BARBARA J. STREISAND, THE VOICE OF THE WAY WE WERE

Today, The Grandma has been listening to one of her favourite singers, Barbra Streisand the American singer and actress, who was born on a day like today in 1942.

Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (born April 24, 1942) is an American singer and actress. 

With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT).

Streisand began her career by performing in nightclubs and Broadway theaters in the early 1960s. Following her guest appearances on various television shows, she signed to Columbia Records, insisting that she retain full artistic control, and accepting lower pay in exchange, an arrangement that continued throughout her career, and released her debut The Barbra Streisand Album (1963), which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Throughout her recording career, Streisand has topped the US Billboard 200 chart with 11 albums -a record for a woman- including People (1964), The Way We Were (1974), Guilty (1980), and The Broadway Album (1985).

She also achieved five number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 -The Way We Were, Evergreen, You Don't Bring Me Flowers, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough), and Woman in Love.

Following her established recording success in the 1960s, Streisand ventured into film by the end of that decade.

She starred in the critically acclaimed Funny Girl (1968), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Additional fame followed with films including the extravagant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969), the screwball comedy What's Up, Doc? (1972), and the romantic drama The Way We Were (1973).

Streisand won a second Academy Award for writing the love theme from A Star Is Born (1976), the first woman to be honored as a composer. With the release of Yentl (1983), Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a major studio film.

The film won an Oscar for Best Score and a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical. Streisand also received the Golden Globe Award for Best Director, becoming the first (and for 37 years, the only) woman to win that award. Streisand later directed The Prince of Tides (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).

More information: Twitter-Barbra Streisand

Streisand was born on April 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York City, the daughter of Diana Ida and Emanuel Streisand. Her mother had been a soprano in her youth and considered a career in music, but later became a school secretary. Her father was a high school teacher at the same school, where they first met.

Streisand's family was Jewish. Her paternal grandparents emigrated from Galicia (Poland-Ukraine) and her maternal grandparents from the Russian Empire, where her grandfather had been a cantor.

Streisand began her education at the Jewish Orthodox Yeshiva of Brooklyn when she was five. She was considered bright and inquisitive about everything; however, she lacked discipline, often shouting answers to questions out of turn. She next entered Public School 89 in Brooklyn, and during those early school years began watching television and going to movies.

Streisand accepted her first role on the New York stage in Another Evening with Harry Stoones, a satirical comedy play in which she acted and sang two solos.

Streisand's first television appearance was on The Tonight Show, then credited to its usual host Jack Paar. She was seen during an April 1961 episode on which Orson Bean substituted for Paar. She sang Harold Arlen's A Sleepin' Bee.

When she was 21, Streisand signed a contract with Columbia Records that gave her full creative control, in exchange for less money.

Streisand has recorded 50 studio albums, almost all with Columbia Records.

Streisand possesses a mezzo-soprano vocal range.

Streisand changed her name from Barbara to Barbra because, she said, I hated the name, but I refused to change it.

Streisand has been nominated 43 times for a Grammy Award, winning eight. In addition, she has received two special non-competitive awards; the 1992 Grammy Legend Award and the 1994 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame four times.

In 2011, she was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year by the Grammy Foundation for her artistic achievement in the music industry.

More information: Instagram-Barbra Streisand

 When I was maybe 5 or 6 years old,
the neighborhood girls would sit
on the stoop and sing.
I was known as the kid who had a good voice
and no father.

Barbra Streisand