Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand Biography

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The statistics of Barbra Streisand's achievements as a recording sales leader are clearly drawn in platinum and gold. She has achieved sales unequaled by any other female recording artist. With fifty gold albums, she is second in the all-time charts, ahead of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, exceeded only by Elvis. Thus, she is the only artist among the top four all-time gold record sellers who was not part of the rock & roll revolution which has dominated the record business for four decades. Her 50 gold and thirty platinum albums, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, exceed all other female singers. In fact, it exceeds any recording artist or act other than Elvis Presley.

The RIAA also noted that with 71 million albums sold she is the only female artists to have achieved thirteen multi-platinum albums (including the soundtrack for her motion picture "A Star Is Born.") Her recordings have earned her eight Grammy Awards and Grammy's Lifetime Achievement and Legend Awards in the process. She has had number one albums in each of the last four decades. Her number one albums span a period of nearly 35 years, the greatest longevity in that statistic for any solo recording artist. A millennium poll by the Reuters news agency identified her as the favorite female singer of the 20th Century and Frank Sinatra as the favorite male singer.

Her most recent Columbia Records album �Streisand � Live In Concert 2006,� opened its sales as #7 on the Billboard Top 200 best-selling albums chart, a rare achievement for a double album. It became the 7th Barbra Streisand album to debut in the Top 10. With a total of 29 Top 10 albums to her credit since 1963, Ms. Streisand has the widest span (44 years) between first and latest Top 10 albums of any female recording artists or act and she holds the record for most Top 10 albums by female performers. Her first solo album, �The Barbra Streisand Album,� reached #8 in 1963, while her second, �The Second Barbra Streisand Album� achieved #2 the same year.

Her "A Love Like Ours" (1999), the double album, "Timeless - Live In Concert" (2000) and "The Movie Album" (2003) were all quickly certified as gold and then platinum. Her prior "Higher Ground" (1997) and earlier "Back To Broadway" (1993) albums are among only a handful of recordings ever to become Number One on the sales charts in their initial week of release and to go platinum through their first shipping orders. The previous "The Broadway Album" (1985) similarly enjoyed great praise and sales, became #1 and brought her three Grammy nominations and her eighth Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocalist. The double-album "Barbra Streisand: The Concert" (1994) was another recent effort in her parade of hits. "Higher Ground" occasioned two additional Grammy nominations. "Timeless: Live In Concert" (2000), "Christmas Memories" (2001) and "The Movie Album" (2003), all earned a nomination too. At home in pop, show tunes, rock and ballads, she even made a classical album titled "Classical Barbra" (1976) which was nominated for a Grammy Award in the classical division. Of all her releases, 1980's "Guilty," Barbra's collaboration with Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, achieved the greatest success worldwide, selling over 20 million units and spawning several smash hit singles. The pair teamed up again, 25 years later, to create "Guilty Pleasures". The album was certified Gold -- a month later,

Another of Ms. Streisand's recent albums, �Guilty Pleasures,� quickly became her 50th gold. Among other notable recent albums, "Christmas Memories," released in October 2001, was her first full-length studio album since 1999's "A Love Like Ours.� "Christmas Memories" was Streisand's first seasonal collection since "A Christmas Album," which has been certified quintuple- platinum by the RIAA and has re-entered the charts each year since its 1967 release. An album of inspirational music for all seasons, "Christmas Memories" was "lovingly dedicated" to Stephan Weiss, the husband of designer Donna Karan and a close friend of Streisand's, who passed away in June 2001.

R.I.A.A. Totals
50 Gold Albums
30 Platinum Albums
13 Multi-platinum Albums
9 Gold Singles 5 Platinum Singles
7 Gold Videos
4 Platinum Videos
3 Multi-platinum Videos

Discography:

1963: The Barbra Steisand Album
1963: The Second Barbra Steisand Album
1964: The Third Album
1964: People
1965: My Name Is Barbra
1965: My Name Is Barbra, Two
1966: Colour Me Barbra
1966: Je M'appelle Barbra
1967: Simply Streisand
1967: A Christmas Album
1968: Funny Girl (Original Soundtrack Recording)
1968: A Happening In Central Park
1969: What About Today?
1970: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever
1970: Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits
1971: Stony End
1971: Barbra Joan Streisand
1972: Live Concert at the Forum
1973: Barbra Streisand and Other Musical Instruments
1974: The Way We Were
1974: Butterfly
1975: Lazy Afternoon
1976: Classical Barbra
1976: A Star Is Born
1977: Steisand Superman
1978: Songbird
1978: Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
1979: Wet
1980: Guilty
1981: Memories
1983: Yentl
1984: Emotion
1985: The Broadway Album
1986: Love Songs
1987: One Voice (lIve)
1988: Till I Loved You
1989: A Collection: Greatest Hits...And More
1993: Back To Broadway
1994: The Concert
1997: Higher Ground
1999: A Love Like Ours
1999: The Prince of Tides
2000: Timeless (Live In Concert)
2001: Christmas Memories
2002: The Essential Barbra Streisand
2002: Duets
2003: The Movie Album
2005: Guilty Too
2005: The Christmas Collection
2007: Live In Concert 2006
2009: Love Is The Answer

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