The 10 Best Barbra Streisand Duets

‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers’ With Neil Diamond (1978)

This duet — a heartbreaking ballad of dying love — started off as separate recordings by both performers. Then a Kentucky disc jockey spliced them together as a gift for his ex-wife. Streisand’s record label soon brought the singers together in the studio. Their emotional performance on the 1980 Grammy Awards earned a standing ovation.

‘No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)’ With Donna Summer (1979)

This disco-fevered chart-topper is still Streisand’s most commercially successful duet. It appeared on both artists’ albums but with slight differences: Summer’s version had a harder rock sound. During her 2012 tour, Babs talked about Summer’s recent death and said she wished Summer were alive to sing the song with her.  

‘Get Happy’/‘Happy Days Are Here Again’ With Judy Garland (1963)

At 21, Streisand was already a major talent when she appeared on The Judy Garland Show with the 41-year-old icon. Their slowed-down, almost meditative duet, delivered in counterpoint, suggested a certain vulnerability. Later, Garland gave her advice: “Don’t let them do to you what they did to me,” a caution against the dark side of fame.

‘Guilty’ With Barry Gibb (1980)

A pop song of romance and devotion, “Guilty” comes from Streisand’s album of the same name, which Gibb in part produced. All three of the Bee Gees wrote the Grammy-winning song, giving it their stylistic stamp. And with Barry’s undulating vocals supplying the sex appeal, Streisand soars like a woman in love.  

‘I’ve Got a Crush on You’ With Frank Sinatra (1993)

Nearing the end of his career, Frank Sinatra agreed to a Duets album with various partners, but insisted they sing along to his prerecorded vocals. Streisand, striving for intimacy, ad-libbed the line, “You make me blush, Francis.” To which Ol’ Blue Eyes later added, “I have got a crush, my Barbra, on you.”

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‘Lost Inside of You’ With Kris Kristofferson (1976)

When Elvis Presley passed on the role of a washed-up rock idol in A Star Is Born, scratchy-voiced Kristofferson got the part. The singer admitted he was “scared to death of her — the best description is ‘formidable.’” But this smoky ballad from the soundtrack explains in part why the album is one of Streisand’s best-sellers. 

‘Make No Mistake, He’s Mine’ With Kim Carnes (1984)

This bittersweet ballad about two women in love with the same man marks the third time Streisand recorded a Kim Carnes song. The duet appeared on Streisand’s album Emotion, and the raspy-throated Carnes also coproduced the track. The single reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, making it the most civil catfight ever.

‘I Have a Love’/‘One Hand, One Heart” With Johnny Mathis (1993)

Recorded for her double-platinum album Back to Broadway, this gorgeous pairing of West Side Story songs finds Streisand matching Mathis in one soaring swoon after another, yet never upstaging him. “When the other kids used to listen to Elvis,” she has said, “I listened to Johnny Mathis, modeling my style after his.”

‘Tell Him’ With Céline Dion (1997)

Babs and Celine are genuine fans of each other, and it shows on this duet, in which they respectfully give each other room to shine and then come together for a dazzling chorus. David Foster cowrote and produced the track, which was nominated for a Grammy. “It’s a shame she’s not always on the stage,” Dion says. “She’s amazing.”

‘Crying Time’ With Ray Charles (1973)

By the time Ray Charles joined Babs on her TV special, Barbra Streisand … and Other Musical Instruments, he had already made famous this cover of Buck Owens’ weepy country classic. Streisand sounds a bit out of her element, and it’s a stretch to say their voices really blend. But for star power, you can’t beat it.

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