The Main Event Soundtrack Album 1979

Streisand / Discography

The Main Event: Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1979)

The Main Event album cover. Scan by Kevin Schlenker,
Below: Gallery of album back cover and CD artwork .... Click arrows to navigate.
  • ABOUT THE ALBUM
    • Released June 1979
    • Album Produced by: Barwood Films, Ltd.
    • Executive Producer: Gary Le Mel
    • Photograph by: Francesco Scavullo
    • CD Restored by John Arrias at B&J Studio using the C.A.P. System
    • CD Remastered by Bernie Grundman
  • CATALOG NUMBERS
    • JS 36115 (LP, 1979)
    • CK 57376 (CD Remastered 1993)
  • CHARTS
    • Debut Chart Date: 7-7-79
    • No. Weeks on Billboard 200 Albums Chart: 18
    • Peak Chart Position: #20
    • Gold: 9/12/79


    Gold: 500,000 units shipped



    The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine.

Tracks

  1. THE MAIN EVENT/FIGHT [11:39] ("Main" - P. Jabara / B. Roberts; "Fight" - P. Jabara / B. Esty) *
  2. The Body Shop [5:14] (G. Michalski / N. Oosterveen)
  3. THE MAIN EVENT/FIGHT (short version) [4:55] ("Main" - P. Jabara / B. Roberts; "Fight" - P. Jabara / B. Esty) *
  4. Copeland Meets The Coasters/Get A Job [0:57] ("Copeland" - M. Melvoin; "Get" - The Silhouettes)
  5. Big Girls Don't Cry [2:27] (B. Crewe / B. Gaudio)
  6. It's Your Foot Again [3:09] (P. Jabara / B. Roberts)
  7. Angry Eyes [2:25] (K. Loggins / J. Messina)
  8. I'd Clean A Fish For You [1:03] (P. Jabara / B. Roberts)
  9. THE MAIN EVENT (ballad) [4:16] (P. Jabara / B. Roberts) *
* Streisand vocals

About the Album

The soundtrack album to Barbra Streisand's 1979 boxing comedy film with Ryan O'Neal included different versions of the disco hit “The Main Event/Fight.” Bob Esty, who co-wrote the song, explained how the tune was written: “Paul Jabara is signed to First Artists publishing and when he found out what the movie was to be about, he and Bruce Roberts went ahead and wrote the song hoping they'd consider it. He submitted a demo, but it was rejected and just laid around for two months.

“Barbra had hired Marilyn and Alan Bergman to write a Way We Were type of ballad for the movie,” Esty explained, “but [Producer & Streisand's boyfriend] Jon Peters thought it should be an uptempo tune since the movie's a comedy. So he talked [Streisand] into reconsidering because he wanted her to do a contemporary thing, a dance tune.”

Streisand, Esty stated, “worked real hard to try to make [the song] work. She's very cooperative.”

Streisand did suggest that the word “fight” be worked into the song. Esty and Jabara had already written a tune called “Fight” for another album. “It was perfect,” Esty said. “We just looked at each other and said, ‘have we got a song for you.’”

Soundtrack album producer Gary Le Mel told Orange Coast Magazine why different versions of the disco song were included: “We didn't want to cheat the public. We wanted to give them what they heard on the radio,” he explained. “We had made a 12-inch disco version of the song, but it was only for discos and disco radio. It wasn't available for sale*, so we put them both on the album.”

As for the ballad version of “The Main Event,” Le Mel said, “Barbra liked the song so much she wanted to try it as a ballad. I think that's the nicest version on the album.”

Bob Esty conducted the strings and Bruce Roberts played the piano on the ballad version.
Record industry ad for The Main Event soundtrack album.
The Main Event soundtrack was restored, remastered, and released for the first time on CD in October 1993. It was part of Columbia Records' 11 Essential Barbra Streisand Releases. The master tapes were prepared for release by John Arrias (who put together the masters for Just For The Record). 

The Main Event is a slight album with Streisand singing on only three tracks (all the same song!). However, rarity-wise, it does contain the 11-minute-plus long version of “The Main Event”. And more importantly, it includes the ballad version—an overlooked gem—with fantastic Streisand vocals.

“In all, The Main Event soundtrack is a handsomely packaged and surprisingly well-rounded album, considering its heavy reliance on one song. And, as is often the case these days, some may even prefer the soundtrack to the film. ”



.... The Daily Oklahoman review by Bruce Westbrook, August 16, 1979

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