"What About Today?" by Barbra Streisand

What About Today? is the eleventh studio album by Barbra Streisand, released in 1969. The album occupies a unique place in Streisand's career because it marked her first serious attempt to move away from the Broadway standards, traditional pop, and cabaret repertoire that had made her famous and embrace the contemporary pop and folk music dominating the late 1960s.

The album features interpretations of songs by leading songwriters of the era, including The Beatles, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Tracks such as "Honey Pie," "Punky's Dilemma," and "With a Little Help from My Friends" reflected Columbia Records' desire to position Streisand within the rapidly changing musical landscape of the late 1960s, when rock and singer-songwriters were becoming the dominant force in popular music.

Featured Artist Video

Barbra Streisand - What About Today?

Open in Albums Gallery

Musically, What About Today? blends orchestral pop, contemporary folk, and traditional vocal arrangements. Although Streisand's extraordinary vocal ability remained unquestioned, the album represented a stylistic experiment rather than a continuation of the theatrical sound that had defined her earlier work.

### Behind the Music

Perhaps the most interesting story surrounding the album is that **it wasn't really Barbra Streisand's idea**.

By 1969, Columbia Records was becoming concerned that Streisand's traditional repertoire was falling out of fashion. Rock music had exploded, artists like The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, and singer-songwriters were dominating the charts, and the label wanted its biggest female star to appeal to a younger audience. As a result, What About Today? became her first deliberate attempt to record contemporary pop material.

Ironically, the experiment didn't work.

Many critics felt that although Streisand was only in her twenties, her dramatic vocal style didn't naturally fit the softer, contemporary songs of the era. Some reviews even suggested that she sounded more like she was interpreting the songs from a Broadway stage than living inside them. Commercially, the album became the lowest-charting studio album of her career up to that point and one of the few albums in her catalog that failed to earn a sales certification.

Despite its disappointing reception, the album proved to be an important learning experience. Streisand didn't abandon contemporary music—instead, she refined her approach. Just two years later she released **Stoney End**, a far more successful album that embraced modern songwriting while allowing her personality to shine naturally. Many music historians now view What About Today? as the necessary first step that led to one of the most successful reinventions of her career.

Another fascinating detail is the album's dedication. Streisand dedicated the record **"to the young people who push against indifference, shout down mediocrity, demand a better future, and who write and sing the songs of today."** The dedication reflected both the spirit of the late 1960s and her genuine desire to connect with a younger generation, even if the musical experiment ultimately divided critics and audiences.

Today, What About Today? is remembered less as one of Barbra Streisand's greatest albums and more as one of the boldest creative risks of her career. While it may not have achieved the commercial success Columbia Records hoped for, it marked an important turning point, showing Streisand's willingness to evolve and paving the way for the contemporary sound that would define much of her work throughout the 1970s.