No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)

"No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"
Single by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer
from the album Wet & On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes I & II
B-side	"Lucky" "Wet" "My Baby Understands" (The Netherlands/Mexico) "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" (Special Disco Version) (Sweden)
Released	October 1979
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	14—28 August 1979 at Village Recorder studios in Los Angeles
Genre	Disco
Length	4:48 (Casablanca 7") 4:43 (Columbia 7") 8:24 (Wet album mix) 11:43 (12"/On The Radio album mix)
Label	Casablanca, CBS
Writer(s)	Paul Jabara, Bruce Roberts
Producer	Gary Klein, Giorgio Moroder, Harold Faltermeyer (Donna Summer 12" version)
Certification	Platinum (US), Silver (UK)
Donna Summer singles chronology "Dim All the Lights" (1979) "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (1979) "Never Lose Your Sense Of Humor" (1979) Barbra Streisand singles chronology "The Main Event / Fight" (1979) "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" (1979) "Kiss Me In the Rain"" (1980)

"No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" is a duet from 1979 by Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand. While Summer was famous for her disco material and Streisand for her more easy listening and soundtrack work (though both had crossed over into other genres before), this song fused both sounds with a slow beginning (lasting almost two minutes) which then develops into a disco song. The song then becomes something of a feminist anthem with two women taking action against their men and throwing them out.

The song was recorded for Streisand's Wet album and also as a new track for Summer's compilation double album entitled On the Radio: Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2. The full-length version was found on Streisand's album, while a longer 11 minute plus version (the 12" version) was featured on Summer's album. The Summer version features additional production by frequent collaborator Harold Faltermeyer, and incorporates the harder rock edge symbolic of her work with him. The single was released on both Casablanca Records (Summer's label) and Columbia Records (Streisand's label) and sales of the two were amalgamated. The versions on the two 7" singles differed slightly however, with different mixes and slightly different background vocal arrangements. The formats differed between nations - in the UK for example, the song was only released on 7" by Casablanca, and 12" (the extended version from the On The Radio album) by Columbia.

Although the sales of the two labels' releases were amalgamated, both the 7" and the 12" were certified Gold by the RIAA in early 1980. The 7" single was eventually certified Platinum by 1997. The single spent two weeks at number one on the U.S. singles chart (making it both singers' fourth chart-topping single in the U.S.). It was also a big international hit, and made the top three in the UK.

During the recording of the song, Summer is said to have passed out and fallen off her chair having been out partying the night before. Streisand supposedly carried on singing her long note and waited until she had finished it before stopping and asking Summer if she was okay. Another rumour regarding the song is that Streisand's son, Jason Gould, is the one who talked his mother into recording the duet as he was a fan of Summer's work.

It has been said that "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" almost never made it on to the Wet album. The song was originally entitled, "Enough Is Enough", where the ballad introduction was never recorded between the two women. When the final song selections were being made, it was said by the producers that "Enough Is Enough" was not to be included, for it had nothing in common with the other songs, since the track did not interpret water of any kind (which was the theme of the Wet album). Barbra Streisand really wanted the song on the album and thus changed the title of the song to "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", upon which the ballad introduction was written, to give more of an explanation of water to the song..."It's raining, it's pouring, my love life is boring me to tears after all these years...", and so forth.

The Swedish pressing of the Casablanca Records 7" single had a B-side called "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" (Special Disco Version) - a truth with modification since it was exactly the same version as on the A-side, only without the ballad intro ( - 3:04).

To date Summer and Streisand have never performed the song together live since recording it, although Summer still sings the song live in concert with other female performers, most recently her sister Mary Gaines Bernard.

Personnel

• Vocals: Donna Summer and Barbra Streisand
• Acoustic and Electric Piano: Greg Mathieson
• Bass: Neil Stubenhaus
• Drums: James Gadson
• Guitar: Jay Graydon and Jeff Baxter
• Background Vocals: Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Luther Waters
• Produced By Gary Klein for The Entertainment Company in association with Giorgio Moroder Productions
• Arranged and Conducted by Greg Mathieson
• Vocals arranged by Bruce Roberts, Paul Jabara and Luther Waters
• Engineered by Juergen Koppers and John Arrias
• Recorded at Village Recorders and Rusk Sound Studios, Los Angeles

Chart positions

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Dutch GfK chart[1]	27
Dutch Top 40	20

Cover versions

• In 1993, K. D. Lang and Erasure's Andy Bell recorded a cover of the song for the soundtrack of the movie Coneheads.
• In 1994, Kym Mazelle and Jocelyn Brown released a cover of the song which reached number 13 on the UK chart.
• In 2004, Summer re-recorded the track with the Irish pop band Westlife for the compilation album, Discomania.
• In 2004, Diana DeGarmo performed a cover of the song on American Idol as Donna Summer served as a guest judge during Disco Week.
• In 2008, Amber and Zelma Davis collaborated on a cover of the song.

Live cover performances

• "Enough is Enough" was part of the medley of songs about men that Liza Minnelli and her back-up girls (The Demon Divas) sang in 1993's "Liza Minnelli: Live from Radio City Music Hall."
• Donna Summer performed a new version of the song with Tina Arena for a live concert which aired on VH-1 called Live & More Encore. The song was included on the album and was one of the concert's highlights, earning enthusiastic praise from the audience. Summer also performed another live version with Westlife on the British ITV's "Discomania" in 2004.

Parodies

Comedian Eddie Murphy recorded a parody version of the song as it might be performed by exercise guru Richard Simmons and Our Gang actor Billie "Buckwheat" Thomas. The song appears on Murphy's 1982 self-titled comedy album.

Sampling

• In 2008, Serbian pop-folk singer Jelena Karleuša used the 'enough is enough' line on her album JK Revolution. It can be heard in the song "Mala (TeatroMix)".

Appearances/References in other media

• The song has been featured in many television shows, most notably in a 1980 episode of the soap opera Guiding Light, in which a pregnant Rita Bauer (Lenore Kasdorf) was chased through a "hall of mirrors" attraction at a carnival by the crazed Roger Thorpe (Michael Zaslow). The orchestrated sequence won Guiding Light a Daytime Emmy in 1981.
• The song was also featured in the Will & Grace episode "An Old-Fashioned Piano Party", in which Grace and Larry reach the climax of the song, playing the piano and repeating "Enough is enough is enough is enough is enough..." to which Karen yells, "It's enough!"
• Family Guy Presents: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story featured adult and baby Stewie singing a duet of this song.
• In the British sitcom Beautiful People the main character Simon Doonan sings a version of the song as a duet with Elaine Paige in the 2009 season two episode called "How I Got My Water Feature".
• In the BBC TV series Over the Rainbow in April 2010, the remaining Dorothys sung the song alongside Charlotte Church, one of the show's judges.

References

1. ^ "dutchcharts.nl - Discografie Donna Summer". © 2006-2011 Hung Medien. http://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Donna+Summer. Retrieved 2011-03-14. 

Preceded by "Still" by Commodores	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single November 24, 1979 – December 1, 1979	Succeeded by "Babe" by Styx
Preceded by "Beat of the Night" / "Pump It Up" by Fever	Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single November 24, 1979 – December 15, 1979	Succeeded by "Deputy of Love" by Don Armando's Second Avenue Rhumba Band