7 Best Moments From Star-Studded Salute to Legendary Songwriter Alan Bergman

“Memories, determination are excessively galore to count,” Barbra Streisand said connected video astatine an all-star performance celebrating the beingness of lyricist Alan Bergman connected Thursday (Sept. 11) astatine the Broad Stage successful Santa Monica, Calif. You tin spot what she did there, opening her idiosyncratic tribute to 2 of her closest colleagues and friends with the opening connection of “The Way We Were,” their astir celebrated opus (and her archetypal No. 1 deed connected the Billboard Hot 100).

Streisand said she archetypal met Alan and his woman Marilyn Bergman successful 1960 erstwhile she was conscionable 18, performing astatine a tiny club, the Bon Soir, successful Greenwich Village. She was conscionable starting out. They had already achieved success, co-writing “Nice ’N’ Easy,” a deed that twelvemonth for Frank Sinatra.

“We had been adjacent friends for 62 years erstwhile (Marilyn) passed 3 years ago.” Streisand said. Streisand recorded 63 songs by the Bergmans, including different of her No. 1 Hot 100 hits, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” – a 1978 duet with Neil Diamond – and an full 2011 tribute album, What Matters Most – Barbra Streisand Sings the Lyrics of Alan & Marilyn Bergman,which received a Grammy information for champion accepted popular vocal album.

“We each became a family,” Streisand said. She noted that Marilyn “was a parent fig to me,” and that Alan “made each women, including me, consciousness harmless and seen.”

This performance lawsuit was primitively planned arsenic a 100th day solemnisation for Alan Bergman – yesterday would person been his 100th birthday. It pivoted to a solemnisation of his beingness aft helium died connected July 17. Comedian Paul Reiser, a long-time person of the Bergmans, hosted. Trey Henry served arsenic philharmonic director. Musicians included Mitch Forman, Peter Erskine, Greg Phillinganes, Bob Sheppard, Bill Cantos, Jason Crosby, Serge Merlaud, Tamir Hendelman, Shelly Berg and David Finck.

The lawsuit besides included video messages from Bill Charlap and Pat Metheny. Bergman finished penning the lyrics to 9 Metheny tunes for an upcoming medium soon earlier helium passed.

The Bergmans are best-known for penning exquisite ballads specified arsenic “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life,” “Pieces of Dreams” and “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?,” but they couldn’t beryllium typecast. They besides wrote witty and zesty taxable songs for specified TV bid as Maude, Good Times and Alice.

The Bergmans won 3 Academy Awards, 3 Grammys (including opus of the twelvemonth for “The Way We Were”), 4 Primetime Emmys and 2 Golden Globes. They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame successful 1980 and received that organization’s highest honor, the Johnny Mercer Award, successful 1997. They received a trustees grant from the Recording Academy successful 2013.

Not a connection of this was mentioned successful the performance program, oregon adjacent successful the printed programme that was handed retired astatine the event. When songs are this good, and endowment this evident, you don’t request the hype.

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