Is “The Way We Were” a favorite song of yours?  How about “It Might Be You“, the theme from the movie “Tootsie”?  Did you like the songs Barbra Streisand sang in “Yentl“? Do you remember the theme songs to the TV shows “Maude” and “Good Times“?

What all these songs have in common is that their lyrics were written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.  It’s unusual for a husband and wife to work together so successfully.  What’s even more unusual is that they’ve been doing it for over 50 years!!

Alan and Marilyn have worked with some of the finest songwriters around, including Michel Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, Cy Coleman, Henry Mancini, and Quincy Jones. Their songs have been nominated for 16 Academy Awards, and they’ve won three. Some of my favorites are not as well known, but I think the lyrics are brilliant:  “On My Way to You“, “You Must Believe in Spring“, “Summer Me Winter Me.”

As a New Jersey pianist and singer, I know that the songs I choose to sing have to move me and  speak to me on an emotional level.  So many of the Bergmans’ lyrics do just that.  They’re clever, witty, and sophisticated, and they often remind me of the lyrics of Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter.

I hope you’ll be inspired to listen to the lyrics I have linked to.  Please let me know what you think.  Enjoy!