Woman in Love
| "Woman in Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Barbra Streisand | ||||
| from the album Guilty | ||||
| B-side | "Run Wild" | |||
| Released | August 16, 1980 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record (7") | |||
| Recorded |
February 1980 (Middle Ear, Miami Beach) [1] | |||
| Genre | Soft rock, adult contemporary | |||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb | |||
| Producer(s) | Gibb-Galuten-Richardson | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Barbra Streisand singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Woman in Love" is a song performed by Barbra Streisand and taken from her 1980 album, Guilty. The song was written by Barry and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, who received the 1980 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.[2] It is her fourth of four Platinum records, and is considered her greatest international hit.[3]
After the success enjoyed by the Bee Gees in the late 1970s, the band was asked to participate in musical endeavors for other artists, and Streisand asked Barry Gibb to write an album for her.[4] This album ultimately became Guilty. "Woman in Love", as the lead single, became one of the most successful songs of Streisand's music career. It reached the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Streisand's fifth (and last to date) number one hit on that chart. It notably replaced Queen's mega smash hit "Another One Bites the Dust", spent three weeks at number one, and was itself replaced by "Lady" by country singer Kenny Rogers. It also spent five weeks atop the adult contemporary chart, her sixth number one on that tally.[5] The song also proved very popular internationally, reaching number one in many countries, including in the UK Singles Chart.[6] The song sold more than 2.5 millions till December 1981, according to Billboard.[7] The lyrics refer to Streisand's eternal devotion to her lover. No matter the obstacles they face, they will always be in love with one another.
About midway through the song, Streisand holds a note for 11.1 seconds while singing the line: I stumble and fall / But I give you it all (the word "all" is the one held for that duration). During the chart run of "Woman In Love", Casey Kasem claimed in an edition of the radio program American Top 40 that this was the longest unaltered note held by a soloist in a number-one song. However, this was corrected a few weeks later as at the time, "All Out Of Love" by Air Supply (16.2 seconds) and "Dim All The Lights" by Donna Summer (16 seconds) had longer notes held (though neither one of these songs reached number one on the charts, but "Woman in Love" did). Streisand, though, held the record at this time for her performance on a duet with Summer, "Enough Is Enough (No More Tears)", holding the note "tears" at about the 1:44 mark for 16.3 seconds. It was also determined that "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers held the Rock Era record for the longest-held note of any song on the Billboard Hot 100. At about the 3:05 mark, Withers held the note "day" for 18.3 seconds.
All those chart records were broken by lead singer Freddy Curci of Sheriff on the song "When I'm With You", originally released in 1983 and re-released in 1988. Curci began the last note "you" at the 3:19 mark, before settling on the final note at 3:26, which he held for held for 19.4 seconds.
Streisand has openly stated that she doesn't like "Woman In Love" because she doesn't believe in the meaning of the lyrics. She has rarely performed the song live; she did, however, sing it on a couple of dates on her 2013 European tour.
Music video
The music video for the song was taken from A Star Is Born, starring Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.
Track listing
| Side | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| A | "Woman in Love" | 3:48 |
| B | "Run Wild" | 4:05 |
Charts and sales
Weekly singles charts
|
Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
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Personnel
| Barbra Streisand | Lead vocals |
| Barry Gibb | acoustic guitar, arrangement |
| Pete Carr | Lead Guitar |
| Richard Tee | Keyboards, electric piano |
| Harold Cowart | Bass guitar |
| Steve Gadd | Drums |
| Joe Lala | Shaker |
| Denise Maynelli | Background vocals |
| Myrna Mathews | Background vocals |
| Marti McCall | Background vocals |
| Jerry Peel | French horn |
Barry Gibb's version
| "Woman in Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Barry Gibb from the album The Guilty Demos | ||||
| Released | November 2006 | |||
| Format | Digital download | |||
| Recorded |
October 1979 Criteria Studios, Miami, Florida | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 3:53 | |||
| Label | iTunes | |||
| Writer | Barry & Robin Gibb | |||
| Producer | Barry Gibb | |||
| The Guilty Demos track listing | ||||
| ||||
"Woman in Love" is the first demo Barry Gibb recorded for Barbra Streisand's album Guilty. This composition by the Gibb brothers Barry and Robin would become the album's very successful first single.[24] And it was due to this demo that Barry Gibb became the first male artist to sing the song, though it was originally recorded for Streisand alone in order for her to sing the song for her album.
Personnel
Other versions
The Greek singer Anna Vissi recorded a Greek version of the song "Το Ξέρω Θα 'Ρθεις Ξανά" ("To Xéro Tha 'Rtheis Xaná") for her album Ναι ("Yes") in 1980. Legendary French singer Mireille Mathieu recorded a French version ("Une Femme Amoureuse") in 1980. Danish songstress Gitte Hænning recorded a German version titled "Die Frau, die dich liebt". Eleni Tzoka, a Polish singer of Greek descent, recorded a Polish cover of the song titled "Zrobię ten błąd" (I'll Make that Mistake). The lyrical idea is completely different from the original version. Turkish pop star Nilüfer recorded a Turkish version of the song called "Ben Seni Seven Kadin"(I am the woman who loves you) in 1981. In 1982 the Hungarian singer Kati Kovács sang it in English on Top 12 album.
Czech singer Helena Vondráčková made minor hit in 1980 with her cover "To je štěstí (This Is Happiness)"
Slovenian singer Ditka Haberl recorded a version of the song called Ko sem zaljubljena (When I'm in Love). It was released on her 2006 compilation album Vse je igra (Everything is a Game).
British vocalist Rebekah Ryan released a version of the track as a single in 1997, on MCA records.
Jamaican singer Echo Minott did a 1982 version called 'Man In Love' which provided the rhythm for Dillinger's 'Five Man Army', and for the Massive Attack song of the same name.
In 1991, Italian singer Dora Carofiglio, known as the lead singer of Novecento and voice of Valerie Dore, covered "Woman in Love" under the moniker "Sissy Taylor".
A Finnish-language version of the song, "Rakastunut Nainen", was recorded by Arja Koriseva in 1995. The same title had previously been used in Finland for A Woman in Love by Frank Loesser.
"Woman in Love" was covered by CoCo Lee in 1995, Dana International in 1999,[25] S.H.E in 2002 and Young Divas in 2006.
British band, The Bluetones, covered the song on the B-side of their 2002 single, "After Hours". It was included on the band's 2006 compilation A Rough Outline: The Singles & B-Sides 95 - 03.
In 2006, the Italian singer Filippa Giordano recorded a Spanish version of "Women in Love" called "Me he enamorado de ti". It was released in Mexico on her album, Primadonna.
On February 13, 2006, Liz McClarnon from Atomic Kitten, released a cover of "Woman in Love" as her first solo single. The track was produced by Robin Gibb who co-authored the song. McClarnon's version peaked at number five in the UK Top 40.
The song was used as the basis for Baggalútur's 2008 satirical christmas song, Það koma vonandi jól.
In 2011, the famous Moroccan singer Sofia Marikh recorded an Arabic version of the song تهواك Tahwak (she adores you).[26]
In March 2012, former Pussycat Dolls member Kaya Jones released her own version of the song featuring Captain G.Q. and it was eventually included in her debut album Kaya released a month after.
In October 2012, the all-male vocal quartet The Tenors (formerly The Canadian Tenors) released a version in Spanish ("Me he enamorado de ti") on their album "Lead With Your Heart".
In April 2013, Mando sang this song, as Barbra Streisand on the Greek edition of Your Face Sounds Familiar reality show. In October 2015, actor Krzysztof Respondek sang this song live on the Polish edition of this TV show (Twoja twarz brzmi znajomo, season 4), also performing as Streisand.
See also
References
- ↑ Gibb Songs: Guilty (1980) (Accessed: Aug 9, 2006)
- ↑ Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
- ↑ http://tsort.info/music/r1yc9g.htm
- ↑ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 nr.1 hits uit de Top 40, 9023009444 (Book in Dutch)
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 208–9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ Streisand Disks Dominate Global Charts. Billboard Magazine. 6 December 1980. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
- ↑ Infinity charts West German Top 20 - The Chart of December 1980 (Accessed November 2, 2006)
- ↑ IrishCharts.ie Irish chart search (Accessed November 2, 2006)
- ↑ Dutch Top 40 Week 42 in 1980 (Accessed 18 June 2014)
- ↑ Norwegian Charts "Woman in Love" page (Accessed October 29, 2006)
- ↑ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ↑ SwedishCharts.com "Woman in Love" page (Accessed October 29, 2006)
- ↑ Official Swiss Charts (Accessed August 12, 2006)
- ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/80s_files/19801108.html
- ↑ Official Austrian Charts "Woman in Love" page. Note: This is a biweekly chart (Accessed October 29, 2006)
- ↑ http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/?chart=3869
- ↑ http://50.6.195.142/archives/80s_files/1980YESP.html
- ↑ "French single certifications – Barbra Streisand – Woman in Love" (in French). InfoDisc. Select BARBRA STREISAND and click OK
- ↑ "Les Singles de Platine" [Platinum Singles] (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Barbra Streisand; 'Woman in Love')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Barbra Streisand – Woman in Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 April 2012. Enter Woman in Love in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American single certifications – Barbra Streisand – Woman in Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 13 April 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "Gibb Songs : 1979". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
- ↑ "Dana International :: International singles". Phreak.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
- ↑ "Tahwak Clip Officiel - Sofia Marikh | تهواك - صوفيا مريخ". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
External links
| Preceded by "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen |
Billboard number one single 25 October 1980 – 8 November 1980 |
Succeeded by "Lady" by Kenny Rogers |
| Preceded by "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen |
Canadian RPM 100 number-one single 22 November 1980 – 29 November 1980 |
Succeeded by "Dreamer" by Supertramp |
| Preceded by "Don't Stand So Close to Me" by The Police |
UK number-one single 25 October 1980 (for three weeks) |
Succeeded by "The Tide Is High" by Blondie |
