“The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand is a tear-jerking ballad, filled with the longing and regret of someone grieving a relationship foregone. The song was produced for a film by the same name that Streisand starred in with Robert Redford in 1973. In the film, Streisand and Redford play characters who are in a troubled relationship that ultimately ends in divorce.
University of Maryland Associate Director of Bands Andrea Brown encountered the song, "The Way We Were," as a high-school marching band student. She joined Stephanie Shonekan on this episode to discuss Streisand's original rendition of the song, as well as Beyoncé's tribute performance at The Kennedy Center Honors in 2008.
In addition to teaching and conducting classical music, Andrea is a Beyoncé fan — who might have attended more than one show in the Cowboy Carter Tour — and has enjoyed seeing Beyoncé's music reimagined into scores for HBCU marching bands. In this episode of Cover Story, Andrea and Stephanie unpack the different ways Streisand and Beyoncé interpret "The Way We Were" and also discuss how popular music and music for marching band ensembles continue to inspire each other.
"As a high-school student, 'The Way We Were' wasn't exactly what everybody was listening to at the time, but everybody in my [band] program, we loved the song and was really excited to have it as part of our halftime show. So, yeah, it is a song that's definitely like been with me for a long time." - Andrea Brown
“Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” is produced by Katelynn McIlwain, Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner and Aaron Hay.
Special thanks to Nat Kuhn, recording engineer at the University of Maryland and Mark Johnson, recording engineer at KBIA.
This podcast is a collaboration between the Missouri School of Journalism’s KBIA News and the University of Maryland’s College of Arts and Humanities.
You can follow the podcast and other special projects on Instagram @kbianews and on our Facebook page, "Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan."
“Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” Season 1 was produced by Janet Saidi, Kristofor Husted, Fernando Narro, Rehman Tungekar, and Ryan Famuliner, with host and producer Stephanie Shonekan. Season 1 was edited by Rehman Tungekar and Ryan Famuliner.
“Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan” Season 2 was produced by Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay, and Stephanie Shonekan. Season 2 was edited by Aaron Hay and Ryan Famuliner.
"Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan" Season 3 was produced by Katelynn McIlwain, Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay and Nat Kuhn, with host and producer Stephanie Shonekan. Season 3 was edited by Aaron Hay and Ryan Famuliner.
"Cover Story with Stephanie Shonekan" Season 4 was produced by Katelynn McIlwain, Janet Saidi, Ryan Famuliner, Aaron Hay and Nat Kuhn, with host and producer Stephanie Shonekan. Season 4 was edited by Aaron Hay and Ryan Famuliner.
