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A Star is Born (1976)

Catalog Number(s):

• JS 34403 (1976 LP)
• CK 57375 (1994 CD)
• CK 86119 ( 2002 CD)
• CK 5063602 (2002 U.K. version with Bonus Track)

This page: Tracks > About the Album > Billboard Charts > Grammy Award(s) > 1994 CD > 2002 CD > Packaging Notes > Album Cover Outtakes

(BELOW: Inside detail of original album gatefold spread ...)

(Below): 1994 and 2002 STAR IS BORN CD back covers ...

Tracks

1. Watch Closely Now [3:49] †
   (P. Williams / K. Ascher)
2. Queen Bee [3:56] *
   (R. Holmes)
3. Everything [3:51] *
   (R. Holmes / P. Williams)
4. Lost Inside Of You (Duet with Kris Kristofferson) [2:55] *†
   (B. Streisand / L. Russell)
5. Hellacious Acres [2:59] †
   (P. Williams / K. Ascher)
6. Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen) [3:05] *
   (B. Streisand / P. Williams)
7. The Woman In The Moon [4:50] *
   (P. Williams / K. Ascher)
8. I Believe In Love [3:14] *
   (M. Bergman / A. Bergman / K. Loggins)
9. Crippled Crow [3:31] †
   (D. Weiss)
10. Finale: With One More Look At You / Watch Closely Now [7:43] *
    (P. Williams / K. Ascher)
11. Reprise: Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen) [1:47] *
    (B. Streisand / P. Williams)

* Streisand vocals

† Kristofferson vocals

Individual track credits:

(mouse and click on each song to reveal the credits...)

About the Album

• Released: November 1976
• Produced by: Barbra Streisand and Phil Ramone
• Recording Engineers: Phil Ramone, Tom Vicari, Dan Wallin
• All Songs Recorded Live at:
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Grady Gammage Auditorium
  • The Handlebar (Wally Heider Recording)
  • A&M Recording Studios
• Remix Engineer: Phil Ramone
• Assisted by: Jim Boyer
• Orchestrations by: Roger Kellaway, Jim Pankow, Kenny Ascher, Ian Freebairn-Smith, Tom Scott, Pat Williams
• The Speedway: Terry Paul, Booker T. Jones, Jerry McGee, Dean Hagen, Stephen Bruton, Art Munson, Sammy Creason, Charles Owens, Donnie Fritts, Bobby Shew, Mike Utley, Jack Redmond
• The Oreos: Clydie King, Venetta Fields
• Special Thanks to Gary LeMel
• Art Direction: Seiniger & Assoc.
• Front Cover Photo: Francesco Scavullo
• Back Cover Photo: Steve Schapiro

Paul Williams, who wrote the lyrics to “Evergreen,” told writer Carl Wiser how he developed them:

I actually wrote those first two lines in the opposite order. I wrote “Love, fresh as the morning air, love soft as an easy chair.” I called Barbra [Streisand] as I was getting on a plane to go on tour with Olivia Newton-John. We were doing a 6-week tour, and Barbra was in Arizona getting ready to start filming A Star Is Born. I called her and said, “You know what, flip those two first lines, because it sings better.” “Love, soft as an easy chair, love, fresh as the morning air.” “Morning” sang better at that point in the song. And I remember saying to Barbra, “They’ll probably laugh us out of the theatres for starting a love song with a line about a chair, but I think it works better that way."

Williams confirmed that he wrote the songs for the film in seven weeks. And more on Streisand's melody:

She sat down and played on a guitar, the melody for “Evergreen” that she’d written. It was just such a beautiful melody. I said, “There’s your love song. There’s the big love song.” I asked her for the melody. She put it on tape for me, and I took it home. I actually wrote that as the last thing, which I think bothered her. But all the Kris Kristofferson stuff was the first thing up on the shoot schedule. So I wrote the songs for Kris first.

Billboard Charts

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine.

Here's the numbers for this Streisand album:

• Debut Chart Date: 12-11-76
• No. Weeks on Billboard 200 Albums Chart: 51
• Peak Chart Position: #1 for 6 weeks
• Gold: 12/23/76
• Platinum: 1/21/77
• 4x Multi-Platinum: 10/26/84

Gold: 500,000 units shipped

Platinum: 1 million units shipped.

Note: The record company must submit an album to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) where it undergoes a certification process to become eligible for an award. The process entails an independent sales audit, which calculates the quantity of singles or albums shipped for sale, net after returns. The audit surveys shipments to the entire music marketplace, including retail, record clubs, television sales, Internet orders and other ancillary markets. Based on the certification of these shipments, a title is awarded Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum or Diamond status. The data here comes directly from official sources, mainly the RIAA online database.

Grammy Noms & Wins

• Best Pop Female Vocal Performance - “Love Theme From A Star Is Born”
• Song Of The Year - “Love Theme From A Star Is Born” (with Paul Williams. Tied with “You Light Up My Life”)
• Record Of The Year Nomination: “Love Theme From A Star Is Born”
• Best Original Score - Motion Picture or Television Special Nomination: A Star Is Born

1994 CD Notes

• Restored by John Arrias at B&J Studio using the C.A.P. System
• Remastered by Bernie Grundman

A Star Is Born was restored and remastered on CD for the first time in October 1993 and part of Columbia Records' 11 Essential Barbra Streisand Releases. The master tapes were prepared for release by John Arrias (who put together the masters for Just For The Record). According to Columbia's publicity:

“The objective with each album was to restore the tapes to the quality of the original master recording. To do this in some cases, 30 years of noise had to be eliminated. John used his proprietary C.A.P. Noise Reduction System to eliminate hiss, distortion and noise. In each case great care was taken to maintain the integrity of the original albums.”

Columbia also recreated the packages using the original art or printing film.

2002 CD Notes

• Remastered from the original master tapes by Stephen Marcussen
• Digitally edited by Stewart Whitmore for Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, CA.

CD Packaging Notes

The 2002 liner notes restored the lyrics to the order in which they appear on the CD. The 2002 CD reprinted the LP gatefold photo collage in the center of the CD booklet.

The 2002 CD was released in the U.K. with a bonus track: "Evergreen (Love Theme from "A Star Is Born") [Spanish Version]".

Album Cover Outtakes

Francesco Scavullo shot the publicity photograph that was used in all advertisements for A Star is Born, and also appeared on the album cover.

End.

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