"People" is a song composed by

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became s ...

with lyrics by

Bob Merrill Henry Robert Merrill Levan (May 17, 1921 – February 17, 1998) was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He was one of the most successful songwriters of the 1950s on the US and UK single charts. He wrote ...

for the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical '' Funny Girl'' starring

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

, who introduced the song. The song was released as a single in 1964 with "

I Am Woman "I Am Woman" is a song written by Australian musicians Helen Reddy and Ray Burton. Performed by Reddy, the first recording of "I Am Woman" appeared on her debut album ''I Don't Know How to Love Him'', released in May 1971, and was heard during ...

", a solo version of "You Are Woman, I Am Man", also from '' Funny Girl''.

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

released a version of the song on his 1964 album, ''

The Great Songs from "My Fair Lady" and Other Broadway Hits ''The Great Songs from "My Fair Lady" and Other Broadway Hits'' is the fifteenth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams and was released in September 1964 by Columbia Records, one month before the premiere of the film version of ''My F ...

''.

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

recorded the song live on her CBS release ''Ella Fitzgerald at the Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall''.

The Tymes The Tymes are an American soul vocal group who enjoyed equal success in the United Kingdom and in their homeland. They are one of the few acts to have one and only one chart-topper in both the US and UK with different songs. Early career The ...

had a top 40 hit with the song in 1968.

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit " You're Breaking My Heart", an ...

recorded a version on his 1982 album ''Over the Rainbow''. It has been

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935) is an American singer, comedian and actor, best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as " Steve and Eydie", and for his performance as Maury Sline, the manager and fr ...

, Jack Jones,

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

, Gabor Szabo,

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

and others, but is considered one of Streisand's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a Handwriting, handwritten (and often Stylization, stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and ...

s. In 1998, Streisand's version was inducted in

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. In 2004, Streisand's version on the soundtrack of Funny Girl finished at #13 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Origins

"People" was one of the first songs written for the musical score of ''Funny Girl''. It is based on the life and career of

and film star and

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

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 ...

and her stormy relationship with

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and

gambler Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...

Nicky Arnstein Julius Wilford "Nicky" Arnstein (born Arndstein; July 1, 1879October 2, 1965) was an American professional gambler and con artist. He was known primarily as Julius Arnold, but among his aliases were "Jules Arndtsteyn", "Nick Arnold," "Nicholas Ar ...

. Composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill were hired to write the musical score and met each other for the first time in 1962 in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

. They wrote their songs by day and tested them by night on the Palm Beach socialites at cocktail parties. As they worked to develop the character of Fanny Brice, they needed to write a special love song depicting her feelings towards Nicky. According to the book, "Jule: The Story of Composer Jule Styne" by Theodore Taylor, "Jule turned to his collaborator Bob Merrill, 'You told me the other night to work on he lyric"a very special person." I think I've got a helluva melody for it.'...'Great,' Merrill yelled. 'But now it's not gonna be just a "special person." Listen.' Then he ad-libbed, while Jule played the melody again: 'People, people who need people, are the luckiest people in the world".'...The song 'wrote' in thirty minutes..." "People" nearly did not get included in "Funny Girl" during early try-outs as the producers did not like it. Bob fought to keep the song in and finally one night, Barbra was allowed to sing it on stage. It stopped the show and history was made. The single by Streisand was released in January 1964, and peaked at number five on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

, becoming the singer's first

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

hit. It also spent three weeks at number one on the Pop-Standards (adult contemporary) chart in June/July 1964. This helped to cement its inclusion in ''Funny Girl'', which ran on Broadway from March 26, 1964, to July 1, 1967, and earned Styne and Merrill a nomination for a 1964

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

as Best Composer and Lyricist. The single version was recorded on 20 December 1963 and produced by

Mike Berniker Michael Berniker (June 30, 1935 – July 25, 2008) was an American record producer who was recognized with nine Grammy Awards over the course of his career for his work on albums with such performers as Perry Como, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Jo ...

. Barbra Streisand included a revised version of the song on "Partners", her 2014 album of duets. On the song she duets with soul singer

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, who had performed it at the 2011 MusiCares Person of the Year gala event honoring Streisand. It has been said that ''People'' was originally written for the animated television special ''

Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol ''Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol'' is a 1962 animated musical holiday television special produced by UPA. It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'', and it features UPA's character Mr. Magoo as Ebenezer Scro ...

'', but Theodore Taylor's biography of Styne disputes this.

Official versions by Streisand

Streisand recorded the song in the following studio projects: * "People" ("Funny Girl" Original Broadway Cast Recording) * "People" ( ''People'' Album Version) / (Single Version) / (Second Recorded Take) * "People" ( "Funny Girl" Original Soundtrack Album Recording) * "People" ("Partners" Album Version Duet with

) The song also appears, often in a live version, in other 8 albums: #

A Happening in Central Park ''A Happening In Central Park'' is the first live album by Barbra Streisand. It was recorded at a live concert in Central Park in New York in June 1967 in front of an audience of 125,000 people. The special aired on CBS channel in 1968, with sele ...

(live) #

Live Concert at the Forum ''Live Concert at the Forum'' (retitled ''Barbra Streisand Live'' in Canada) is the second live album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released physically on October 1, 1972 by Columbia Records. Produced by long-time collaborator Richard Perr ...

(live) # Barbra Streisand...and Other Musical Instruments (excerpts) #

One Voice (Barbra Streisand album) ''One Voice'' is the third live album released by Barbra Streisand. Her first full-length concert in twenty years, ''One Voice'' began as a benefit performance at Streisand's Malibu, California home on September 6, 1986. The concert was broadca ...

(live) #

The Concert (Barbra Streisand album) ''The Concert'' is a live album by Barbra Streisand, released in September 1994 through Columbia Records. The album reached a peak position of number ten on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''The Concert'' was certified platinum in Australia, Canada and the ...

(live) # Timeless: Live in Concert (live) #

Live in Concert 2006 ''Live in Concert 2006'' is a live album by American singer Barbra Streisand which was recorded during her record setting 2006 US tour known as Streisand: The Tour. The double album contains songs recorded at different shows and venues including ...

(live) #

Back to Brooklyn (album) ''Back to Brooklyn'' is the eighth live album by Barbra Streisand, which was released in the US on November 25, 2013. The album was recorded over two nights in October 2012 during the Barbra: Live tour stop, held at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. T ...

(live) and, as previously released material, "People" appears in some of Streisand retrospective/greatest hits albums, like ''

Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits ''Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits'' is the first greatest hits album recorded by American vocalist Barbra Streisand. It was released on January 1, 1970, by Columbia Records. The record is a compilation consisting of 11 commercially successful si ...

'', ''

Just for the Record Just for the Record may refer to: * "Just for the Record" (''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)''), a 1969 episode of the British television series * ''Just for the Record'' (Barbara Mandrell album), 1979 * ''Just for the Record'' (Ray Stevens albu ...

'' and ''

The Essential Barbra Streisand ''The Essential Barbra Streisand'' (retitled ''The Ultimate Collection'' in some European countries) is the fifth greatest hits album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released on January 29, 2002, by Columbia Records. The compilation features ...

''.

Chart

Supremes version

While the song is considered a signature tune for Streisand, during the mid-1960s, it was also associated with

Florence Ballard Florence Glenda Chapman (''née'' Ballard; June 30, 1943 – February 22, 1976) was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown vocal female group the Supremes. She sang on 16 top 40 singles with the group, including ten number-o ...

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

. A regular part of the Supremes' nightclub appearances, the Supremes' version of "People" has more of a jazz flavor than Streisand's version, and was essentially a group effort, performed in three-part harmony with Ballard on the lead vocal and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

leading the song's bridge. Notably, it is also one of the few songs on which Ballard sang lead vocals after the Supremes achieved commercial success, since Motown head

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record la ...

favored Ross. The Supremes recorded a studio version of "People" for the unreleased 1965 album, ''There's A Place For Us'', which was finally released on ''The Supremes'' box set in 2000. When the group performed at the Copacabana nightclub in 1965, from which their live album ''

The Supremes at the Copa ''The Supremes at the Copa'' is a live album by Motown singing group the Supremes, recorded during their debut engagement at the prestigious Copacabana nightclub in New York City. Released in the late fall of 1965, ''At the Copa'' was the first ...

'' was taken, the song was not included in the set. However, the tune remained in the group's live set until 1966, with Ballard retaining the lead. Eventually, Mary Wilson took the bridge previously sung by Ross, making it a rare duet between Ballard and Wilson. This version was finally released in 2012 on the expanded edition of ''I Hear A Symphony'', from the cancelled 1966 live album, ''Live at The Roostertail''. The song became a Ross solo after Ballard's departure from the group.Wilson, Randall (1999). Forever Faithful! A Study of Florence Ballard and the Supremes'', 2nd edition .

References

External links

''Funny Girl'' in the Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)
{{DEFAULTSORT:People (1964 song) Songs about luck 1964 singles Songs with music by Jule Styne Songs written by Bob Merrill Barbra Streisand songs Andy Williams songs The Supremes songs Vic Damone songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Songs from Funny Girl (musical) Songs from Funny Girl (film) Columbia Records singles 1964 songs Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)

Origins

Official versions by Streisand

Chart

Supremes version

See also

References

External links