Imagine Madonna duetting with Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler. Well, that diva-palooza almost happened in 1993 — until it didn’t.
In a new interview, Jay Landers, Streisand’s A&R guy, reveals the idea of the triple collab was brought up when Barbra was working on her 1993 Back to Broadway album. The concept was that all three singers would cover “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better,” from the musical Annie Get Your Gun.
Musically, Madonna’s part was going to have a disco beat, according to Landers, while Bette’s part would have a motif that recalled her mega hit “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” Landers also said the track was going to end with us hearing Madonna and Bette in the ladies’ room, complaining about how controlling Barbra is — and then hearing Barbra step out of one of the stalls, having overheard everything.
So why didn’t this dream project happen? Unfortunately, Landers says Madonna had to pull out at the last minute for reasons nobody knows.
Thankfully, all three women are still with us, so there’s still hope.
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