No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)

Album: Wet (1979)
Charted: 3 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The two divas are dreaming about finding the perfect lover in this disco hit from Streisand's Wet album. Because tears weren't quite wet enough for the water-themed concept album, songwriter Paul Jabara added the opening lyrics:

    It's raining, it's pouring
    My lovelife is boring me to tears
  • Earlier in 1979, Streisand starred opposite Ryan O'Neal in the romantic comedy The Main Event, and Jabara penned the title theme for Streisand to perform. The dance-pop number "The Main Event/Fight" peaked at #3 and proved that the singer knew her way around a disco beat. It only made sense for Jabara to introduce Streisand and disco queen Donna Summer by playing them his latest composition with Bruce Roberts, which just happened to be a disco soul duet: "No More Tears."
  • According to Jabara, the recording session was not a case of dueling divas, but the two were intimidated by each other, leading to some one-upping (Summer tried to keep up with Streisand's lengthy notes and toppled off her stool when she ran out of breath). But all in all, it was pure magic. Jabara recalled to Us: "There was Streisand, hands flaring, and Donna, throwing her head back - and they're both belting, sparking each other. It was a songwriter's dream. Seeing them on their stools opposite each other was so mind boggling, my head nearly turned 360 degrees, like Linda Blair's did in The Exorcist."
  • When this hit #1 on the Hot 100 November 24, 1979, it was the first time a duet between two female singers topped the chart.
  • The personnel on this track were:

    Piano: Greg Mathieson
    Bass: Neil Stubenhaus
    Guitar: Jay Graydon, Jeff Baxter
    Drums: James Gadson
    Backing Vocals: Julia Waters, Maxine Waters and Luther Waters >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England
  • On his debut comedy album in 1982, Eddie Murphy re-envisioned the track as a duet between Richard Simmons and a grown-up Buckwheat from The Little Rascals.
  • Erasure's Andy Bell recorded this with k.d. lang for the 1993 Coneheads soundtrack.
  • Summer and Streisand both performed this live, but never together (Streisand lamented this after Summer's 2012 death). Although the two divas were pictured together on the cover of the single, no video was made for the song.
  • Summer included this on her first greatest hits album, On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1979).

Comments: 1

  • Mike from CanadaThe story about Donna falling off the stool, had nothing to due with the so-called one upping or Summer attempting to keep up with Streisand. People (fans) can be so ridiculous (as if she couldn't !). The recording was scheduled for the day after Summer had completed 8 sold out shows, at the Universal Amphitheater. She was tired and got little sleep, because of the after party. She's told the story a fews times, notably on The Rosie O'Donnell Show - how she went for a high note and passed out and fell of the stool, and Barbra reaction.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Alice Cooper

Alice CooperFact or Fiction

How well do you know this shock-rock harbinger who's been publicly executed hundreds of times?

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces

Colbie Caillat

Colbie CaillatSongwriter Interviews

Since emerging from MySpace with her hit "Bubbly," Colbie has become a top songwriter, even crafting a hit with Taylor Swift.

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)

Richie Wise (Kiss producer, Dust)Songwriter Interviews

Richie talks about producing the first two Kiss albums, recording "Brother Louie," and the newfound appreciation of his rock band, Dust.