Written whilst listening to original vinyl from 1974.  50 years?  Don’t tell me that.

I recently acquired the autobiography written by Barbara Streisand.  I have read only a few chapters.  I had to look for what she had to say about Pat Conroy, the author of  the novel The Prince of Tides which Barbara made a movie out of and did a great job of.  Her accounts of Pat Conroy were favorable bordering on exceptional.  I met Pat Conroy once.  And for me, that time was exceptional.  When I told him I was an English teacher, he was mine.  I am so glad his novel was given the treatment it deserved.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem I was quite enamored with in college.          The Tide Rises,the Tide Falls by Longfellow made an impression on me.  A song I wrote many years ago alludes to this poem slightly.

I use this as a reference for the title of this post.

Yesterday while I put myself through a vigorous workout on the elliptical, I watched, for the first time in my life, A Star is Born (1976) starring Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.  This movie has been a part of my life since I was 8.  Why?  The song Evergreen, the love theme of the movie, has played out in my head for more than 47 years.  I love the song.  And guess what?  I enjoyed the movie.

Watching this movie, I came to the conclusion that, in my mind, Barbara Streisand is the greatest American entertainer in history.

Watching A Star is Born, I was asked to believe that Streisand’s character was a nobody waiting to be discovered.  This from the actress that wooed us in Funny Girl, cracked us up in What’s Up Doc?, and already made us cry with a song and acting performance in the movie The Way We Were with Robert Redford.

I believed every minute of A Star is Born. She was that good.

Watching her sing Evergreen in the movie after my personal movie had been established was tough.  My mind already had a video for this tune and they did not mesh.

Bob Seger was never big on making videos.  Think about it.  How many Seger tunes have you SEEN?  You haven’t.  Seger once said the video that is most important is the one we conjure in our own mind.  I paraphrase here.

I still think Barbara Streisand’s performance was monumental in A Star is Born.  I am glad I finally got around to watching this film.  It was important.

I end this listening to Justin Hayward and the Moody Blues singing Nights in White Satin.  This song is timeless.  So is the work of Barbara Streisand.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson