Woman in Love
1980 single by Barbra Streisand
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"Woman in Love" is a 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, who received the 1980 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.[3] It is her fourth of four Platinum records, and is considered her greatest international hit.[4] 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.[5] This album ultimately became Guilty.
| "Woman in Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by Barbra Streisand | ||||
| from the album Guilty | ||||
| B-side | "Run Wild" | |||
| Released | August 16, 1980 | |||
| Studio | Middle Ear (Miami)[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Gibb-Galuten-Richardson | |||
| Barbra Streisand singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Woman in Love" on YouTube | ||||
"Woman in Love", as the lead single, became one of the most successful songs of Streisand's music career. It reached the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Streisand's fifth (and last as of 2026) number-one hit on that chart. It also spent five weeks atop the Adult Contemporary chart, her sixth number one on that tally.[6] The song experienced success internationally, reaching number one in many countries. The song sold more than 2.5 million copies up to December 1981 according to Billboard.[7] In 2023, American Songwriter and The Guardian ranked the song number one and number seven, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Barbra Streisand songs.[8][9]
Music video
The music video for the song included clips from A Star Is Born, starring Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and from other movies she made in the 1970s.
Track listing
| Side | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| A | "Woman in Love" | 3:48 |
| B | "Run Wild" | 4:05 |
Personnel
- Barbra Streisand – lead vocals
- Barry Gibb – acoustic guitar, horn and string arrangements
- Pete Carr – lead guitar
- Richard Tee – keyboards, electric piano
- Harold Cowart – bass guitar
- Steve Gadd – drums
- Joe Lala – shaker
- Denise Maynelli – background vocals
- Myrna Mathews - background vocals
- Marti McCal – background vocals
- Jerry Peel – French horn
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[51] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[52] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[53] | Gold | 500,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[54] | Gold | |
| Japan | — | 60,000[23] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[55] | Gold | 780,000[56] |
| United States (RIAA)[57] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Liz McClarnon version
| "Woman in Love" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Liz McClarnon | |
| A-side | "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" |
| Released | February 13, 2006 |
| Length | 3:35 |
| Label | All Around the World |
| Songwriters | |
| Producers |
|
| Music video | |
| "Woman in Love" on YouTube | |
Atomic Kitten member Liz McClarnon covered "Woman in Love" after the band's split in 2005. Produced by original songwriter Robin Gibb—whom McClarnon accompanied on his 2005 tour—the cover was released in February 2006 as McClarnon's debut solo single. In the United Kingdom, the song was released as a double A-side with a cover of Jackie Wilson's 1968 hit "I Get the Sweetest Feeling". The double A-side peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart on February 19, 2006, staying in the top 100 for six weeks. Elsewhere, "Woman in Love" reached number 21 in Ireland and became a minor hit in Australia, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
McClarnon would go on to record another song entitled "Lately", but the track was not released as a single.
Track listings
UK CD single[58]
- "Woman in Love"
- "I Get the Sweetest Feeling"
Scandinavian CD single[59]
- "Woman in Love" (radio edit)
- "Woman in Love" (Dancing DJs remix)
- "Woman in Love" (K-Klub remix)
- "Woman in Love" (Soul Seekerz dub)
Australian and New Zealand maxi-single[60]
- "Woman in Love" (radio edit)
- "Woman in Love" (K-Klass Klub remix)
- "Woman in Love" (Soul Seekerz dub)
- "Woman in Love" (Dancing DJs remix)
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[61] | 77 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[62] | 2 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[63] | 9 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[64] with "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" |
20 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[20] | 21 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[65] | 77 |
| Scotland Singles (OCC)[66] with "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" | 2 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[67] with "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" | 5 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | February 13, 2006 | CD | All Around the World | [68] |
| Australia | April 17, 2006 | [69] |
Barry Gibb version
| "Woman in Love" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Barry Gibb | |
| from the album The Guilty Demos | |
| Released | November 2006 |
| Studio | Criteria (Miami, Florida) |
| Length | 3:53 |
| Label | iTunes |
| Songwriters | Barry & Robin Gibb |
| Producer | Barry Gibb |
In 1979, demo versions of the tracks proposed for inclusion on Guilty were recorded for Streisand, with Barry Gibb on vocals. These versions, including "Woman in Love", were released on iTunes in 2006 as The Guilty Demos.
Personnel
See also
- List of best-selling singles in France
- List of best-selling singles of the 1980s in the United Kingdom
- List of Top 25 singles for 1980 in Australia
- 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.)