Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)
Encyclopedia
"Evergreen" is the theme song from the 1976 film A Star Is Born
. It was composed and performed by Barbra Streisand
with lyrics by Paul Williams
. The song was released on the soundtrack
album
to A Star Is Born.
Streisand earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song
, her second Oscar overall, as composer of the song. With "Evergreen", Streisand also earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year
. She and Williams also won Golden Globes in the category of Best Original Song
for the song.
On the US music charts, the single spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100
and six weeks atop the easy listening chart. This was Streisand's second number-one song on the Hot 100 (following "The Way We Were
" in 1974), and her third on the adult contemporary chart ("The Way We Were" and 1964's "People"). In the UK Singles Chart
, the song peaked at #3 in 1977.
The song's opening couplet, "Love, soft as an easy chair, love fresh as the morning air," almost did not appear that way. Williams wrote the morning air line first, but told Streisand to "flip those two first lines, because it sings better."
In 1997, the track appeared in the tribute album Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute
.
("Tema de Amor de Nace Una Estrella"), French
( "De Reve en Reverie") with lyrics by Eddy Marnay
, and Italian
("Sempreverde") with lyrics by Luigi Albertelli. The Spanish version was also released as a track on the 1996 CD single, "I Finally Found Someone
", a Streisand duet with Bryan Adams
and on the import CD version of the A Star is Born remastered soundtrack.
Paul Williams
recorded the song for his 1977 album Classics. Ramsey Lewis recorded a jazz instrumental version for his 1977 album Love Notes. British singer Hazell Dean
recorded a dance version of the song in 1984, and reached #63 in the UK Singles Chart. Luther Vandross
recorded the song for his 1994 album Songs
.
A Star Is Born (1976 film)
A Star Is Born is a 1976 American rock music musical film telling the story of a young woman, played by Barbra Streisand who enters show business, and meets and falls in love with an established male star, played by Kris Kristofferson, only to find her career ascending while his goes into decline...
. It was composed and performed by Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
with lyrics by Paul Williams
Paul Williams (songwriter)
Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
. The song was released on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
to A Star Is Born.
Streisand earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
, her second Oscar overall, as composer of the song. With "Evergreen", Streisand also earned a Grammy Award for Song of the Year
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Song of the Year is one of the four most prestigious awards in the Grammy Awards ceremony, if not in all of the American music industry. It has been awarded since 1959 and unlike the Record of the Year award, which goes to the performer and production team of a single song, Song of the Year...
. She and Williams also won Golden Globes in the category of Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
for the song.
On the US music charts, the single spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and six weeks atop the easy listening chart. This was Streisand's second number-one song on the Hot 100 (following "The Way We Were
The Way We Were (song)
"The Way We Were" is the title song to the 1973 movie The Way We Were, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. The song was written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, scored by Marvin Hamlisch and performed by Streisand...
" in 1974), and her third on the adult contemporary chart ("The Way We Were" and 1964's "People"). In the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, the song peaked at #3 in 1977.
The song's opening couplet, "Love, soft as an easy chair, love fresh as the morning air," almost did not appear that way. Williams wrote the morning air line first, but told Streisand to "flip those two first lines, because it sings better."
In 1997, the track appeared in the tribute album Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute
Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute
Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute is a 1997 two CD release in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales with participation of a great number of renowned artists...
.
Other versions
Barbra Streisand also recorded versions of the song in SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
("Tema de Amor de Nace Una Estrella"), French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
( "De Reve en Reverie") with lyrics by Eddy Marnay
Eddy Marnay
Eddy Marnay was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 100 songs, including works for Édith Piaf and Céline Dion. He also wrote the title song for Charlie Chaplin's 1957 film A King in New York....
, and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
("Sempreverde") with lyrics by Luigi Albertelli. The Spanish version was also released as a track on the 1996 CD single, "I Finally Found Someone
I Finally Found Someone
"I Finally Found Someone" is a song duet from 1996 with Bryan Adams and Barbra Streisand. The song was part of the soundtrack in Barbra's self-directed movie The Mirror Has Two Faces and was nominated for an Oscar...
", a Streisand duet with Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
and on the import CD version of the A Star is Born remastered soundtrack.
Paul Williams
Paul Williams (songwriter)
Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
recorded the song for his 1977 album Classics. Ramsey Lewis recorded a jazz instrumental version for his 1977 album Love Notes. British singer Hazell Dean
Hazell Dean
Hazell Dean is a British dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading Hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top ten hits "Searchin' ", "Whatever I Do " and "Who's Leaving Who"...
recorded a dance version of the song in 1984, and reached #63 in the UK Singles Chart. Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
recorded the song for his 1994 album Songs
Songs (Luther Vandross album)
-Charts:...
.
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1977 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1977 (U.S.)