Barbra Streisand: The Music - by Matt Howe (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Experience a full color, oversized Hard cover book that contains all of Barbra Streisand's albums from her first to her most recent with in depth analysis of every song and cover. A complete discography filled with photos of the greatest female vocalist of all-time. Updated for 2025.

On February 25, 1963, Columbia Records released The Barbra Streisand Album. The first song was "Cry Me a River," and with that a star was born. Barbra Joan Streisand had a zany personality backed by a talent that Stephen Sondheim once described as "one of the two or three best voices in the world of singing songs," adding "It's not just her voice but her intensity, her passion and control." Harold Arlen, another of her favorite composers, commented, "This young lady . . . has a stunning future." With all-male rock groups like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Four Seasons ruling the charts, no one expected a twenty-year-old female singer from Brooklyn to not just hit No. 1, but repeat that accomplishment every decade that followed all the way to the next millennium and become the best-selling female recording artist of all time.

Now, for the first time ever, comes the definitive book on the extensive recording career of this towering cultural icon, the Funny Girl considered by many to be the most talented singer of her generation. Barbra Streisand The Music takes readers on a journey through every album, soundtrack, and single Streisand has released over the past sixty years. Our guide on this musical tour is Matt Howe, who has run Barbra Archives, the definitive Streisand-themed website, since 2003. He also has assisted Team Streisand on her Release Me album series.

Besides analysis of every studio, live concert, and official compilation release, the book contains over three hundred FULL-COLOR photos from the albums, press kits, and Streisand herself. Also included are features on both Streisand's signature songs ("People," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," "Evergreen," "The Way We Were," and "Don't Rain on My Parade") and on her longtime collaborators (Sondheim, Marty Erlichman, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, and others.)

No gossip. No dirt. Just a deep dive into over seventy albums from The Greatest Star, including her latest releases.

New interviews with Jay Landers (who also wrote the Foreword), Richard Jay-Alexander, and William Ross. They all have worked along side Streisand for decades and bring an insight to how the songs were recorded. This updated version has new photos, comments taken from Streisand's autobiography, and brand new insights from Matt Howe.

About the Author

Matt Howe created Barbra Archives, an unofficial website he maintains that is all about Barbra Streisand's decades-long career, in 2003. Barbra Archives has become the go-to site for the Streisand fan community wishing to learn more about her albums, movies, and concerts. Matt's encyclopedic knowledge of Miss Streisand's accomplishments even prompted her to joke that he knows more about her career than she does! Since 2006, Matt has assisted her team with photo research and fact-checking for concerts and appearances. His name is listed in the credits of the fiftieth anniversary edition of the Funny Girl cast recording, on Streisand's two Release Me compilation albums, 2022's Live at the Bon Soir, and on her 2016 CD, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. Matt recently moved to Western North Carolina with his cats Zach and Jasmin after living for over twenty years in Washington, DC, where he sang in cabaret shows, gardened, and excelled in cooking Ina Garten recipes. Matt is the author of the first edition of this book Barbra Streisand: The Music, The Albums, The Singles.