Barbra Streisand says Aerosmith wrote a song about her and James Brolin

Twenty-five years ago, Aerosmith first reached the top of the charts with ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing’ – and the band has Barbra Streisand to thank.

Although Aerosmith’s theme dates back to 1998 Armageddon was a great success, the song was not written by the boys from Boston (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford And Joey Kramer). Legendary songwriter Diane Warren wrote the song, and in Streisand’s new memoir, My Name Is Barbra, Streisand claims that a romantic moment with her husband, James Brolijninspired Warren, 67, to write the song.

Streisand recalled being in bed one night with Brolin, 83, when he told her, “I don’t want to fall asleep.” When asked why, Brolin replied, “Because I’ll miss you.” Streisand wrote that this was “a beautiful, poetic thing to say. And it captured a moment of complete bliss… physical, emotional, spiritual.”

The “Woman In Love” singer shared this anecdote during a performance in 1997 20/20 of Barbara Walters, and according to Streisand, Warrant was watching. She wrote down the exchange between Streisand and Brolin, and it would become the basis for the song’s chorus: ‘Don’t wanna close my eyes / I don’t wanna fall asleep / ‘Cause I’d miss you baby / And I don’t want to miss anything.”

Although Aerosmith has topped the charts since he burst onto the scene in the early 1970s, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” is Aerosmith’s first and only No. 1 single in the United States. The song also earned the band an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. (The band lost to Stephen Schwartz‘s ‘When You Believe’, the song Mary Carey and Whitney Houston performed The prince of Egypt).

Streisand added that it was “so satisfying to see so many people respond to Jim’s words. Well, no wonder… I did that too!”

Warren confirmed that Streisand inspired the song when he spoke ABC news in 2018. In 2016, Warren reflected on how “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” ended up at Aerosmith while speaking with Shortlist. “When I wrote it, I thought it would end up being like Celine Dion or someone like that, you know, back in the day – I mean, who’s a great singer – but it’s so much cooler to hear someone like Steven Tyler – this gruff, macho rock star, this great tough guy – for him to say those lyrics, it just gave it a whole different dimension.

Amid this Aerosmith news, Streisand’s memoir came with a series of bombshells, including her claims that she had an affair with Charlie Chaplin’s son, Sydney Chaplin, while she was working on Broadway’s “Funny Girl.” She also shared some insight into her relationship with her ex-husband, Elliott Gouldincluding the “shock” of finding out she was pregnant with their son, Jason Gould.