''Funny Lady'' is the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

of the 1975 musical film of the same title, starring Barbra Streisand. Released by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

on March 15, 1975, arranged, conducted, and coordinated by Peter Matz, the album's fifteen tracks are performed by Streisand, James Caan, and Ben Vereen. A sequel to the 1968

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

'' Funny Girl'', the songs extend the semi- biographical account of the life of American performer

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...

. ''Funny Lady'' also included songs written by Brice's third husband

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

. New music by Kander and Ebb included "

How Lucky Can You Get "How Lucky Can You Get" is a song recorded by American vocalist Barbra Streisand for the official soundtrack to the 1975 film ''Funny Lady''. It was released as a 7" single in April 1975 through Arista Records. The song was written by Fred Ebb ...

", the album's only single, released in April 1975. The soundtrack divided music critics, with some negative notes on Caan's singing abilities, while others found it a worthy companion of the film. Commercially, it entered the charts in Australia, Canada and the United States, peaking within the ''Billboard'' 200 top ten in the latter country. The

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

certified the album Gold for shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in late 1975. The album was first issued on CD in 1990, adhering to the original vinyl album sequence, then in 1998 with alternate tracks and the single release of "How Lucky Can You Get" as a bonus track.

Background and promotion

Due to her contract with Ray Stark, Streisand was required to reprise her role as

in the sequel to '' Funny Girl'' (1968), which became '' Funny Lady''. Accompanying the 1975 film was the official soundtrack and one of the first records to be released by

, a new label created by record producer

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

. Davis later revealed in his autobiographical book, ''The Soundtrack of My Life'', that Streisand was the perfect singer for the soundtrack as she was "the top female singer-actress in the world" and would likely be a good first effort to be released by a newly founded record company. The soundtrack to ''Funny Lady'' was released on March 15, 1975, by Arista Records, despite Streisand being signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. It features fifteen songs, with a majority of them being brand new tracks written by the songwriting duo of Fred Ebb and John Kander. Bay Cities Records, a subsidiary of Arista, issued the compact disc for ''Funny Lady'' in 1990. Arista re-released the album on May 19, 1998, with alternate tracks of "Let's Hear It For Me" and "Great Day" as well as the single version of "How Lucky can You Get" as a bonus track. The Arista reissue reordered the track listing to reflect their sequence in the film. It would be reissued in February 2009 on the Sony Legacy label. "

" was released as the soundtrack's only commercial single in April 1975. It peaked on the Adult Contemporary charts in both the United States and Canada, peaking at numbers 27 and 19, respectively. The songwriting, by Ebb and Kander, was widely praised by music critics; at the

48th Academy Awards The 48th Academy Awards were presented Monday, March 29, 1976, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The ceremonies were presided over by Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, George Segal, Goldie Hawn, and Gene Kelly. This year ...

, the single was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

but lost to

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television. He is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's film ''Nashville'', Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series '' Deadwood ...

's " I'm Easy" from the 1975 film ''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

''. "How Lucky Can You Get" also lost to "I'm Easy" when nominated for Best Original Song at the

33rd Golden Globe Awards The 33rd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1975, were held on January 24, 1976. ''Nashville (film), Nashville'' received 11 nominations; the most for a single film. As of 2022, the film still holds that record. Winn ...

Composition

The album features a total of fifteen songs, with eleven of them performed solely by Streisand, two of them ("

Me and My Shadow "Me and My Shadow" is a 1927 popular song. Officially the credits show it as written by Al Jolson, Billy Rose, and Dave Dreyer, with Jolson and Dreyer being shown on the sheet music as being responsible for the music and Rose the lyrics. Al J ...

" and the medley of " It's Only a Paper Moon" and "I Like Her") are sung by costar James Caan, one of them is by Ben Vereen, and the final one is a duet between Streisand and Vereen; Peter Matz executively produced the entire album, in addition to serving as the audio arranger and conductor. Lead single "How Lucky Can You Get It" features "sarcastic" and "ironic" lyrics to capture the character of Brice as accurately as possible. The soundtrack itself has been described as a collection of "rejuvenating classics" by author Ethan Mordden. The duet "So Long Honey Lamb" is another newly recorded song by Ebb and Kander, followed by " I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)", which was once performed by Brice during her musical ''Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt''. Track four, "Isn't This Better", is a love song about the relationship of Brice and

. "

" is a solo by Caan, covering the original version which was written by

Dave Dreyer Dave Dreyer (September 22, 1894 in Brooklyn, New York – March 1, 1967 in New York City) was an American composer and pianist. He started off as a pianist with vaudeville greats such as Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Belle Baker, and Frank Fay. ...

, Al Jolson, and Rose. Streisand's "If I Love Again" is a ballad with a "wide range" and "disjunct melody", which was considered "unusual" for a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song. "I Got a Code in My Doze" was written by Rose and Arthur Fields while "(It's Gonna Be A) Great Day" is a " gospel-rock style" track whose melody was rewritten by Streisand to better suit her. The album's ninth track, "Blind Date", was recorded quickly during a strict three-week recording schedule. "

Am I Blue Am I Blue may refer to: *"Am I Blue? "Am I Blue?" is a 1929 song copyrighted by Harry Akst (music) and Grant Clarke (lyrics), then featured in four films that year, most notably with Ethel Waters in the movie '' On with the Show''. It has appeare ...

" was finalized during the same aforementioned period and was originally written by

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Two corresponding medleys, one of " It's Only a Paper Moon" and "I Like Him" by Streisand and "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "I Like Her" by Caan, are back-to-back tracks. " More Than You Know", which was originally included on Streisand's '' Simply Streisand'' album in 1967, follows and was also used as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

track for the commercial release of "How Lucky Can You Get". Vereen's solo of " Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie" precedes "Let's Hear It for Me", which is the album's closing track and an updated version of the ''Funny Girl'' original " Don't Rain on My Parade".

Critical reception

''Funny Lady'' has received mixed reviews from music critics. A critic from '' Stereo Review'' was pleased with Streisand's ''Funny Lady'', stating that it "will surely bring out the ravening glutton I suspect is lurking in all who are her fondest fans". However, the reviewer did warn that soundtrack did not contain anything for those of a "dispassionate and temperate nature". Also positive was a critic from ''

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

'', who called the album "more satisfying than the film". Initially, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann awarded the album 2 out of 5 stars. He was critical of Caan's singing abilities, finding it hard "to endure the singing of James Caan". In his review of the 1998 reissued CD, Ruhlmann listed "Am I Blue" as one of the best tracks on the album; he called it the "chief virtue of the soundtrack .. even if she sometimes camped tup". Allison J. Waldman, author of ''The Barbra Streisand Scrapbook'', was disappointed by the soundtrack, claiming that it is more like a "hodgepodge of a soundtrack". She also stated that it was "not nearly as well-produced" as the soundtrack for the predecessor, ''Funny Girl'' (1968).

Commercial performance

Allison J. Waldman predicted that the commercial success of the soundtrack was due to Streisand's previous role and performance in the original film, ''Funny Girl''. In the United States, the album debuted at number 75 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart for the week ending March 29, 1975. It continued to climb the chart in that country for several weeks before peaking at number six on May 10. It spent four weeks within the top ten of chart, and a total of 25 weeks altogether. The

certified the soundtrack Gold for shipments upwards of 500,000 sales on September 8, 1975. On Canada's Top Albums chart conducted and published by ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'', the record debuted at number 90 during the week of April 12, 1975. Similar to its progress in the United States, it soared up the charts for several weeks before peaking at number 17 on May 17 of the same year. It spent a total of 12 consecutive weeks charting in Canada, with its final position being number 56 on June 28. It also charted in Australia, where it peaked at number 50 according to the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

Track listing

All songs performed by Barbra Streisand except where noted.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the CD edition of ''Funny Lady''. *

Harry Akst Harry Akst (August 15, 1894 – March 31, 1963)
- accessed November 19, 2011 was an American Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

songwriting * James Caan vocals *

songwriting * Fred Ebb songwriting *

Edward Eliscu Edward Eliscu (April 2, 1902 – June 18, 1998) was an American lyricist, playwright, producer and actor, and a successful writer of songs for films. Life Eliscu was born in Manhattan, New York City. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in ...

songwriting * Arthur Fields songwriting * E.Y. "Yip" Harburg songwriting * Al Jolson songwriting * John Kander songwriting * Ballard MacDonald songwriting * Peter Matz production, arrangements, conduction * Joseph Meyer songwriting * Jack Murray songwriting * Ben Oakland songwriting *

songwriting * Barbra Streisand vocals * Ben Vereen vocals *

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

songwriting * Vincent Youmans songwriting

Charts

Certifications

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

*
Barbra Archives: ''Funny Lady'' soundtrack (1975)
{{Barbra Streisand 1975 soundtrack albums Arista Records soundtracks Barbra Streisand soundtracks