An exclusive excerpt from her memoir.
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For my next album, I wanted to go back to my roots.
And that meant Broadway, where I got my start as an actress.
This is the music I love.
When I approached Columbia with my idea, Walter Yetnikoff and the other executives were apoplectic.
Nobodys interested in Broadway songs.
We want you to do pop songs.
Make another contemporary album.
Great songs will always be contemporary!
I had been with Columbia for 23 years.
I had made 23 albums (and ten soundtrack or compilation albums) for them.
And now, after five No.
It was actually kind of humiliating.
Its not whats selling nowadays.
The whole idea is too risky.
In other words, no.
That meant I could make any album I wanted.
Well, that was all the challenge I needed.
And I thought,Why not use the truth?
Hes the rare composer who is equally gifted at both words and music.
Its a rich talent … rich in substance and wit.
He understands passion and can capture it in a lyric.
His insight into human nature is profound.
Theyre also interesting to sing because the rhythm is built into the phrasing.
And as with the best melodies, it all seems inevitable.
Everything just fits and feels right.
And by the way, Id like to thank him for putting the high notes on the vowels!
Like the greatest songwriters, he knows how to write for singers.
But I had an idea, and I needed to talk to Steve.
I told him how much I loved the song and explained how it resonated with me.
Then I took a deep breath and said, So, is there any possible way …
He thought for a moment (which seemed an eternity to me) and then said, Sure.
I was so excited I almost fell off my chair.
You have to understand how remarkable that was.
Most songwriters would simply refuse to change the lyrics to a finished song.
But Steve believed, as I do, that art is a living process.
Its not set in stone.
And because it lives and breathes, it can change.
That phone call led to many more.
And that meant unraveling the rhymes and coming up with new ones.
Can you work that into the lyric?
In fact, it was one of the best collaborations Ive ever had, because were both New Yorkers.
We talk fast and we think fast, so we were speaking in shorthand half the time.
We didnt even have to finish a sentence because we already intuited what the other was going to say.
It was exhilarating to be so in tune with someone.
There were moments when I was screaming with joy over the phone.
We made a pact.
If we disagreed about something, whoever felt more passionate about it would win.
He said, How can you hear a vision?
it’s possible for you to only see it.
I said, Thats if youre thinking of a painting.
Its a musical vision.
Now I cant even remember who won.
I had to pull out the album and listen to the song.
And I say hear.
He solved it so we both won!
I basically held him captive for several days.
Steve, the new lines are fantastic.
(I began with the good news and then gingerly continued.)
I know youve already changed so much and I hate to ask, but about the ending
What?
I need a longer one … eight more rhymes.
Ill never forget the look on his face.
He said, Yesterday I gave you eight new rhymes!
I know, I know … but I think we need eight more.
The song is so exciting … its building to the climax.
People will hear me practically gasping for breath.
And just when you cant even imagine that there could be another rhyme, there is!
They just keep coming and coming, one right after another!
It would be incredible!
He walked away, shaking his head in disbelief.
I think he wanted to strangle me.
But the next day he handed me eight more rhymes, and they were brilliant.
It was an exciting day.
And, to make things even more complicated, I had come up with another idea.
(My theory is that in some cases, the Establishment wants to be the artist.
They are secretly jealous of the artists and their power to create.)
Then there was David Geffen, who had his own record company, so that was basically typecasting.
And Ken Sylk, who was the only professional actor in the bunch.
That would give each performance the kind of energy I love.
And I had to switch back and forth between talking and singing.
There are lots of words to say very rapidly, and theres no leeway.
You have to do it exactly as written, or it all falls apart.
I tried to reassure them.
Listen, its just a conversation between you and me.
Youve got the script, and if you make a mistake, dont stop.
They still looked scared.
I said, Relax.
Just play with me.
This will be fun!
We went through the lines one more time, and I thought we were ready to do a take.
Peter cued the orchestra, and we were off … like runners at the starting line.
Amazingly we got through the first segment and then everything paused for a moment.
Now the pressure was on me.
I looked at Peter and said, Im ready.
The orchestra started up, and somehow I managed to do the whole thing in one take!
I felt as if I had just run a marathon.
And I was so happy that we got that performance on film and on tape.
In the recording studio, just like on a film set, my first take is often the best.
But the guys forgot to come in on some lines.
I looked at them and said, Vat happened, my darlinks?
We started listening to you singing!
I could always fix the guys, but I couldnt easily replicate that first performance.
And then something happened that had never happened before, or since.
I was told it no longer existed.
I think I lost my breath.
I had to sit down.
In my entire career no one had ever erased a vocal track without asking.
You dont do that toanyperformer.
How could this have happened?
1: Never assume.
One last thing about the special.
And David responds, Whwhwhat do you meanwe?
I had tobegher to make this album!
And then you hear the last three notes from the orchestra, for a rousing finish.
rewriting history and claiming credit for the idea he initially dismissed!
By the way, the album went to No.
1 on the charts and became a huge success.
(Ive been told it has sold 7 and a half million copies worldwide.)
Point is, it definitely qualified for my contract!
Copyright 2023 by Barbra Streisand.
