“You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” a duet by Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand, became a major hit, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts by November 1978. The song’s success was sparked by an unconventional series of events, thanks to WAKY Radio’s Program Director, Gary Guthrie.
Guthrie, who was going through an amicable divorce at the time, had been struck by the emotional impact of Neil Diamond’s solo version of the song, which had moved his wife to tears. Later, when Barbra Streisand’s album was released in 1978, Guthrie heard her rendition of the song and was inspired to create a mix combining both their voices. He spent nights at the radio station tweaking the mix, ultimately playing it on air before releasing it to the public. The response was overwhelming, with an outpouring of requests and calls from record stores, quickly propelling the song into the spotlight.
Thanks to the help of two friends with connections at Columbia Records, the song’s success was furthered, and it gained widespread attention. The song’s unique origin story was picked up by major media outlets, including People Magazine, the LA Times, and Good Morning America.
In 1980, Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand performed “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” live on the Grammy Awards, cementing the song’s place in pop culture history.
Lyrics
You don’t bring me flowers
You don’t sing me love songs
You hardly talk to me anymore
When I come through the door at the end of the day
I remember when
You couldn’t wait to love me
Used to hate to leave me
Now after lovin’ me late at night
When it’s good for you, babe
And you’re feeling alright
Well, you just roll over and turn out the light
And you don’t bring me flowers anymore
It used to be so natural (used to be)
Talk about forever
But used-to-bes don’t count anymore
They just lay on the floor ’til we sweep them away
And baby, I remember
All the things you taught me
I learned how to laugh
And I learned how to cry
Well, I learned how to love
And I learned how to lie
So you’d think I could learn how to tell you goodbye
(So you’d think I could learn how to tell you goodbye)
You don’t bring me flowers anymore
Well, you’d think I could learn how to tell you goodbye
Well, you don’t say you need me
And you don’t sing me love songs
You don’t bring me flowers anymore
