Funny Lady (soundtrack)
Funny Lady is the soundtrack album of the 1975 musical film of the same title, starring Barbra Streisand. Released by Arista Records on March 15, 1975, arranged, conducted, and coordinated by Peter Matz, the album's fifteen tracks are performed by Streisand, James Caan, and Ben Vereen. A sequel to the 1968 musical comedy-drama Funny Girl, the songs extend the semi-biographical account of the life of American performer Fanny Brice. Funny Lady also included songs written by Brice's third husband Billy Rose. New music by Kander and Ebb included "How Lucky Can You Get", the album's only single, released in April 1975.
Funny Lady
The soundtrack divided music critics, with some negative notes on Caan's singing abilities, while others found it a worthy companion of the film. Commercially, it entered the charts in Australia, Canada and the United States, peaking within the Billboard 200 top ten in the latter country. The Recording Industry Association of America certified the album Gold for shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in late 1975. The album was first issued on CD in 1990, adhering to the original vinyl album sequence, then in 1998 with alternate tracks and the single release of "How Lucky Can You Get" as a bonus track.
Composition[edit]
The album features a total of fifteen songs, with eleven of them performed solely by Streisand, two of them ("Me and My Shadow" and the medley of "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "I Like Her") are sung by costar James Caan, one of them is by Ben Vereen, and the final one is a duet between Streisand and Vereen; Peter Matz executively produced the entire album, in addition to serving as the audio arranger and conductor.[3] Lead single "How Lucky Can You Get It" features "sarcastic" and "ironic" lyrics to capture the character of Brice as accurately as possible.[13][14] The soundtrack itself has been described as a collection of "rejuvenating classics" by author Ethan Mordden.[15] The duet "So Long Honey Lamb" is another newly recorded song by Ebb and Kander, followed by "I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)", which was once performed by Brice during her musical Billy Rose's Crazy Quilt.[16] Track four, "Isn't This Better", is a love song about the relationship of Brice and Billy Rose.[17] "Me and My Shadow" is a solo by Caan, covering the original version which was written by Dave Dreyer, Al Jolson, and Rose.[3] Streisand's "If I Love Again" is a ballad with a "wide range" and "disjunct melody", which was considered "unusual" for a pop song.[18] "I Got a Code in My Doze" was written by Rose and Arthur Fields while "(It's Gonna Be A) Great Day" is a "gospel-rock style" track whose melody was rewritten by Streisand to better suit her.[3][19][20]
The album's ninth track, "Blind Date", was recorded quickly during a strict three-week recording schedule.[21] "Am I Blue" was finalized during the same aforementioned period and was originally written by Harry Akst.[3][21] Two corresponding medleys, one of "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "I Like Him" by Streisand and "It's Only a Paper Moon" and "I Like Her" by Caan, are back-to-back tracks.[3] "More Than You Know", which was originally included on Streisand's Simply Streisand album in 1967, follows and was also used as the B-side track for the commercial release of "How Lucky Can You Get".[8][22] Vereen's solo of "Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie" precedes "Let's Hear It for Me", which is the album's closing track and an updated version of the Funny Girl original "Don't Rain on My Parade".[17][23]
Commercial performance[edit]
Allison J. Waldman predicted that the commercial success of the soundtrack was due to Streisand's previous role and performance in the original film, Funny Girl.[1] In the United States, the album debuted at number 75 on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending March 29, 1975.[28] It continued to climb the chart in that country for several weeks before peaking at number six on May 10.[29] It spent four weeks within the top ten of chart, and a total of 25 weeks altogether.[30][31] The Recording Industry Association of America certified the soundtrack Gold for shipments upwards of 500,000 sales on September 8, 1975.[32] On Canada's Top Albums chart conducted and published by RPM, the record debuted at number 90 during the week of April 12, 1975.[33] Similar to its progress in the United States, it soared up the charts for several weeks before peaking at number 17 on May 17 of the same year.[34] It spent a total of 12 consecutive weeks charting in Canada, with its final position being number 56 on June 28.[35][36] It also charted in Australia, where it peaked at number 50 according to the Kent Music Report.[37]