Barbra Streisand has shared some behind-the-scenes footage of the recording of “My Valentine,” her duet with Paul McCartney, which appears on her upcoming album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two.
In the clip, Babs recalls that she and The Beatles started out at the same time, with both of their debut albums coming out in 1963.
“When I first heard Barbra, we just thought, ‘What a great singer,'” McCartney says in a voice-over. “She really had a beautiful voice. We were very impressed.”
Streisand calls McCartney the “perfect partner” for the song, sharing that being in the studio with him was “a delight,” while McCartney calls the experience “great fun.”
“Paul had written it as a solo song, but with a few slight adjustments his lyrics perfectly lent themselves to be sung as a duet,” Streisand adds. She notes how impressed she was with McCartney in the studio.
“The things he does with his voice, he’s such an incredibly gifted songwriter,” she shares. “It was a very memorable session and it turns out you actually can get by with a little help from your friends, especially if one of them happens to be Sir Paul.”
The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two is due out June 27. In addition to McCartney, it has Babs duetting with artists like Bob Dylan, Sting and James Taylor, as well as Seal and Sam Smith. It also features a collaboration between Babs, Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande.
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