Barbra’s Book
I just finished My Name is Barbra. Hallelujah. It took me 5 months. In 2 installments. I read (or rather listened*) on the Libby App. (You’re given 21 days to finish. Which is fine if a book is 7-hours long. But Barbra’s is a 48-hour read. Finding 48 hours in 21 days isn’t easy. At least not for me. I have a life. )
She speaks slowly and deliberately. Which isn’t a bad thing. Still, I sped her up 15%. She was still slow. I listened on planes, on walks, on the treadmill. At 21 days when I was at 60% I watched the graphic of the book twirl into oblivion on the App. My carriage turned into a pumpkin. It would be another 16 weeks until it became available again (it’s a popular title). Was it worth the wait? Yes.
My most delightful takeaway was that Barbra and I share the belief that the universe conspires with us when we’re committed. When we believe in something so unflinchingly it helps us to achieve it. (This was the premise in one of my favorite books Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.) I’m aware there are those who say attributing fate to the power of the universe is ridiculous but they’re wrong.
I was living in a dump in NYC in the 1980’s, determined to get out of there. I took daily walks on Amsterdam Avenue looking people in the eye (cuz we didn’t have screens.) One afternoon my eyes locked with a guy at a cafe and he bought me a coffee. It just so happened he had a friend whose father owned a building in the village. Two weeks later I was living in a new pad in on 12th Street. Was it coincidence or was I so committed to the relocation that I made myself available (perhaps unconsciously) for opportunity to knock? You know what I think.
Barbra (we’re on a first name basis now) and I also share an infinity for chocolate covered marzipan and a frugal need to use one tea bag for 2 cups of tea.
Some would call her abundance of Yentl detail an over-share but she’s earned the right to over-share. Besides, anyone who doesn’t love her already probably isn’t going to read this book.
Think about it. If you’re a Beatles fanatic and Paul McCartney narrated a 50-hour memoir about his relationship with John, you’d be there, right? Savor every word. In fact take your time, Sir Paul.
Actually Ian Leslie wrote that book: John & Paul - A Love Story in Songs. Paul isn’t the narrater but it was riveting nonetheless. I’m convinced more than ever that John was touched — a nice way of saying a little insane. No doubt it contributed to his genius. You might not be inclined to agree with Mr. Leslie’s take on everything but looking back his musings make sense.
Back to Barb and her very long book.
She narrates the entire 48 hours (unlike Cher who takes turns with a voice actor. What is that about? If you don’t have the stamina to read the whole thing, don’t put it out on audio.)
Barbra never gets hoarse or uninspired. It’s like you’re curled up on a sofa next to a crackling fire with a case of wine and she’s reading her journals.
She tells us that when she was Young, Jewish and Hungry (how is that for song title?) she told a guy who offered to buy her a drink that she’d rather have a potato. The girl was not trying to blend in. She still isn’t. 🥔
I enjoyed listening to her thoughts on being on stage, staying in the moment and feeling the people. “Live performing is not about perfection … if you’re faking or boring, they’ll feel it immediately.”
She opens up about delicious love affaires (she had quite a few) and cerebral connections with renowned humans.
She spills about how Sydney Chaplin (son of Charlie) who played Nicky Arnstein in Broadway’s Funny Girl, whispered awful things in her ear during performances because she wouldn’t have an affair with him.
She reads letters of admiration from notables who didn’t necessarily have time to write them (Liz Taylor, Bill Clinton, Leonard Bernstein, Katherine Hepburn) but they picked up a pen nonetheless and composed thoughts (without Chat GPT), put a stamp on the envelope and dropped it in a mailbox. (Well, their PAs did.)
She has asked many an accomplished songwriter to rewrite lyrics so that their song would better suit her. Not one songwriter refused. Now I ask you, what would you do if you loved your song exactly the way it was but there’s a strong possibility Barbra Streisand would record it if you adjusted it to her liking? That’s what I thought. I would too.
My Dad listened to Barbra’s records all the time. He adored her. He wasn’t a musician but he recognized her gift. The purity of her tone. There are/were iconic singers remarkable in their own right (Aretha – my god! Celine – some would say, Whitney – indeed) but Barbra is in a class of her own. No one sounds like her in a world where too many artists sound identical on purpose. And no one looks like her. Or should I say she looks like no one — never considered removing the bump on her nose. Queen Latifah tells us, “An original doesn’t conform to expectations. She changes them forever.”
Barbara’s Streisand’s life has been Bashert (meant to be). It’s notable that she soared so high without the support and nurturing of her mother. But like Diane Warren reveals in her doc Relentless, when your mother doesn’t reinforce your confidence or tell you she loves you, you have much to prove. To her. To yourself. To the world.
Surely Barbra was given a rare gift at birth and the favorable anatomical equipment with which to deliver that gift. But it takes more than that. It takes vision. Follow through. It takes Alchemy and the belief in the idea that “thought is stronger than matter and if you can imagine something it can be so.”
She leaves us with … “I think I truly am one of the luckiest people in the world.”
But ‘luck’ is only half of it. 🙂
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*I listen rather than read these days because it distracts me from the ringing in my ears. (Barbra had that too.) It wasn’t easy at first. I found I can’t listen to audio if I’m actively doing something else that requires decision-making like food shopping or cooking. But driving or walking on the beach? It’s my new favorite thing.
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