Barbra Streisand – New album – Live At The Bon Soir – coming November 4th

Posted on by Press Release
BARBRA – THE WAY SHE WAS!

Unreleased for six decades, Live At The Bon Soir presents Barbra’s earliest live recordings. These performances led to Columbia Records signing the 18-year-old and in November 1962 they recorded three nights intending it to be the first release for the artist. This plan changed but now fans can hear these incredible performances remastered and remixed from the original tapes for the first time ever.

This release also coincides with the 60th anniversary of Barbra being on Columbia Records.
BARBRA STREISAND’S NOTES ON LIVE AT THE BON SOIR:

I had never even been in a nightclub until I sang in one.
And that was a fluke since I had no intention of being a singer. I wanted to be an actress, but I couldn’t get a job. Then a friend told me about a talent contest at this little Greenwich Village club called the Lion, where the prize was $50, and dinner was free.
I sang two songs and won, which led to being hired at a more sophisticated supper club around the corner called the Bon Soir, with an actual stage…and a spotlight. It was 1960, I was 18 years old, and this was the first time I felt the warmth of that light. Everything else in the room went black and I couldn’t see any faces, which made it easier to concentrate on what I was doing as an actress…reaching deep into myself to identify with the characters in songs that came from the theatre.
  • Barbra’s performances at the Bon Soir led to her contract at Columbia Records, signed on October 1, 1962.
  • In November 1962, Columbia Records recorded three nights of shows at the Bon Soir, intending to release the live recordings as Barbra’s first album. However, the mix didn’t seem to capture the electricity that had ignited the club performances. Instead, Barbra went into the studio and recorded the tracks that would become her debut album The Barbra Streisand Album – which earned Barbra three Grammys including Album of the Year!
  • The live LP Columbia had envisioned as Barbra’s label debut was shelved — for 60 years.
  • The album has now been remixed to capture the essence of the nightclub shows. Absolutely nothing about Barbra’s sterling vocals has been altered — but today’s modern state-of-the-art mixing equipment now gives listeners “the best seat in the house.”