Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)

"Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)"
Single by Barbra Streisand
from the album A Star Is Born: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
B-side "I Believe in Love"
Released December 1976
Format 7"
Recorded 1976
Genre Pop
Length 3:04
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Barbra Streisand, Paul Williams[1]
Producer Barbra Streisand, Phil Ramone

"Evergreen (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 Barbra Streisand with lyrics by Paul Williams.[1] The song was released on the soundtrack album to A Star Is Born.

Streisand earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song, her second Oscar overall, as composer of the song.[1] With "Evergreen", Streisand also earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. She and Williams also won Golden Globes in the category of Best Original Song for the song.

On the US music charts, the single spent three weeks at number one on 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").[2] In the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at #3 in 1977.[1]

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."[3]

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

Other versions

Barbra Streisand also recorded versions of the song in Spanish ("Tema de Amor de Nace Una Estrella"), French ( "De Reve en Reverie") with lyrics by Eddy Marnay, and Italian ("Sempreverde") with lyrics by Luigi Albertelli. The Spanish version was also 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.

Paul Williams recorded the song for his 1977 album Classics. Ramsey Lewis recorded a jazz instrumental version for his 1977 album Love Notes. British singer Hazell Dean recorded a dance version of the song in 1984, and reached #63 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] Luther Vandross recorded the song for his 1994 album Songs.

See also

References

  1. ^ 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. 
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  3. ^ "Songwriter Interview: Paul Williams by Carl Wiser". http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/paul_williams/.