Superman (1977)

Ron Oberman—VP of A&R at Columbia Records—wrote an internal memo in June 1977: “With A Star is Born on the way to the four-million-unit level, Barbra Streisand’s following has never been larger. A number one single, number one album, and one of the year’s biggest grossing films have combined to catapult Barbra beyond her already accepted superstar status.  Now, with perfect timing, comes the new Barbra Streisand album, Streisand Superman.”

Barbra Streisand enjoyed great success with A Star is Born and “Evergreen.” Her career began a new chapter in 1977 when her longtime manager Marty Erlichman departed, and Streisand’s boyfriend, Jon Peters, took over that role.  To fulfill her next album for Columbia Records, Streisand and Peters turned to The Entertainment Company.

Comprised of producers Gary Klein and Charles Koppelman, The Entertainment Company promoted song catalogs, acquired major songs, and produced a series of hits in which superstar recording artists were paired together. Jon Peters met Koppelman and Klein in 1974 when they assisted on the Streisand album, Butterfly.

Klein explained that “It was her first album since A Star Is Born, and the concept was to keep Barbra Streisand on the pop charts, not have people think of her as just an MOR [Middle of the Road, a “pop radio” category] artist.”

Working with Klein in the studio on February 24, 1977, Streisand recorded new versions of songs from A Star is Born, with arrangements by Nick DeCaro: “With One More Look at You,” and a solo version of “Lost Inside of You.” Barbra didn’t use them, though. (“Lost Inside” found a home on the Memories album; “One More Look” ended up on Release Me.)

After deciding to record new instead of old material, Gary Klein put together a 10-song album, using arrangers Nick DeCaro, Jack Nitzsche, and Charlie Calello.  The album was built around Richie Snyder’s song, “Superman.” 

“I like the idea that a woman could be thought of as Superman,” Streisand told Sirius XM.

She was also ahead of the times – Warner Brothers’ big film, Superman: The Movie, starring Christopher Reeve, would not hit theaters until December 1978.

PHOTO:  Barbra Streisand and Producer Gary Klein

Columbia Records acted quickly and released the single “My Heart Belongs to Me” on May 13, 1977, ahead of the album. Columbia and Barbra also put together a “publicity film” for “My Heart Belongs To Me” which was shown at Columbia’s 1977 convention to industry insiders.

The Superman album hit stores a month later. Superman was lavishly packaged, with sexy photos of Barbra posing in a Superman T-shirt and short-shorts.  The look was inspired by a short scene in A Star is Born where Streisand wore the outfit at her character’s home in Sonoita, Arizona.

Streisand attended CBS Records’ convention in August 1977, where she performed some songs and also accepted a platinum record awarded for Superman’s one million-plus sales. [Columbia Records was renamed CBS Records in the mid-1970s when Walter Yetnikoff was its president.]

Gary Klein told Cash Box that Superman “probably is the most pop album she has done since Stoney End and was also her biggest seller of any album not connected with a motion picture.”

Record World summed up Streisand’s success with Superman, writing that the album “has established the premier female singer in the world as a sure recording artist sans the old belief of a required movie vehicle. Barbra is now experiencing the highest unit sales in her career with very active plans to continue her recording activity.”

Superman included two songs which were outtakes from A Star is Born — “Answer Me” by Streisand, Paul Williams, and Kenny Ascher; and “Lullaby For Myself” by Rupert Holmes. 

Arranger Nick DeCaro stated, “Answer Me” was “a wonderful song, but it’s not a real ‘accessible song.’ It’s kind of complex, musically, and when I first hear it I thought, ‘My God, I shouldn’t be doing this.’ In fact, I mentioned to Barbra that she should be doing it with someone like Claus Ogerman … and she said, ‘Well, if I don’t like the way you do it, I’ll do it again with Claus!’ But she did like the way I arranged it.”

“Love Comes From Unexpected Places” was written by Kim Carnes and her husband, Dave Ellingson.

Columnist Liz Smith wrote, “Director Richard Brooks admits that Barbra Streisand offered to sing her hit ‘Love Comes From Unexpected Places’ over the opening titles of his yet unseen, but eagerly anticipated movie, Looking for Mr. Goodbar, starring Diane Keaton. Richard graciously turned down the offer, feeling La Streisand would prove too powerful for the movie. But later, in thinking it over, Richard asked Barbra if she would sing the end credits. SHE turned THAT down ...”

Richard Brooks told the New York Times that Streisand wanted the song played under the opening titles of the movie. “It's a lovely song,” he said. “It fits the film. And Barbra is marvelous. But it gives the whole picture the wrong tone. The frame is from Cartiers and we've got a ring in there from a popcorn bag. If the song didn't have to be under the opening titles or if someone with a less marvelous voice was singing it . . .”

[For the record, singer Marlena Shaw recorded a different Mr. Goodbar theme, “Don't Ask to Stay Until Tomorrow.”]

Music icon Billy Joel wrote “New York State of Mind.” Joel explained, “I thought, ‘This is one of the greatest woman singers ever, doing … me? Me?’ I really loved it, though, because it kind of finally made me legitimate in this business to my mother.”

Scott Mathews and Ron Nagle formed a songwriter partnership called Proud Pork Productions. “Don’t Believe What You Read” and “Cabin Fever” were both by Ron Nagle. When producer Jack Nitzsche called to tell him that Streisand wanted to record his song, Scott Mathews said, “It wasn’t the same thrill as hearing Al Green was interested, but it did build us a lovely new studio.” 

“Don’t Believe What You Read” was written when Los Angeles Magazine wrote a blurb in its “Insider” column about Barbra with the subtitle “A Pigeon is Born.” The magazine claimed that Barbra and Jon Peters kept an indoor aviary and that the birds flew around the house. “[They] were intimating that they were crapping on people’s heads,” Barbra exclaimed in a KHJ Radio interview.  The magazine also said Barbra was “Howard Hughesesque about germs.” The gossip was picked up and reprinted by other news outlets, including Playboy.

Barbra could have simply ignored the column.  However, “one night I invited Neil Sedaka and his wife to come over and play some music,” Streisand explained, “and she told me later that she was afraid to come because she had read I had birds flying around on the loose. Another friend’s barber … also asked if this was really true.”

The whole situation motivated Streisand to ask Ron Nagle and Scott Matthews to allow her to collaborate on a song that addressed the nasty article. 

Country music star Roger Miller wrote “Baby Me Baby” and sung it in an up-tempo, honky-tonk fashion on his own single on the Windsong label.  His single rose to the top of the Country charts in 1977, too.

“I Found You Love” was written by Alan Gordon. Cher and boyfriend Gregg Allman sang a duet version of this song on their 1977 album Allman & Woman: Two the Hard Way.