On this day (December 2) in 1978, Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand topped the Billboard Hot 100 with their duet “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” Both artists recorded solo versions of the song. Then, a producer at a Kentucky radio station combined them to create a faux duet. After hearing the bootleg, the two stars went to the studio to make things official.
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Diamond co-wrote the song with Marilyn and Alan Bergman. Originally, it was meant to be the theme song for the TV show All That Glitters. As a result, it was less than a minute long. However, some issues arose preventing the song from being used. So, Diamond and his co-writers finished the song, adding another verse and some instrumental sections. He recorded it for his 1977 album I’m Glad You’re Here with Me. The next year, Streisand recorded it for Songbird.
[RELATED: The 1977 Hit Neil Diamond Wrote for Glen Campbell First Then Released 40 Years Later]
The Origin of the Duet
According to Songfacts, Gary Guthrie, a producer at WAKY-AM in Louisville, Kentucky, created the spliced version of the song. “Becky, my wife, and I were going through a very amicable divorce. The previous fall, we had heard Neil’s version at a friend’s house, and I noticed how it made her cry,” he recalled. “Fast forward to spring ’78 and Barbra’s–another of Becky’s favorites–new album came out out and, damn, there it was again,” he added.
Because he had plenty of spare time on his hands, he mixed the two songs at the radio station and had his friend play it while he listened in his car late at night. After he finally had a satisfactory mix, he pushed his new version of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” to the public. “All Hell broke loose,” he recalled of the reaction. “Requests, record store calls, you name it.”
Neil Diamond said he and Barbra Streisand heard the remixed song and loved it. “We looked at each other, and a light bulb appeared in a bubble above our heads, and we said, ‘Hey, let’s go in and do it for real.’”
Featured Image by Lester Cohen/WireImage
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