Words by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Music by Neil Diamond, Billy Goldenberg, Dave Grusin, Marvin Hamlisch, Michel Legrand, Johnny Mandel and John Williams
Welcome to the second part of our two-part salute to the songs of Alan and Marilyn Bergman, to mark Marilyn's ninetieth birthday a few days ago. After Part One's exploration of their early hits, from "Nice 'n' Easy" to "Windmills of Your Mind", today we'll spend some time with their lyrics from the Seventies on, including "The Way We Were", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "Sweet Gingerbread Man", "It Might Be You", "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" and many more - blockbuster movie themes, classic album tracks and the Billboard Number One Hit of the Year from 1974.
From the Steyn archives, I talk to Alan Bergman about the songs he and Marilyn have written, and we'll hear them performed by Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Patti LaBelle, Patti Austin, James Ingram, Bing Crosby Gladys Knight, Sting, Neil Diamond, Stephen Bishop, Tony Bennett, Lionel Ritchie ...and yours truly with my Sweet Gingerbread Girl, Miss Jessica Martin. Simply click above for an hour plus of great music and lyrics.
To hear Part One of this On the Town special, please click here. This coming Thursday an audience of Mark Steyn Club members will enjoy a live performance of one of the Bergmans' best songs, "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" as part of a trio of special Mark Steyn Show tapings in Montreal. The night before, Wednesday, there's even more live music from rock colossus Randy Bachman, Irish tenor Anthony Kearns, jazz greats Carol Welsman and Russell Malone and more.
Oh, and as this special presentation is in lieu of our regular Song of the Week essay, I should mention that two of the Bergmans' songs - "Nice 'n' Easy" and "The Windmills of Your Mind" - are analyzed by me in more detail here and here.
~On the Town is made possible through the support of members of The Mark Steyn Club. For more on the Steyn Club, see here.
There's a whole cavalcade of musical delights over on our new music home page, where you'll find easy-to-access live performances by everyone from Herman's Hermits to Liza Minnelli; Mark's interviews with Chuck Berry, Leonard Bernstein and Bananarama (just to riffle through the Bs); and audio documentaries on P G Wodehouse's songs, John Barry's Bond themes, Simon after Garfunkel, and much more. We'll be adding to the archive in the months ahead, but, even as it is, we hope you'll find the new SteynOnline music home page a welcome respite from the woes of the world.
