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(Neil
Diamond/Marilyn Bergman/Alan Bergman)

This
song that tells about how a couple have drifted apart and reminisce about
how it used to be and what it's like now was first recorded by Neil Diamond
on his 1977 album I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight and Barbra
Streisand recorded a cover of it on her Songbird. It was down to the Program Director
at Louisville's WAKY Radio, Gary Guthrie, the song that became a chart topper
in the US and No. 5 in the UK came to be, as he decided to make a virtual
duet of the two versions. The
virtual version had become so popular that it was decided to make a
real-life recording and it led to the duo eventually performing it live at
the 1980 Grammy Award ceremony.
Incidentally they had previously performed "together" when
they were both part of the school choir at Erasmus Hall in New York. It was released in 1978 and twice
hit the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 spot on 2nd and 16th
December of that year with a week's gap in between where it was pipped to
the post for a short period by "Le Freak" by Chic. It has since been
covered by Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius as a single release and as
the title of their 1979 album and in 1996 it was sung on Saturday Night
Live by Tupac Shakur and Ice T.
Jim Ed Brown & Helen Cornelius recordings
RCA JH-11435 (PB-11435) PB-11435-A (US promo 45)
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Don't_Bring_Me_Flowers
- http://www.amazon.com/Im-Glad-Youre-Here-Tonight/dp/B0000025BT/ref=pd_sim_m_img_1
- http://www.helencornelius.net/discography.html
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