Paul McCartney is one of the most famous and successful musicians in history, but he admits he had a case of the nerves when he headed into the studio to record with Barbra Streisand for the diva’s upcoming all-star duets project.
As part of his ongoing “You gave me the answer” series on his website, Paul was asked what it was like working with Streisand. “Nerve-wracking. Nail-biting!” he replies. “I did the session with her in LA and I was pretty terrified.”
McCartney said he also felt pressure because they were recording on a soundstage that was literally named after Streisand. And any comfort he felt in the fact that they were recording one of his own songs quickly went away.
“I thought, ‘Well, this will be easy because it’s my song, it’s ‘My Valentine.’ What can go wrong?’” Paul says. “But what I’d forgotten was that they’d arranged it so that it had to go in Barbra’s key and then in my key. So, to get from Barbra’s key into mine was kind of difficult, and I had to launch in not knowing what key I was in. Mine was lower, hers was higher. It wasn’t easy at all!
But, McCartney says, “She was great. I didn’t realize how rounded she is, creatively. They were filming the session and as soon as we went in, she said, ‘Who put that camera there? That shouldn’t be there, bring it over here. And what about those lights?’ I thought, ‘Wow, you’re directing it!’ But then I suddenly remembered she’s directed three big movies. She’s a smart cookie.”
“My Valentine” is out now, and the album, The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two, arrives June 27. Others featured on the record include Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Sting.
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