"Evergreen" (also called "Love Theme from ''A Star Is Born''") is the theme song from the 1976 film '' A Star Is Born''. It was composed and performed by American singer, songwriter, actress and director

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

with lyrics by Paul Williams, and arranged by

Ian Freebairn-Smith Ian Freebairn-Smith (born March 4, 1932) is an American composer, arranger, conductor and group singer in film and TV. He spans from classical to popular music, jazz, choral music, and new music. Early life and education Ian Freebairn-Smith was ...

. The song was released on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

to ''A Star Is Born''.

Background

As composers, Streisand and Williams earned an

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed ...

, making Streisand the first woman to be so honored as a composer. She also earned a

Grammy Award for Song of the Year The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at t ...

. Streisand and Williams also won

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

s for Best Original Song. The song's opening couplet, "Love, soft as an easy chair; love, fresh as the morning air", almost did not appear that way. Williams wrote the "morning air" line first, but told Streisand to "flip those two first lines, because it sings better". In 1997, the track appeared on the tribute album '' Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute''.

Chart performance

In the US, the single became Streisand's second number 1 single and spent three weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and six weeks atop the

easy listening chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. This was Streisand's second number-one song on the Hot 100 (following "

The Way We Were ''The Way We Were'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Arthur Laurents wrote both the novel and screenplay based on his college days at Cornell University and his ...

" in 1974), and her third on the adult contemporary chart ("The Way We Were" and 1964's "

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

"). Whitburn, Joel (1996). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 6th Edition (Billboard Publications) In its year-end chart for 1977, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' ranked the platinum-

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

single, which sold more than 2 million copies, the fourth-biggest single of the year. In the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, the song peaked at #3 in 1977.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Awards

At the

49th Academy Awards The 49th Academy Awards were presented Monday, March 28, 1977, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The ceremonies were presided over by Richard Pryor, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda, and Warren Beatty. ''Network'' and '' Al ...

the song won the

and

became the only woman in history to win the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

and the

. At the 34th Golden Globe Awards the song won the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

. At the 20th Annual Grammy Awards the song was nominated in three categories, winning in two for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female and Song of the Year tying with " You Light Up My Life". The song was also nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

Other versions

Streisand also recorded versions of the song in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

("Tema de Amor de Nace Una Estrella"),

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

( "De Reve en Reverie") with lyrics by

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri known by the professional name Eddy Marnay (Algiers, 18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He ...

, and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

("Sempreverde") with lyrics by

Luigi Albertelli Luigi Albertelli (21 June 1934 – 19 February 2021)I Finally Found Someone", a Streisand duet with

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

, and on the import CD version of the ''A Star is Born'' remastered soundtrack. (The French and Italian versions have yet to appear on a CD release.)

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

recorded that song with

Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Recor ...

and his orchestra on November 12, 1976, along with "I Love My Wife". However, it remains unreleased. British singer Hazell Dean recorded a dance version of the song in 1984, and reached #63 in the UK Singles Chart.

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

recorded a cover for his 1994 album '' Songs''.

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

sang his own revival for his 1996 album ''

Vote for Love ''Vote for Love'' is a 1996 album by Kenny Rogers released exclusively for sale on QVC. It was later made available in retail stores under the title ''Always & Forever''. Track listing Disc 1 # "Have I Told You Lately" (Van Morrison) :55#* ...

.'' In 2002, Philippine rap group Salbakuta sampled Streisand's single in their song "S2pid Luv". Scottish singer Todd Gordon recorded a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

version with the Royal Air Force Squadronaires for the album ''Helping the Heroes'' (2012) produced by Ken Barnes. In 2021,

Randy Rainbow Randy Stewart Rainbow (born July 6, 1981) is a Grammy nominated American comedian and singer, best known for spoof interviews that blend political satire and musical parodies from a progressive perspective. Early life Randy Rainbow was born ...

created a parody version "Marjorie Taylor Greene," as a satire about the congresswoman who traffics in conspiracy theories.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Film theme songs 1970s ballads 1977 singles Barbra Streisand songs Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songs Best Original Song Golden Globe winning songs Columbia Records singles Grammy Award for Song of the Year Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Paul Williams (songwriter) Hazell Dean songs Love themes Songs written by Barbra Streisand Song recordings produced by Phil Ramone Pop ballads