I was randomly searching Streisand related articles a few minutes ago and came across some interesting websites for song lyrics. So I did a little test and tried some obscure titles that I thought would never show up or be included in a list of Barbra Streisand songs. 

First I started with "Marty the Martian" from "A Happening in Central Park" from the 1960's. It was there. Wow. Then I tried, something from "Barbra, The Concert" album "Therapist Dialog, Part 1" and it was there. Okay, that's a good one. My third more difficult search was something from "Pins and Needles" called "Not Cricket to Picket". Amazing..... from a very early Broadway that Barbra was in.

There is no shortage of titles at this site called: LyricsDepot.com. They have over 300,000 free lyrics available from over 12,000 artists on over 30,000 albums. They are one of the largest lyrics archives online and are adding new titles all the time. Check them out when you need to know the words to a song! 

Another fun way to learn all the words to a song is to collect sheet music and songbooks. Collecting sheet music is a fun way to "get all the words" to a song and to have the music to play on the piano or guitar as well. Searching eBay or the ilovebarbra.com site can lead you to some titles that might not be in your collection. 

Three must have pieces of sheet music are "Evergreen" from "A Star is Born" motion picture along with "The Way We Were" and "People". Classic Streisand songs that once you own the sheet music you will never NOT know the words to the songs!

There are many young people who listen to their favorite musical artists online with services like Apple, Spotify and Pandora. Their older counterparts started with vinyl records, moved to 8-tracks, cassettes, then finally compact discs known as CDs. There is a new trend for the return of vinyl record albums and playing them on a USB turntable. Some will argue that the sound is better on vinyl. What do you think?

I have a whole collection of my Barbra Streisand albums on vinyl: LPs and 45s. Then I collected all the cassettes and CDs, with many releases on 8-tracks, though my player is long gone. I have put all of the music on iTunes on my Mac and have the songs in assorted playlists for my older iPods and now iPhone.
How do you like to listen to your Barbra music?

Will I ever let go of my albums? No way. The covers are collectible as well as many of the inserts, not to mention the records that came with posters inside (Live at the Forum and Barbra Joan). Do I still listen to music on a turntable? No, though I still have one, I prefer putting them on the computer and making my own playlists on my iPhone. I listen to CDs in the car and iPhone music app when I walk.

The world of listening to music has changed a great deal. How do you listen to Barbra? And do you still collect Barbra on vinyl? Please comment and share with me!

Yesterday my day started with the sad news that Omar Sharif passed away at age 83. He had been ill with Alzheimer's Disease according to reports in May. My immediate thoughts turned to Funny Girl and how handsome and perfect he was as Nicky Arnstein to Barbra's Fanny Brice in that movie.

"Nicky Arnstein, Nicky Arnstein, what a beautiful, beautiful name" Fanny (Barbra) sang when she first layed eyed on him on the big screen. "You Are Woman, I am Man" also came to mind as the actor, Omar Sharif sang to his leading lady, quite well I might add. And who could forget the finale "My Man" sung about Nicky Arnstein at the end of the film? Vivid and powerful film moments in my memories of Omar Sharif.

There were other brilliant roles too: Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and countless others were trademark movies for the dark and mysterious actor. He also loved playing bridge and was world class. He spoke a few languages and had a reputation for loving the night life.

Here's what Barbra Streisand said about him on her webpage:
       
JULY 10, 2015, 3:45 pm
Omar was my first leading man in the movies. He was handsome, sophisticated and charming. He was a proud Egyptian and in some people's eyes, the idea of casting him in 'Funny Girl' was considered controversial. Yet somehow, under the direction of William Wyler, the romantic chemistry between Nicky Arnstein and Fanny Brice transcended stereotypes and prejudice. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Omar, and I'm profoundly sad to hear of his passing.

--Barbra.


What do you remember about Omar Sharif and his career?

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I am a longtime Barbra Streisand fan! I have been one for over 40 years! I know many other long time fans and a few new ones too! What makes someone a Barbra fan?

Music lover and movie lover are two things that can describe a BJS fan. For most of us, there was a certain album, song or movie that we heard or saw that did the trick. In my case it was the movie Funny Girl. When she started singing "I'm the Greatest Star" in the beginning of the film, I was hooked. The funny thing was I knew all of the words. And then I knew the words to the rest of the songs too! How was that possible?

As a child my parents had the Broadway recording of "Funny Girl" playing over and over on the turntable. The tunes sunk in and many years later they came back into my mind from the recesses of my memory. It was a life altering experience. My sister and I began our collection of long playing record albums soon after that, like the next day.

So, my first movie experience of Barbra was Funny Girl and the first album was the motion picture soundtrack from it too. What was your first Barbra movie? How about your first album purchase? I'm sure you can remember!

Another thing that makes a Barbra fan, is to collect magazine covers and stories about Barbra. Life magazines, People magazines and any cover with Barbra on the front, is part of the experience. They we add posters, books and movie stills then they are real fans!

The concerts that Barbra gave also attracts the true fans! The ticket prices are high and everyone loves seeing their favorite in person! What a show and experience each time I saw Barbra live it was! Las Vegas, Anaheim, San Jose were the cities that I saw and heard Barbra. Others went to New York, Detroit, even Down Under in Australia and Europe too! It's a moment fans never forget!

Another quality of a Barbra fan is to collect all the music right when it comes out for release. Partners came out last September and went right to Number One on the Billboard charts because of the loyal Barbra fan. That made six decades with an album of going to number one! Let's hear it for the fans!

As fans, we also love her beauty besides talent. We can't get enough of photos of our favorite star. Different hair styles, different jewelry, clothing and different men, the photographers have always taken pictures of Barbra's comings and goings.

What other things are common to Barbra fans? Why are you a Barbra fan?
Please leave a comment and share if you like, I'd love to hear about your personal experiences.

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Come visit www.ilovebarbra.com and see what's new!

With the news that Barbra Streisand is going to write her memoir for release in 2017 by Viking Press, it's time to take a look back at her first book by the same publisher, "My Passion For Design" released in 2010.

The photographs and her eagle eye attention to detail are certainly evident in her large format, hardcover book about her current Malibu estate. Barbra loves architecture and construction. She has a style like no other and writes about this massive undertaking of landscaping and decorating every inch of her homes.

Her love for Early American furniture and artwork comes out in her descriptions and captions of her plan and vision. This book is like a private tour into Barbra's world. Soon after its release, the book became the focus of a play about Barbra's unique basement on the property called Buyer and Cellar. Barbra's huge and elegant doll collection is housed in the basement, as if it were antique shops lined up on antique row. The play was a fictional story as if Barbra had an actual storekeeper running the place. I saw it in San Francisco last fall and thought it was very clever and funny. It was over the top at moments, but enjoyable to Streisand fans and non fans alike.

The official website for Barbra Streisand is www.barbrastreisand.com. If you are a fan and haven't visited it yet, it's worth a look. You can get News, Music, Articles of Interest, Truth Alerts, Community, Film/TV, Partners and a place to Shop. It is filled with information for a person who already loves Barbra and for those who are newer fans.

There are constant updates organized by entry dates, under the categories listed above as well as links and ads along the right hand side of the page. It can be read in 5 different languages and also is a site that you can join to get updates and other news on Barbra. 

It is a very easy site to navigate and has a lot of info to read, topics that Barbra herself is passionate about like "Woman's Heart Health" and "Climate Change" including screen shots of some of the social media that Barbra is now sending and receiving.

Under the Film/TV links you can see work and appearances separated by decades. It lists events and shows permalinks with more detail when clicked. Barbra's Grammy Awards appearances and when she was at Academy Awards and on interview shows with clips and statements are all listed. It is a great reference section of the website for sure.

In order to participate in the chat forum, one must register and log-in under the topics shown or create a new one. Intelligence exchanges are encouraged and most of the fans are thoughtful and passionate in their statements.

If you haven't been lately or at all, go check it out and see for yourself. Barbra Streisand's official website is "a work in progress" like the superstar herself.
It is a very well produced and informative celebrity site! I would like to see more photos of Barbra, personal and work related but overall it's outstanding.

Visit Anne Z's site: www.ilovebarbra.com
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As I write this blog post, the Wimbledon tennis championships are still in full swing and I wanted to point out that Barbra Streisand herself played tennis in one of her all time classic films, The Way We Were.

In the early 1970's she took tennis lessons from all time great Pancho Segura and mentor of Jimmy Connors, in order to get ready for a scene where she took the court with Robert Redford. It's been well documented that Redford was an all around athlete as a youth and played baseball, tennis and skied very well. Barbra's childhood in Brooklyn didn't include a lot of sporting opportunities, but living in California in her adult life allowed her to take an interest in tennis.

In the tennis scene in "The Way We Were", Barbra walked onto the court, wooden tennis racket in hand and immediately hit a serve! Not bad for a girl from Brooklyn! Especially without a warm-up!

Streisand's Malibu compound had a tennis court and I was lucky enough to play on it when on of the Barbra Reunions was held at her former estate in the 1990's. What a thrill for me! I have to dig up a picture that fellow Barbra fan and professional photographer Joe Marzullo took of me on the court. I brought two rackets from home and convinced a couple of my BJS friends to hit a few balls with me! It wasn't the same as if I played with Barbra or Redford, but I did play ON Barbra's court. There was a viewing area above the court and tucked in the corner near the fence was an old ball machine. I heard that Jason Gould, Barbra's son took lessons on that court during his teen years.

Next time you catch "The Way We Were" on television or watch you own personal DVD of this love story classic, watch for Barbra the tennis player! It will make you smile for sure!

Back in the early 1990's Barbra Streisand attended the Wimbledon tennis championships and rooted her friend Andre Agassi on! On this rest day, the middle Sunday of Wimbledon its a time for looking back at Barbra the tennis fan.

In 1993 Andre Agassi's quarterfinal opponent was the great Pete Sampras. It was a tough five set match won by Sampras, but in the friend's box was our Barbra sitting with Phillip Agassi, Andre's brother. All eyes were on Barbra as she cheered her friend on! 

There friendship was based on a mutual respect for each other. He called her after watching "The Prince of Tides" and she said about him, "He is very evolved and plays tennis like a Zen Master." Both were stars in their own arenas and had formed a mutual admiration society.

Barbra was also a guest in the friend's box at the 1992 US Open tennis tournament in New York City, her hometown. The camera spotted many celebrities that event, but none bigger than Streisand!

Andre spoke about Barbra fondly in his 2010 autobiography "Open". It is one of the best sports biographies I have ever read and I've read many movie and sports stars personal stories! Though there is a 28 year age difference between them, they connected as kindred spirits to be sure.

Happy Birthday America! It's July 4th, 2015. The United States of America is turning 239 years old today! As a treat I am including a video in this blog post  from Barbra Streisand that honors America on her special day from the I Love Liberty TV Special on ABC from 1982. Watch for the long note that Barbra holds at the end of the song! Quite amazing!

Go Red, White and Blue! Keep safe and enjoy some fireworks in your town tonight!

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Happy Anniversary Barbra & Jim! July 1 is the date and they are still going strong! Talk about a Hollywood Power Couple! And attractive too! In person, James Brolin is one handsome man! I remember seeing him at the New Year's Concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas going into the new millenium and my brother was down in the 4th row near the stage. I sat with Mike in his awesome seats and what do you know, James Brolin sat directly in front of us. I had to suffer and see the stage through his hair right in before our eyes. What a hunk! So handsome! It was hard to keep my eyes off him when after the  intermission when Barbra came out for the second portion of the show. 

And Barbra as we all agree is pretty awesome too! Together not too bad! When they are on the red carpet, all the photographers clamor for their glamour! By all accounts, including some comments from them directly, they have a mutual admiration society! They balance each other and compliment each other as well.

Jim makes Barbra a regular person. And she loves his self-confidence and the fact they are equals in their relationship. It takes quite a man to do that! They show up to support each other in public and still have a private life that is their own.

We fans continue to wish them continued good health and happiness! What a team and easy on the eyes to boot! Happy Anniversary!