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Yentl (soundtrack)

Today (November 8th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of the soundtrack for Yentl. The romantic drama film, which opened in limited release on November 18th of 1983 and full release on January 6th of 1984, starred Barbra Streisand as a Jewish girl who dresses like a man in order to get an education in Talmudic Law after her father dies and eventually finds herself in the middle of relationship between a fellow student and his fiancée. Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving play those last two characters..

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Barbra Streisand - Guilty


Happy seventy-first birthday today (April 24th) to singer, actress, writer, producer, director Barbra Joan Streisand. Over her career, to date, she has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, five Emmy Awards, a Tony Award and a Peabody Award.

Today we will look at one of my favorite albums by this American musical legend, September of 1980’s Guilty.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Main Event (soundtrack)


Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

This coming Tuesday (April 24th) marks the seventieth birthday of American singer, actress, producer, director and writer Barbra Streisand.

In the June of 1979, Streisand starred along with Ryan O'Neal in a film that divided the movie-going audiences. Critics hated it yet the audiences made it a box-office blockbuster by putting it in the Top 20 grossing movies of 1979. It is the story of a perfume manufacturer (Streisand) who finds out her accountant has left her penniless. One of the few assets she has left is a boxer (O'Neal) who she devotes all of her time, attention and business savvy to turn into a success. Along the way, feelings develop and complicate matters. The film was, of course, The Main Event.