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Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)

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"Evergreen"
Single by Barbra Streisand
from the album A Star Is Born (soundtrack)
B-side"I Believe In Love"
ReleasedDecember 1976[1]
Recorded1976
GenreVocal pop
Length3:04
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Barbra Streisand singles chronology
"Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)"
(1975) 		"Evergreen"
(1976) 		"My Heart Belongs to Me"
(1977)
Music video
"“Evergreen” from A Star Is Born” (1976)" on YouTube

"Evergreen" (also called "Love Theme from A Star Is Born") is the theme song from the 1976 film A Star Is Born. It was composed and performed by American singer, songwriter, actress and director Barbra Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams,[2] and arranged by Ian Freebairn-Smith.[3] The song was released on the soundtrack album to A Star Is Born.

Background

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As composers, Streisand and Williams earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song, making Streisand the first woman to be so honored as a composer.[2] She also earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Streisand and Williams also won Golden Globes for Best Original Song.

The song's opening couplet, "Love, soft as an easy chair; love, fresh as the morning air", almost did not appear that way. Williams wrote the "morning air" line first, but told Streisand to "flip those two first lines, because it sings better".[4]

In 2023, American Songwriter and The Guardian ranked the song number four and number three, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Barbra Streisand songs.[5][6] Record World said that "Barbra is in fine voice."[7]

In 1997, the track appeared on the tribute album Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute.

Chart performance

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In the US, the single became Streisand's second number 1 single and spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks atop the easy listening chart. This was Streisand's second number-one song on the Hot 100 (following "The Way We Were" in 1974), and her third on the adult contemporary chart ("The Way We Were" and 1964's "People").[8] In its year-end chart for 1977, Billboard ranked the platinum-certified single, which sold more than 2 million copies, the fourth-biggest single of the year. In the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at #3 in 1977.[2]

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Gold 75,000^
Japan — 31,000[16]
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 250,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards

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At the 49th Academy Awards the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Barbra Streisand became the only woman in history to win the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. At the 34th Golden Globe Awards the song won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. At the 20th Annual Grammy Awards the song was nominated in three categories, winning in two for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and Song of the Year tying with "You Light Up My Life". The song was also nominated for Record of the Year.

Other versions

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Streisand also recorded versions of the song in Spanish ("Tema de Amor de Nace Una Estrella"), French ( "De rêve en rêverie") with lyrics by Eddy Marnay, and Italian ("Sempreverde") with lyrics by Luigi Albertelli. The Spanish version was released as a track on the 1996 CD single "I Finally Found Someone", a Streisand duet with Bryan Adams, and on the import CD version of the A Star Is Born remastered soundtrack. (The French and Italian versions have yet to appear on a CD release.)

Frank Sinatra recorded the song with Nelson Riddle and his orchestra on November 12, 1976, along with "I Love My Wife". However, it remains unreleased.

British singer Hazell Dean recorded a dance version of the song in 1984 which reached No. 63 on the UK Singles Chart.[2]

Luther Vandross recorded a cover for his 1994 album Songs.

Kenny Rogers sang his own revival for his 1996 album Vote for Love.

In 2002, Philippine rap group Salbakuta sampled Streisand's single in their song "S2pid Luv".[34]

Scottish singer Todd Gordon recorded a big band version with the Royal Air Force Squadronaires for the album Helping the Heroes (2012) produced by Ken Barnes.

In 2021, Randy Rainbow created a parody version titled "Marjorie Taylor Greene", as a satire about the congresswoman who traffics in conspiracy theories.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  2. ^ a b c d e Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ "May 21 Luncheon: Ian Freebairn-Smith". Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  4. ^ "Songwriter Interview: Paul Williams by Carl Wiser".
  5. ^ Patton, Alli (January 28, 2023). "Top 10 Barbra Streisand Songs". American Songwriter. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  6. ^ Petridis, Alexis (October 27, 2023). "Barbra Streisand's 20 greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  7. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 27, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  8. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  9. ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Forum – 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  10. ^ "Barbra Streisand – Love Theme From %22A Star Is Born%22 (Evergreen)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  11. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  12. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  13. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Barbra Streisand". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 248. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – A Star is Born". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  15. ^ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Singoli 1960–2019 (in Italian). Independently Published. ISBN 9781093264906.
  16. ^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  17. ^ "Barbra Streisand – Love Theme From %22A Star Is Born%22 (Evergreen)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  18. ^ "Barbra Streisand – Love Theme From %22A Star Is Born%22 (Evergreen)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  19. ^ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  20. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  21. ^ "Barbra Streisand Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  22. ^ "Barbra Streisand Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  23. ^ "Cash Box Top 100". Cashbox. March 19, 1977. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  24. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved October 11, 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  25. ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1977 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. December 31, 1977. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  26. ^ "Top 100 1977 – UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  27. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1977 - Longbored Surfer - Charts". Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  28. ^ "Billboard Easy Listening Charts Singles". Billboard Magazine. December 24, 1977. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  29. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1977". Cashbox. December 31, 1977. Archived from the original on October 28, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  30. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  31. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Barbra Streisand – Love Theme From A Star Is Born". Music Canada. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  32. ^ "British single certifications – Barbra Streisand – Evergreen". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  33. ^ "American single certifications – Barbra Streisand – Evergreen". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  34. ^ Gil, Baby A. "In defense of Salbakuta's S2PID LUV". philstar.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
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