On this day in music history: November 24, 1979 - No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) by Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 2 weeks. Written by Paul Jabara and Bruce Roberts, it is the fourth pop chart topper for Streisand and Summer. Having previously written the Oscar winning smash Last Dance (#3 Pop, #8 R&B) for Donna Summer and the pop/disco hit The Main Event/Fight (#3 Pop) for singer and actress Barbra Streisand, songwriter Paul Jabara will set his sights on writing a song pairing the two divas. A joint production between Summers producer Giorgio Moroder and Streisands producer Gary Klein, the basic track for Tears is recorded at Rusk Sound Studios in Hollywood, CA and features musicians James Gadson (drums), Neil Stubenhaus (bass), Greg Mathieson (keyboards), Jay Graydon, Jeff Skunk Baxter (guitars), and is arranged and conducted by Mathieson. The vocals are recorded at Village Recorders in Los Angeles on August 28, 1979. The track also features background vocals by Maxine & Julia Waters and Luther Vandross (also the vocal arranger). Though the record will be an instant smash, it will effectively end Summers working relationship with Casablanca Records label head Neil Bogart. Summer will be infuriated when she discovers that Bogart has leaked the song to radio early while her then current single Dim All The Lights is still climbing the charts. Donna is anxious to see her single reach number one on the pop chart as it would be her first completely self written song to hit number one. She will ask her label boss to hold back the new single for a couple weeks, until her record peaks. Bogart will agree, and then go back on his word leaking No More Tears. Radio stations begin playing it immediately, forcing it to be rush released. When this happens, several major stations will drop Dim All The Lights from their playlists in favor of the new song, causing it to stall at number two, while the duet flies past it to number one. The uptempo dance track will be simultaneously released on Streisands album Wet and Summers greatest hits album On The Radio. Entering the Hot 100 at #59 on October 20, 1979, it will rocket to the top of the chart five weeks later. Selling more than two million copies between the 7 and 12 single releases, it is one of the biggest selling singles of 1979. The song will later be parodied by comedian Eddie Murphy on his self-titled debut album in 1982. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) are certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 01:00:26 +0000