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") , 12" , CD(reissue)
Recorded February 1980
(Middle Ear, Miami Beach) [1]
Genre Soft rock, pop
Length 3:49
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb
Producer(s) Gibb-Galuten-Richardson
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Barbra Streisand singles chronology
"Kiss Me in the Rain"
(1980)		 "Woman in Love"
(1980)		 "Guilty"
(1980)

"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.

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 and the Barbra: The Music, The Mem'ries, The Magic.

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 charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australian KMR 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 1
Dutch Top 40[9] 1
Canadian RPM Top Singles 1
French Singles Chart 1
West German Singles Chart[10] 1
Irish Singles Chart[11] 1
Netherlands [12] 1
New Zealand Singles Chart 2
Norway[13] 1
Spanish Singles Chart[14] 1
Swedish Singles Chart[15] 1
Swiss Singles Chart[16] 1
UK Singles Chart[6] 1
US Billboard Hot 100 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 1
US Cash Box Hot 100 [17] 1
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[18] 1
Italian Singles Chart 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1980) Position
Australia [19] 21
Canada [20] 56
France 1
West Germany 24
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 4
New Zealand [22] 35
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 12
United Kingdom [24] 2
U.S. (Billboard Hot 100) [25] 35
U.S. (Cash Box) [26] 9
Singapore 4
South Africa 2
Chart (1981) Position
Canada [27] 58

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
France (SNEP)[28] Platinum 1,298,000[29]
Germany (BVMI)[30] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Gold 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[32] Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

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(s) Barry & Robin Gibb
Producer(s) Barry Gibb
The Guilty Demos track listing

"Guilty"
(1)		 "Woman in Love"
(2)		 "Run Wild"
(3)

"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.[33] 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,[34] 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).[35]

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

  1. ↑ "Gibb Songs : 1980". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  2. ↑ Lister, David, Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion, The Independent, 28 May 1994
  3. ↑ "Song artist 143 - Barbra Streisand". Tsort.info. 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  4. ↑ Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, 500 nr.1 hits uit de Top 40, 9023009444 (Book in Dutch)
  5. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  6. 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 208–9. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  7. ↑ Streisand Disks Dominate Global Charts. Billboard Magazine. 6 December 1980. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Barbra Streisand – Woman in Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "Top 40-lijst van week 42, 1980". Top40.nl. 1980-10-18. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  10. ↑ "INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20". Ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  11. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  12. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  13. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  14. ↑ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  15. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  16. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Barbra Streisand - Woman In Love". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  19. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Forum - Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  20. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  21. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1980" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Top Selling Singles of 1980 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1980-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  23. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1980" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  24. ↑ "UK Singles of the Year" (PDF). Record Mirror. December 27, 1980. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  25. ↑ "Pop Singles" Billboard December 20, 1980: TIA-10
  26. ↑
  27. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  28. ↑ "French single certifications – Barbra Streisand – Woman in Love" (in French). InfoDisc. Select BARBRA STREISAND and click OK
  29. ↑ "Les Singles de Platine" [Platinum Singles] (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  30. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Barbra Streisand; 'Woman in Love')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  31. ↑ "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
  32. ↑ "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
  33. ↑ "Gibb Songs : 1979". Columbia.edu. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  34. ↑ "Dana International :: International singles". Phreak.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  35. ↑ "Tahwak Clip Officiel - Sofia Marikh | تهواك - صوفيا مريخ". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-01-12.

External links

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