"How Lucky Can You Get" is a song recorded by American vocalist
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
for the
official soundtrack to the 1975 film ''
Funny Lady''. It was released as a
7" single in April 1975 through
Arista Records
Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
. The song was written by
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...
and
John Kander
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...
, while production was handled by
Peter Matz. "How Lucky Can You Get" is one of the new songs on the soundtrack, with its origins coming from
Fanny Brice
Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, Illustrated Songs, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. Sh ...
, the character Streisand portrays in the aforementioned film. The music pertains to Brice herself, particularly the sarcastic nature of the lyrics that are accompanied by an "insistent" melody and production.
It was suggested that the pattern of the lyrics may have been influenced by
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...
's 1896 opera, ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
''.
In terms of its popularity, the song is the most recognizable one from ''Funny Lady''. "How Lucky Can You Get" was well received by music critics, who enjoyed the musical-esque qualities of the production, particularly Streisand's performance. It was nominated for the
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 Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
and 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 ...
, but it lost both times to
Keith Carradine's "
I'm Easy" from the 1975 film ''
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
''. It entered the
Adult Contemporary charts in both the United States and Canada, peaking at numbers 27 and 19, respectively.
Background and release
According to the liner notes that came with the 1990 soundtrack CD release of ''Funny Lady'', the origins of "How Lucky Can You Get" stem from a song with the same name that
Fanny Brice
Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedian, Illustrated Songs, illustrated song model, singer, and actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. Sh ...
(the character portrayed in the movie) had once performed live.
The song (and several others for the soundtrack) was written by
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...
and
John Kander
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...
.
It was produced by
Peter Matz, who also took care of arranging the track's audio.
Streisand recorded "How Lucky Can You Get" during a three-week-long recording schedule in 1975.
It was released in April 1975 as a
7" single through
Arista Records
Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
in both the United States and Italy.
Both versions contains "How Lucky Can You Get" as the A-side track while "
More Than You Know" is used as the B-side.
However, the Italian release features a longer version of "How Lucky Can You Get" as the A-side.
Composition and lyrics

The song's lyrics pertain to Fanny Brice, the character who Streisand portrays in ''Funny Lady''. "How Lucky Can You Get" is written in the key of
C major
C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...
with Streisand's vocals ranging from F
3 to F
5; it is additionally accompanied by the sole instrumentation of a piano.
Through the use of a
four-bar phrase and increasing changes in its
key to build up suspense and anticipation, the chromatic melody is able to fully support the strength of the lyrics and sound "insistent" to the listener.
To match the written aspects of the songs, Ebb and Kander came up with "sarcastic" lyrics to suit the character of Brice accurately.
In terms of the lyrics, Streisand opens the song by humming the first few lines ("Badodiodiodi / Odiodo"),
followed by the chorus, where she questions, "Gee, whee, wow, how lucky? / How lucky can you get?".
The short musical interlude in "How Lucky Can You Get" switches from a four-bar to an eight-bar phrase, just as it "returns to its original key" and the lyrics become "outwardly straightforward".
During the final two verses of the song, Streisand talks to herself and questions, "Hey there, gorgeous! / Big success! / What's your secret? / Just lucky I guess". James Leve, who wrote the biography book ''Kander and Ebb'', referred to these lyrics as ironic and claimed that the music that accompanies the aforementioned four lines was borrowed from
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...
's 1896 opera, ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
''.
Critical reception and legacy
Perhaps the most recognizable song from ''Funny Lady'',
"How Lucky Can You Get" received positive reviews from music critics. Author Leve recalled that the song "exemplifie
Kander and Ebb's approach to musical theater", referring to its use in the film.
During the segment of ''Funny Lady'' where Streisand is shown performing the song, author David Craig wrote that she "sings it in the simplest possible performance" but does not need any "pizzazz to corroborate its showstopping status".
Peter Filichia, who wrote a series of books dealing with broadway musicals, claimed that singing "How Lucky Can You Get" and working with Kander and Ebb was perfect for her. Who also joked that the title of the song "perfectly summed up Streisand's experience with ''Funny Girl''".
Music researcher Thomas S. Hischak was favorable to the song on the soundtrack and labeled it as "breezy".
Referring to its popularity, Alan Neff felt that "How Lucky Can You Get" provided a sense of "exhibitionism" to the listener.
Both Ebb and Kander were nominated for several awards for their songwriting credits on "How Lucky Can You Get". At the
48th Academy Awards
The 48th Academy Awards were presented Monday, March 29, 1976, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The ceremonies were presided over by Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw (actor), Robert Shaw, George Segal, Goldie Hawn, and Ge ...
, the single was nominated for the
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 Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...
but lost to
Keith Carradine's "
I'm Easy" from the film ''
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
''.
"How Lucky Can You Get" also lost to "I'm Easy" when nominated for
Best Original Song at the
33rd Golden Globe Awards.
On 6 May 2007,
Caroline O'Connor performed in
Derek Williams' arrangement of "How Lucky Can You Get" at her
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
debut in '
Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander (born March 18, 1927) and lyricist Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004). Known primarily for their stage musical theatre, musicals, whi ...
– ''
The Night of 1000 Voices, a concert produced by
Hugh Wooldridge, with
John Kander
John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...
present. The number was reprised in Williams' arrangement for her shows at the
Garrick Theatre 2010 season of ''The Showgirl Within'', and for the opening in 2012 of
Hamer Hall, Melbourne.
[O'Connor, Caroline. (26 July 2012)]
''How Lucky Can You Get?''
Hamer Hall, Melbourne. ''YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
''.
In 2010, the karaoke label Musical Creations released a six track album titled ''How Lucky Can You Get – In the Style of Barbra Streisand'', which featured six different instrumental edits of "How Lucky Can You Get".
During Streisand's concert tour titled
Barbra: The Music, The Mem'ries, The Magic, she sang a live rendition of "How Lucky Can You Get" at her shows; she also featured this on her accompanying ninth
live album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...
, ''
The Music...The Mem'ries...The Magic!'' (2017).
Chart performance
"How Lucky Can You Get" did not enter the main charts in the United States and Canada, but rather the
Adult Contemporary charts in both countries. In the United States, the single debuted on the aforementioned chart at number 33 for the week ending May 31, 1975.
After rising for several weeks, it peaked at number 27 on June 21.
In Canada, it debuted at number 35 and was the week's highest debut according to the official list compiled by ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
''.
It eventually reached number 19 in its fourth week charting (and was also its peak position).
Track listings
;United States 7" single
* A1 "How Lucky Can You Get" – 3:53
* B1 "More Than You Know" – 2:25
;Italy 7" single
* A1 "How Lucky Can You Get (Long Version)" – 4:48
* B1 "More Than You Know" – 2:26
Charts
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Songs about luck
1975 singles
1975 songs
Arista Records singles
Barbra Streisand songs
Songs written for films
Songs with lyrics by Fred Ebb
Songs with music by John Kander