"....how people used to sing, they actually sang." I was four years old when i heard Barbra's voice for the first time, with the song, "People", and even at that young age i realized that not even people who regularly sang back then sounded like her. It was not just her voice. She puts every fiber of her being into "being" her songs. Just think, when she was your age, she instinctively knew what worked for her, from songs to stage lighting. So much so that even decades-long theater veterans and musicians stood back in amazement. Barbra has always been a force of nature, definitely a gift from God!
Wow. This is from her Color Me Barbra tv special of March 30, 1966, meaning she was not yet 24. Wrap your head around that. And can we talk about gorgeous! Her unconventional beauty made all the ordinarily pretty girls of the day seem, well ... ordinary.
I absolutely wanted to look like her, at the time. She was beautiful then and I think more so now: as I view her youthful, dynamic beauty and presence on the stage.
Brilliant young Barbra! Her voice and vocals were superb! Pure and unbridled! She was sheer Magic! Breathtaking ,extraordinary talent! I love her early work because I find it less controlled. It's raw, unmanicured and exquisite. She looses herself, gives over to the music. She really is an an amazing actress when she sings. Stunning to watch.The voice always fabulous, but this is the young Barbra who was a shooting comet and set the world on fire with that voice! How could she not?
My Mom loved Barbra and was super excited about this TV show. I was just a kid, but I watched it and fell in love with this tremendously talented woman. It's been a lifelong affair.
This song is from the Broadway show "Sweet Charity," which starred Gwen Verdon in the mid-1960s. Verdon is a Broadway legend - an incredible dancer and a deft comedienne, but singing was never her forte. When she sang this song, she more or less "spoke/sang" it. It was a perfectly fine version but certainly not a showstopper. And then Barbra's version debuted - first on TV, followed by the LP. "Sweet Charity" was still playing on Broadway. And Gwen promptly axed the song from the show, and NEVER sang it again!
NOT an easy song to sing. No wonder Gwen Verdon didn’t want to do it in “Sweet Charity” after having heard Barbara’s recording of it before the show opened.
I've always loved this! A wonderful song, but I do have to agree that the drums and background are drowning her out and you can tell she is not happy with it by the end.
Yes, true. Although it was a great arrangement, and the band was fantastic, they were a bit too loud. Also, she seemed somewhat away from the mic. I wonder if she had adjusted the mic higher she would've been louder and that would've solved the problem??
@@kevinrussell6530 That would have helped, for it looks like she is slouching over that mike; but, when she has to scream over the instruments, her voice gets screechy, this happened in Live Concert at the Forum when she sang Sing/Make Your Own Kind of Music. Remember?
@danielwelsh7774/ it's not just the drums but something was off as far as the sound equalization on most of the entire show. It's noticeable on the the soundtrack album as well. I think what happened had something to do with the fact that some of the vocals are pre-recorded and some are live and to get them all to sound like they're coming from the same place proved a touch too daunting. On this song the equalization between the band and Barbra was way off and the result was that her vocals are submerged beneath the orchestratiions. They produced these specials in a very short amount of time and so many of the technical things were simply figured out on the go so to speak.
Love this song, and Barbara's singing is amazing. The arrangement is great, but it's overpowering even Streisand's voice! Maybe if they had only turned her mic up a bit!
Great song, but I must say I am surprised she did not insist on redoing this performance. The orchestra overwhelms her at times, and some of her high notes (every bit as rich as her mid-range at this point in her career) sound a bit reedy and forced here because she's competing with the orchestra. I'm guessing there wasn't time to redo it. And at any rate, Barbra on her worst day is worlds beyond most other singers on their best day.
While this is brilliant, Shirley Maclaine's performance on the Sweet Charity soundtrack is profoundly sad and conveys the desperation of the lyric far more. To this day, having known it since being a child and associating it with my sister who 'lost her way year after year', this song is one of the most painful for me.
