Barbra Streisand and James Brolin's Alleged Inspiration for Aerosmith's 'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing'

Aerosmith rose to the top of the charts twenty-five years ago with their hit song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing". However, the band can attribute their success to Barbra Streisand. Surprisingly, the song was not composed by the members of Aerosmith themselves. Instead, renowned songwriter Diane Warren wrote the track. In Streisand's newly released memoir, "My Name Is Barbra", she reveals that a beautiful and intimate moment shared with her husband, James Brolin, served as the inspiration for Warren, who was 67 at the time, to create this iconic song.

Streisand reminisced about lying in bed with the 83-year-old Brolin one night. He expressed his desire not to sleep because he didn't want to miss her. Streisand considered his words to be beautiful and poetic, capturing a moment of pure happiness encompassing physical, emotional, and spiritual connections.

During a 1997 appearance on 20/20 with Barbara Walters, Streisand shared this anecdote with the presence of Warrant. She noted down the conversation between herself and Brolin, which later served as the inspiration for the chorus of her song, "Don't wanna close my eyes / I don't wanna fall asleep / 'Cause I'd miss you, baby / And I don't wanna miss a thing."

Though Aerosmith has dominated the rock charts since making their debut in the early 1970s, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" stands as their sole No. 1 single in the United States. Furthermore, this incredible song earned the band an esteemed Oscar nomination in the category of Best Original Song. (Ultimately, they were defeated by Stephen Schwartz's "When You Believe," which Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston flawlessly performed for the film The Prince of Egypt).

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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

Warren confirmed in 2018, during an interview with ABC News, that Streisand was the inspiration behind the song. In a conversation with Shortlist in 2016, Warren reflected on how she initially envisioned "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" being performed by someone like Celine Dion, but was pleasantly surprised to hear Steven Tyler of Aerosmith bring a different and more powerful dimension to the song with his unique vocal style.

In addition to this interesting detail about Aerosmith, Streisand's memoir revealed several shocking revelations. She claimed to have had an affair with Sydney Chaplin, son of Charlie Chaplin, while they were both working on Broadway's "Funny Girl." She also provided some insights into her relationship with her ex-husband, Elliott Gould, including the "shock" she experienced upon discovering she was pregnant with their son, Jason Gould.