Funny Girl, the Broadway musical, opened on March 26, 1964 at the Winter Garden Theater. Ten days later, on Sunday, April 5, 1964, the cast assembled at Manhattan Center studios (311 West 34th Street) to record the Capitol Records album. Capitol released the album about one week later.
Why did Capitol Records release Funny Girl, and not Columbia Records (Streisand's record label)? Barbra's manager, Marty Erlichman, explained to Music Business magazine in 1964, “We knew Barbra was set for Funny Girl before we signed with Columbia, and we wanted to be sure she was able to do it. Capitol got the album because of an overall Broadway and picture deal between Ray Stark's Seven Arts concern and Capitol.”
Capitol also reportedly invested one third of Funny Girl's final cost of production. It's also said Columbia's president Goddard Lieberson heard the score while the show was in early development and passed on the cast album. For Capitol's use of Barbra Streisand, however, Lieberson required the right to have her record four singles from the show.
On December 20, 1963 in Columbia's Studio A recording studio, Streisand recorded:
- I Am Woman (Columbia Single #4-42965—B Side)
- Who Are You Now? *
- Cornet Man *
- People (Columbia Single #4-42965—A Side)
* Unreleased
Mike Berniker produced the session, and Peter Matz did the arrangements.
Besides the soundtrack to her film sequel Funny Lady, and the Hello, Dolly! soundtrack, it is the only non-Columbia Records album Streisand has recorded in her career.
