Just For The Record...

I've got 36... Barbra Streisand albums...

well, including this one.

Where to start...

I think it must have been some time around late'69 or maybe early'70 that I saw "Funny Girl" for the first time. The first of probably more times than I have her albums. Saw it at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Yes, one of the perks of growing up in Southern California. Seeing first run movies at the famous theatre was simply no big deal. Except for this one.

Imagine me, a young impressionable, actress/singer/dancer wanna-be, with a slightly larger than normal nose. Well, I was instantly hooked and my two year enamorement with one Patty Duke took an instantaneous nose DIVE. (I promise to keep this blog shorter... :)

Anyway, I owe Barbra a bunch.

The BackStory

I'm not sure what most teenagers do during their high school years. Don't get me wrong, I certainly had my share of extracuriculars along with boy crushes and the occassional munchies. I think I went to a "Three Dog Night" concert once as well as "The Moody Blues" and for sure "Joe Cocker." (I just realized that I have a whole lot of other things that I am now itching to write about!)

But one of the things I probably remember the most, at least during my last year of high school, was stalking Barbra Streisand.

301 Carolwood Drive in Holmby Hills, CA. That was her address.

Lorna and I had gotten this super secret piece of information from our friend Julie who had gotten it from a friend of hers. (Who would have known there could be so many "losers" in one small town?) But anyway, 301 Carolwood became our weekly Saturday destination.

Most of the time we would just drive by... and then go do the things that most teenagers do on a Saturday evening on Sunset or Hollywood Blvd. Usually it was dinner at Old World, a movie and a stop at Tower Records (thus all the albums.) But we did do some pretty "stalkerish" things as well. I'm not quite sure how many of the things I remember actually happened, like talking to young son Jason through the gate because I realize that sometimes when you embelish a story just once it can all of a sudden become very real in your mind, so I'll try to be honest here and use only my true memory.

• We did tote our bikes in the back of my VW station wagon a couple of times so that we could endlessly circle the block.

• We did pull a cardboard shipping box out of her trashcan once with the name and address label still attached.

• We did follow her yellow Mercedes once, causing her to panic a bit and to cut us off in her quick escape up the freeway ramp.

• We did have the police called on us more than once.

• And I'm not sure if we ever really took a picnic lunch to eat on a blanket in the vacant lot across from her house or not. Maybe we just thought about doing it. Given the last bullet point though, I highly doubt this ever really happend.

But we did stalk her backstage at the Hilton in Vegas once. Now there's a story.

Julie, Lorna and I had driven to Vegas to see her concert. Actually, my mom had driven the 3 of us along with my sister Jeannie and a friend in tow, but once we got there my friends and I never really saw the rest of the crew.

Prior to the dinner show, which my mom and sis were attending, we somehow snuck backstage through a side door off a service entrance that my friend (of course) knew about. We walked around for a while, acting as if we belonged there. (As if 3 teenage girls would ever have looked like they belonged there!) But somehow we pulled it off. I think the "ah-ha" moment of fooling everyone was finding that bank of pay phones...

And then suddenly, there she was. Walking from her dressing room to the stage accompanied by a female security guard and her little dog Sadie. And she was so much tinier than I had imagined! (Barbra, not Sadie) And then there we were petting her little dog and pretending that we weren't at all interested in the person who was walking her. And that's about it. We left the backstage area eeeeeing and awwwwwwing. Whether or not we left on our own accord is a detail I don't recall. Selective memory being what it is...

At the midnight show, we tipped the host $10 and somehow found ourselves seated at the very front table. Elbows on stage front table! Whether or not she recognized us during the concert we'll never know. If she did, she handled it like a pro.

Harvey Wallbangers were the fare of the evening. Don't they card in Vegas? Or perhaps we all just looked 21 and with the price of the ticket came two free beverages... (By the way, my friend Julie passed away sometime during the early 2000's due to an alcohol related illness, which is one of the reasons I can now remember the details of that night so clearly, sort of in the same way that I can still remember with such clarity the morning of 9/11, even though at the time I had no real reason to remember it.)

Anyway, as soon as the concert ended, Julie (the bravest of us all) hopped up onto the stage and dashed behind the curtain and of course we followed suit. The stage was already in the dark, but not dark enough for us to be able to swipe a type written sheet of "cheat notes" off the stool.

Yes, that really happened. And no, I do not know where that sheet of cheat notes is today but I will probably forever feel a little guilty about it.

And just for the record, Lorna and I DID attend the famous "Live At The Forum" concert with Barbra, Quincy Jones & Carol King. And to be honest I really don't remember doing anything out of the ordinarly foolish that night, except for purchasing the $20 nosebleed seats.

Anyway, I really don't remember how long this whole obsess I mean fandom, lasted. Probably well into my twenties for sure, though you'll notice that any of her current albums are unmistakably missing from my collection. I guess other things just eventually took over... as in career, husband, children, life changes, work and yes perhaps even Clay Aiken..

But if I had to name the top 20 people, things, events or experiences that have had the biggest impact on defining my life, I'm pretty sure she would be right up there.

And I just now remembered that somewhere along the line I somehow acquired THIS one too.

A collection of 94 tracks, 67 of which are previously unreleased. (So I guess I'm at 37 now, except that this one should probably count for a couple more.)

And also, just for the record, I don't know of anyone else who has an original copy of this...

But then again... you just never know.

I may just have to get caught back up one of these days.

*sigh*

Barbra Streisand - Official Site

*Updated Christmas 2012: Thanks Thom!!!

The Greatest Star Wannabe (BackStory)...

As much as I wanted to act, sing and dance as a child I still spent most of my early teen years pretty much lying on the sofa in my basement dreaming about it. And though I'd had some semi-decent dance recital experiences, my first year in high school drama class was a complete and utter disaster.

My assignments were total failures... not because they were terrible or anything, but because I didn't do any of them. I was paralyzed with fear about getting up in front of people! My drama teacher, Mrs. Bradbury, would later tell me that the only thing she ever remembered coming out of my mouth was "I'm not ready." Until the lipsynch assignment of course... which I practiced it in front of the mirror for at least a week beforehand.

I'll never, ever forget that day. Even now it remains the single most important dividing line between my eventual doing or continual dreaming.

I think all my memories are still intact, but since we do sometimes tend to overly embelish the past I thought I'd just do the rest of this straight from my old journal.

October 3, 1969

I shook all the way there, but I made it to Drama class. I wanted to do my song right away to get it over with. Ya know, every time I do anything in front of the class I just kind of blend into the wall. Nobody knows that I can do anything good.

I was so scared that Mrs. Bradbury would be bored with me. And after that speech by Michelle about how I could do "I'm The Greatest Star" SO good! That sure would be embarrassing! Anyway, I had to sit throught 5 songs, twiddling my thumbs. I didn't think I could stand it!

Finally, Michelle pointed to me and so Mrs. B. called on me next. I was terrified because all the other lip synchs that day had been SO good.

I started out the song a little tense and really hot from the spotlight on me. But then I just calmed down and just felt the part. Believe me, I felt the part! I almost cried and gave lots and lots of expressive emotion with my face and arms. I don't think I could ever do it that good again.

When it was over I heard a louder applause than I've ever heard in my life. I'm not kidding.. it went straight through me! I went to sit down and I could hear everyone whispering. Then I heard Mrs. B. saying, in the most surprised voice, "Jannet, that was great!" I said thank you and then went to retrieve my record before sitting down. Shaking. Every one shut up and then I heard Mrs. B's voice again saying, "Well, who wants to follow that?" Nobody said anything.

About a minute before class was over Mrs. B. came over to me and said, "That was excellent, and I want you to do it for 4th and 6th period on Monday. I never knew you had it, and just think all last year you were wasted! I could just kill you!"

And as I left the room she said one more thing to me.. "I couldn't believe it! I just sat there with my mouth open!"

I came home and laughed and cried and danced and sang and everything else...

Unfortunately, this was back in the day, way before video cameras and YouTube.. so you'll just have to use your best imagination...

Gosh I love her!

A Senior Yearbook comment from B.J.Bradbury...

SO many dreams ahead!