Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits

Performer: Barbra Streisand
Engineer: Frank Laico; Stan Weiss
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel includes: Barbra Streisand (vocals); Peter Matz, Michel Legrand, Don Costa (conductor). Producers: Mike Berniker, Robert Merdey, Ettore Stratta, Jack Gold, Warren Vincent. At a time when Barbra Streisand's career was in decline, what turned out to be only her first greatest-hits album seemed to serve as both a summing up and a kiss-off of her 1960s recordings. Streisand was not primarily a singles artist; between 1964 and 1969, she enjoyed nine chart singles, of which only one, "People," made the Top Ten, with only one other, "Second Hand Rose," reaching the Top 40. But in that time, she scored seven gold-selling, Top Ten albums. This hits collection contained seven of her chart singles, plus her non-charting early single "My Coloring Book," "Happy Days Are Here Again," which was one of the highlights of her debut album (heard here in the live version from A Happening in Central Park), and "Don't Rain on My Parade" from the Funny Girl soundtrack. For casual fans, that made for a good sampling of Streisand's most prominent '60s work, and if at the time it seemed likely that this was all the hits there would be, instead the '60s proved to be only the first chapter in Streisand's career. ~ William Ruhlmann Barbra Streisand made her first album for Columbia Records in 1962. Two weeks of its release, Streisand was the top-selling female vocalist in the USA. Another strong album, her appearance on Broadway in Funny Girl and two Grammy Awards followed, for Best Album and Best Female Vocalist (for 'Happy Days Are Here Again'). During the mid-60s she starred in a succession of popular and award-winning television spectaculars. Albums of the music from these shows were big-sellers. Her second Hollywood film, Hello, Dolly! (1969) was another success. During the 70s Streisand continued to make well-conceived and perfectly executed albums, most of which sold in large numbers. A Star Is Born won admirers and several Golden Globe Awards. She had a number 1 hit in 1978 with 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers', a duet with Neil Diamond, and she also shared the microphone with Donna Summer on 'Enough Is Enough', a disco number which reached Platinum, and with Barry Gibb on the album, Guilty. Her insistence upon perfection has meant that her many records are exemplars for other singers.

When she emerged in a 1960s pop scene dominated by rock & roll, Barbra Streisand was a breath of fresh air to those nostalgic for the great Broadway-oriented pop vocalists of the past. Her stratospheric range and (initially) anachronistic taste in material made her the new Grande Dame of non-rock pop music. Along the way she experimented with the flavors of the day, from folk-rock to disco, but she always returned to the Great American Songbook for inspiration.

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