Barbra Streisand’s Best Song Was Written by the Bee Gees
Barbra Streisand and the Bees Gees gave us some of the biggest songs of the 1970s but you wouldn’t necessarily mention the two artists in the same breath. Despite this, the A Star Is Born singer‘s best tune was written by two members of the Bee Gees. Here’s a look at why Streisand’s best song was out of her usual wheelhouse.
The Bee Gees fused of their disco with Barbra Streisand’s style
Streisand’s songs don’t get too much radio play these days. Perhaps that’s because her style of soft rock and easy listening just isn’t popular anymore. However, Streisand wasn’t just a soft rock singer.
She also dabbled in disco, most famously in the Donna Summer duet “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).” It made sense for her to work with the Bee Gees’ Barry and Robin Gibb on her later song “Woman in Love.” It’s not exactly a disco song but it definitely shows off the Bee Gees’ natural gift for melody.
“Woman in Love” has all the melodrama of Streisand’s usual pop fare with some post-disco/funk elements that make it more musically interesting than “The Way We Were” or “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born).” It makes you wish the Gibbs worked with her more often. Some alternate universe probably has a classic Streisand disco album that the Gibbs produced after the success of Saturday Night Fever.
1 of the Bee Gees helped the song feel a little risque
People don’t often think of Streisand as a sex symbol these days. After all, she was never risque as Summer was during her “Bad Girls” days. However, the instrumentation of “Woman in Love” is a lot more sensual than most pop music. Listen to that opening riff and you’ll feel like you are living in a romance novel in the best possible way.
Streisand and Barry leaned into this aspect of “Women in Love.” The song’s parent album, Guilty, has a mildly suggestive title and its cover depicts Streisand and Barry embracing. The embrace became one of the most iconic images of Streisand’s career. The dance duo Duck Sauce spoofed the image for the cover of their tongue-in-cheek tribute “Barbra Streisand,” which became one of the most beloved house songs of the past 20 years.
Barbra Streisand’s ‘Woman in Love’ was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic
“Woman in Love” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, lasting on the chart for 24 weeks altogether. Aside from “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born),” it was Streisand’s biggest hit in the United States. Unlike “Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born),” “Woman in Love” didn’t receive any extra publicity from a hit movie. “Woman in Love” appeared on the album Guilty. That record was No. 1 for three of its 49 weeks on the Billboard 200.
In the Bee Gees’ native United Kingdom, “Woman in Love” also became big. The Official Charts Company reports the tune was No. 1 for three of 16-week run on the airwaves. In the U.K., Guilty peaked at No. 1 for two of its 84 weeks on the chart. The 1970s were over, but the Bee Gees were still massively popular — as songwriters, not as singers.
Streisand’s “Woman in Love” proves that Streisand could dance with the best of them.
