Jimmy Fallon Sings With Barbra Streisand on ‘Tonight Show’ [Video]

On the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, his guest tonight was Barbra Streisand. It is a very special appearance, her first on a late night talk show in more than 50 years, so Fallon did not schedule any other guests for tonight’s show. He will be singing with her later in the episode.

Jimmy Fallon welcomed his audience to the Tonight Show and began his monologue making a joke about Joe Biden getting “stuck in a corn maze.” He said he will be helping nuns out. “Biden said it’s’ his way of giving back.’ The nuns said it’s ‘his way of testing our faith.'”

“This is cool,” Jimmy Fallon told the audience. “I read that Pope Francis’s home country of Argentina is building a soccer stadium that will be named after him. Pope Francis, when asked for a response, said ‘G-o-o-o-al!”

“Kanye West is doing fine after being taken to a hospital in Melbourne, Australia for an intense migraine. Kim said ‘Are you doing okay?’ and he said ‘There it is — it’s back again!'”

Then, Jimmy Fallon mentioned some of the “Headlines of the Day,” like “Creepy Co-Worker ‘Likes’ Photo of You From Six Years Ago.”

Making her first late night talk show appearance in over 50 years, Barbra Streisand is here tonight! Her is her new CD, Partners. “Her voice — it sounds like she doesn’t even need a microphone. It’s unbelievable. She’s amazing!” Fallon enthused.

Jimmy Fallon shared some “Screen Grabs” next. One was of a baby bib that said “My First Birthday” on it. Underneath, it read “Not for Children Under 7 years of Age.”

“This one is about people nominated for Female Country Musician of the Year,” Jimmy Fallon said. The “joke” part of the Screen Grab was that Blake Shelton was one of the people included in a photo of everyone who was nominated.

This last “Screen Grab” listed the Top Five Amusement Parks in the United States. Let’s look at what came in at number one. “‘Sex Flags!'” he read. Then, the Tonight Show went to its first commercial break of the evening.

“We’re so happy to have the one, the only, Barbra Streisand on our show tonight. We wanted tonight to be all about Barbra Streisand,” Jimmy Fallon said, holding up a copy of the album. He said that he will stand in for Elvis, Blake, and Buble as they sing a medley from Partners together. She also sings with famous singers such as Babyface, Lionel Richie and John Legend.

Barbra started off singing solo as the house band, The Roots, accompanied her. Then, Fallon joined her, singing Love Me Tender, imitating Elvis Presley. They sang parts of the song together. It was very cool! Then, Fallon came back onto the stage with a black cowboy hat on, like Blake Shelton, and they sang another song together that is on Partners, one called I’d Want It To Be You.

“That was actually good,” Streisand said. They ended the medley with Fallon and Streisand singing It Had to Be You together, with Fallon attempting to sound like Michael Buble and doing at the least a passable job.

Barbra Streisand has not lost her voice in the least over the years. She was amazing and Jimmy Fallon was pretty good, himself.

After a commercial break, Jimmy Falon welcomed Barbra Streisand back and said that she could sit behind his desk. He sat on a chair next to her.

“I’m Barbra — ask me anything,” Fallon said.

“Tell me about your life,” she asked him.

“It’s fine, living with James Brolin and all,” he answered her.

Barbra messed with Fallon about wanting to be s singer, but then she told him “Actually, I was very impressed with you. You’re very good.”

He asked her how she managed to project her voice so well. “It’s like a vibration or a sonic boom.”

Streisand said “I hear that I was on Johnny Carson like seven or eight times, but I don’t remember.”

Fallon showed her a photo of her back when she was on the Johnny Carson era of the Tonight Show. The photo was in black-and-white.

Barbra Streisand mentioned signing with a manager who bragged that he was “the only gentile manager in the business.” Now, though, she is with a manager that she has been with for over 50 years, one who is 84 or 85 years old.

“I gotta be honest,” Jimmy Fallon told her. “I thought you might be a nightmare, or a diva. But, you were nice to everybody here. You are allowed to be a diva. This is fantastic!”

“I’m quite ordinary, we lead a simple life, Barbra told him. “We take little trips in a truck. My husband drives,” she said.

She told Jimmy Fallon that she was allergic to horses and being near them starts to close off her throat. She mentioned that was why she did not go to rodeos, or something like that. Fallon said “Maybe you’re allergic of clowns.”

“No, no — I like clowns,” Streisand replied.

Jimmy Fallon asked her about her stage fright that began around the time she was working on the movie Funny Girl and Streisand was supposed to perform in a park. She said that she “forgot the words to three of my songs. I didn’t sing again for 27 years. I did some fundraisers for charity, though.”

“I’m going to sing Come Rain or Come Shine later, but believe me, it is so much better when I sing it with John Mayer and he plays his guitar.”

“We’re here with the new host of the Tonight Show, Barbra Streisand,” Fallon said when the show came back from a break. Fallon asked her about some of the songs she did as duets on the album, like People with Stevie Wonder and New York State of Mind with Billy Joel.”

Jimmy Fallon showed the audience the cover of Barbra’s “Superman” album, which is a bit risque. Streisand looked pretty hot on the cover, wearing no dress or pants and just dressed in a Superman shirt that barely covered her assets.

Then, he asked her about her films, saying “You were the first person to write, act, and direct your own films. I love you so much, you are the most fun person. I’d like you to come back every week,” Jimmy Fallon told her.

When the Tonight Show came back from a commercial break, Barbra Streisand once again sang, but by herself this time. She sang Come Rain or Come Shine from her album Partners. Jimmy Fallon told the audience that everybody there would get a copy of the album. Streisand has such a smooth, melodious voice, that has, more than once, been called “as smooth as butter.” She puts so much feeling and depth of emotion into any song that she sings.

“Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!” Fallon exclaimed as she concluded the song.

It was terrific to see Barbra Streisand back on the Tonight Show or any late night talk show after over five decades. She is a diva, but in the nicest and classiest way possible. Hearing Jimmy Fallon singing a medley of duets with Streisand was one of the episode’s highlights, as well as, of course, Barbra Streisand singing Come Rain or Come Shine at the end of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

By Douglas Cobb

Jimmy Fallon and Barbra Streisand singing together on Tonight Show

Sources:
NBC Universal Media Village
Playbill