Off Beat - You Don't Bring Me Flowers

Here's an amazing performance of a song with an amazing history.

You Don't Bring Me Flowers was originally intended as a theme song for a Norman Lear television show. It never came to be, but Neil Diamond came across the tune, added a couple of verses and put it out in 1977. Around the same time Barbara Streisand released a version of the same song. A radio Program Director in Louisville Kentucky combined the two versions and began airing the "virtual" duet. The song was so popular Diamond and Streisand recorded the real thing and it shot to #1.

While the Diamond/Streisand version is the definitive one - although it's a little too syrupy for my tastes - my favourite performance of the song has got to be by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. If you enjoy this bit, look up the UOGB on You Tube. You won't be disappointed. They're a hoot. Their performances of Shaft and Teen Spirit, for example, are a riot.