Woman in Love
Encyclopedia
"Woman in Love" is a popular song performed by Barbra Streisand
and taken from her 1980 album, Guilty
. The song was written by Barry
and Robin Gibb
of The Bee Gees
.
After the success enjoyed by the Bee Gees in the late 1970s, the band was asked to participate in musical endeavors for other artists, and Streisand asked Barry Gibb to write an album for her. This album ultimately became Guilty. "Woman in Love", as the lead single, became one of the most successful songs of Streisand's music career. It spent a total of three weeks at the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100
chart, Streisand's fifth (and last to date) number one on this chart. It also spent five weeks atop the adult contemporary chart, her sixth number one on that tally. The song also proved very popular internationally, reaching number one in many countries, including the United Kingdom.
About midway through the song, Streisand holds a note for about 10 seconds while singing the line: I stumble and fall / But I give you it all (the word "all" is the one held for that duration). During the chart run of "Woman In Love", Casey Kasem
claimed in an edition of the radio program American Top 40
that this was the longest unaltered note held by a soloist in a number-one song, though it would be later surpassed by Whitney Houston in her smash single "I Will Always Love You
".
The Greek singer Anna Vissi
recorded a Greek version of the song for her album Ναι ("Yes") in 1980. Legendary French singer Mireille Mathieu
recorded a French version ("Une Femme Amoureuse") in 1981. Danish songstress Gitte Hænning
recorded a German version titled "Die Frau, die dich liebt". Eleni Tzoka
, a Polish singer of Greek descent
, recorded a Polish cover of the song titled "Zrobię ten błąd" (I'll Make that Mistake). The lyrical idea is completely different from the original version. In 1982 the Hungarian singer Kati Kovács
sang it in English on Top 12 album.
Jamaican singer Echo Minott did a 1982 version called 'Man In Love' which provided the rhythm for Dillinger's 'Five Man Army', and for the Massive Attack song of the same name.
"Woman in Love" was covered by CoCo Lee
in 1995, Dana International
in 1999, and Young Divas
in 2006.
British band, The Bluetones
, covered the song on the B-side of their 2002 single, "After Hours
". It was included on the band's 2006 compilation A Rough Outline: The Singles & B-Sides 95 - 03.
In 2006, the Italian singer Filippa Giordano
recorded a Spanish version of "Women in Love" called "Me he enamorado de ti". It was released in Mexico on her album, Primadonna, and was used for the opening of the Mexican telenovela
, Cuando Seas Mia.
On February 13, 2006, Liz McClarnon
from Atomic Kitten
, released a cover of "Woman in Love" as her first solo single. The track was produced by Robin Gibb who co-authored the song. McClarnon's version peaked at number five in the UK Top 40.
In 2011, the famous Moroccan singer Sofia Marikh
recorded an Arabic
version of the song تهواك Tahwak (she adores you).
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
and taken from her 1980 album, Guilty
Guilty (Barbra Streisand album)
Guilty is an album released by Barbra Streisand in 1980. After the success of the Bee Gees in 1977/1978 there was some time to perform songwriting for other artists and Barbra Streisand asked Barry Gibb to write an album for her...
. The song was written by Barry
Barry Gibb
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...
and Robin Gibb
Robin Gibb
Robin Hugh Gibb, CBE is a British singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the Bee Gees, co-founded with his twin brother Maurice , and elder brother Barry....
of The Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
.
After the success enjoyed by the Bee Gees in the late 1970s, the band was asked to participate in musical endeavors for other artists, and Streisand asked Barry Gibb to write an album for her. This album ultimately became Guilty. "Woman in Love", as the lead single, became one of the most successful songs of Streisand's music career. It spent a total of three weeks at the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, Streisand's fifth (and last to date) number one on this chart. It also spent five weeks atop the adult contemporary chart, her sixth number one on that tally. The song also proved very popular internationally, reaching number one in many countries, including the United Kingdom.
About midway through the song, Streisand holds a note for about 10 seconds while singing the line: I stumble and fall / But I give you it all (the word "all" is the one held for that duration). During the chart run of "Woman In Love", Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
claimed in an edition of the radio program American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
that this was the longest unaltered note held by a soloist in a number-one song, though it would be later surpassed by Whitney Houston in her smash single "I Will Always Love You
I Will Always Love You
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton in 1973, who first released the song as a single in 1974.-Dolly Parton version:...
".
Track listing
| Side | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| A | "Woman in Love" | 3:48 |
| B | "Run Wild" | 4:05 |
Charts and sales
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
1 |
| Canadian RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... Top Singles |
1 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| French Singles Chart | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 2 |
| Norway | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) | 1 |
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Country | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia | 21 |
| France | 1 |
| Germany | 24 |
| United Kingdom | 2 |
| United States | 35 |
| South Africa | 2 |
| Singapore | 4 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| France | Diamond | 1,900,000 |
| United Kingdom | 2x Platinum | 780,000 |
| Germany | Gold | 500,000 |
| United States | 2x Platinum | 2,700,000 |
| Worldwide | 11,880,000 |
Personnel
| Barbra Streisand Barbra Streisand Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,... |
Lead vocals |
| Barry Gibb Barry Gibb Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major... |
acoustic guitar, arrangement |
| Richard Tee | Keyboards, electric piano |
| Harold Cowart | Bass guitar |
| Steve Gadd | Drums |
| Joe Lala | Shaker |
| Denise Maynelli | Background vocals |
| Myrna Mathews | Background vocals |
| Marti McCall | Background vocals |
| Pete Carr Pete Carr Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr is an American guitarist. Carr has contributed to hit recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, Paul Simon, The Staple Singers, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Wilson Pickett, Hank Williams, Jr., and many more over the past four decades... |
Guitar |
| Jerry Peel | French horn |
Cover versions
Adriano Celentano's 1977 Disco Dance album "A Woman In Love & Rock Around the Clock" combination recording in english.The Greek singer Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi , known as Anna Vishy in Cypriot Greek, is a Greek-Cypriot recording artist and actress...
recorded a Greek version of the song for her album Ναι ("Yes") in 1980. Legendary French singer Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu
Mireille Mathieu is a French chanteuse, and pop singer. Hailed in the French press as the successor to Édith Piaf, she has achieved great commercial success, recording over 1200 songs in nine different languages, with more than 120 million records sold worldwide.-Childhood to early...
recorded a French version ("Une Femme Amoureuse") in 1981. Danish songstress Gitte Hænning
Gitte Hænning
Gitte Hænning is a Danish singer and film actress, who rose to fame as a child star in the 1950s.Because her name was relatively unique, she was known primarily without a surname in Europe. She moved to Sweden in 1958. Her first hit in Swedish was "Tror du jag ljuger" from 1961...
recorded a German version titled "Die Frau, die dich liebt". Eleni Tzoka
Eleni Tzoka
Eleni Tzoka is a Polish female singer of Greek descent.-Biography:Tzoka was born to a Greek family which emigrated to Poland in the 1950s. At an early age, she was familiarized with music by her parents and numerous siblings who would constantly play or sing...
, a Polish singer of Greek descent
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
, recorded a Polish cover of the song titled "Zrobię ten błąd" (I'll Make that Mistake). The lyrical idea is completely different from the original version. In 1982 the Hungarian singer Kati Kovács
Kati Kovács
Kati Kovács is a Hungarian singer and actress.She became first famous nationally in 1965 when she won the seminal TV talent show in Hungary “Who Knows What?”...
sang it in English on Top 12 album.
Jamaican singer Echo Minott did a 1982 version called 'Man In Love' which provided the rhythm for Dillinger's 'Five Man Army', and for the Massive Attack song of the same name.
"Woman in Love" was covered by CoCo Lee
CoCo Lee
Coco Lee , born on 17 January 1975, also known by her official English name as Ferren Lee, is a pop singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Coco started her career in Hong Kong but, after becoming popular in Taiwan, she was widely considered to be a Taiwan artist. She was born to a Chinese...
in 1995, Dana International
Dana International
Sharon Cohen , professionally known as Dana International is an Israeli pop singer of Yemenite Jewish ancestry. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums, positioning herself as one of Israel's most successful musical acts ever...
in 1999, and Young Divas
Young Divas
Young Divas was an Australian girl group that had consisted of previous Australian Idol contestants. The original line up consisted of season one finalist Paulini Curuenavuli, season two finalist Ricki-Lee Coulter, season three winner Kate DeAraugo and runner-up Emily Williams...
in 2006.
British band, The Bluetones
The Bluetones
The Bluetones were an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members were Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fifth member, Richard Payne, came on board between 1998 and 2002...
, covered the song on the B-side of their 2002 single, "After Hours
After Hours (Bluetones song)
"After Hours" is a single released by The Bluetones from their 2002 compilation album, The Singles. It was also included on the band's 2006 compilation A Rough Outline: The Singles & B-Sides 95 - 03...
". It was included on the band's 2006 compilation A Rough Outline: The Singles & B-Sides 95 - 03.
In 2006, the Italian singer Filippa Giordano
Filippa Giordano
Filippa Giordano is an Italian crossover singer.-Biography:Filippa was born in Palermo and she is the youngest of a whole generation of musicians. At the age of nine, she started ballet at the National Academy of Rome...
recorded a Spanish version of "Women in Love" called "Me he enamorado de ti". It was released in Mexico on her album, Primadonna, and was used for the opening of the Mexican telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
, Cuando Seas Mia.
On February 13, 2006, Liz McClarnon
Liz McClarnon
Elizabeth Margaret "Liz" McClarnon is an English pop singer, dancer and television presenter. She was a member of the group Atomic Kitten and originated the role of Paulette in the first UK tour of Legally Blonde the musical....
from Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten were an English girl group from Liverpool, first established in 1997. Created by Andy McCluskey, the final line-up, and most commercially successful, consisted of Natasha Hamilton, Liz McClarnon, and Jenny Frost...
, released a cover of "Woman in Love" as her first solo single. The track was produced by Robin Gibb who co-authored the song. McClarnon's version peaked at number five in the UK Top 40.
In 2011, the famous Moroccan singer Sofia Marikh
Sofia Marikh
Sofia Marikh , also spelled Sophia El Mareekh is a musician and entertainer from Casablanca, Morocco. She was a contestant on Star Academy I.- Biography :...
recorded an Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
version of the song تهواك Tahwak (she adores you).
See also
- List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1980
- List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1980
- List of European number-one hits of 1980
- List of number-one hits of 1980 (France)
- List of number-one hits of 1980 (Germany)
- List of number-one singles of 1980 (Ireland)
- List of number-one hits in Norway
- List of number-one hits (Sweden)
- List of number-one hits of 1980 (Switzerland)
- List of number-one singles from the 1980s (UK)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1980 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1980 (U.S.)