The 1978 duet You Don’t Bring Me Flowers by Neil Diamond and Barbara Streisand was originally intended to be the theme song for the sitcom All That Glitters, which aired in 1977.
Such a well-known and timeless song would seem to have a foreseeable beginning. After writing the song with Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond teams up with the vocal powerhouse, and their voices blend flawlessly. Not quite, though.
You Don’t Bring Me Flowers was, surprisingly, a song that Diamond was commissioned to write as the TV theme for the program “All that Glitters,” as MPR News noted.
The initial composition was only supposed to last for forty-five seconds. The show’s creators decided to completely reorient the plot, which must have looked like a horrible move for Diamond at the time. The new show was no longer compatible with Diamond’s songs.
However, Diamond was not one to disparage a well-written song. Rather, he developed the idea into the entire song using the lyrics that are known to us now. The song is about two long-term lovers who are becoming less close. Though neither seems able to bridge the gap and make amends, they are both depressed about it.
Both Neil Diamond and Streisand recorded the song solo at first. Both conveyed the painful sense of loss and desire that so many people in attendance could identify with.
Smart radio hosts came up with the plan of combining the two versions to compel a duet. The musicians and music producers took note of the project due to its immense popularity. Before long, Streisand and Diamond were in the recording studio, officially releasing the duet. The song quickly shot to the top of the charts. As SongFacts notes, the song is still a romantic favorite all around the world many years after it was first released.
Interestingly, All That Glitters never became very popular. The idea for this timeless song was the greatest outcome. It only goes to show that some of the best works of art have the most modest beginnings.