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Boston Globe

Peter Asher just produced Barbra Streisand with Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and James Taylor. Now, he heads to Arlington.

I did not bat an eye to learn that veteran producer Peter Asher had a hand in it. 'One thinks Dylan and Streisand come from different worlds, and they do, but those worlds have a degree of similarity,' Asher, 80, muses in a recent phone interview from his Malibu home. 'And clearly they're mutual admirers.' Advertisement Co-produced by Asher, Streisand's new album sees Babs duet with Dylan, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Ariana Grande, Seal, Sting, Mariah Carey, Sam Smith, Tim McGraw, Josh Groban, Laufey, and Hozier. (A single with Hozier, ' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Like a British Forrest Gump, Asher has taken part in, or witnessed, so many major 20th-century pop culture moments, it could fill a book — The show is packed with songs and Gump-like tales: A Advertisement I called to talk Streisand, the upcoming Beatles biopics, Martha's Vineyard gas stations, and more. Barbra Streisand in the control booth with Peter Asher and Walter Afanasieff (seated, far left and right), who produced her forthcoming album. Standing: Jochem van der Saag. Jay Landers Q. The list of names on your upcoming Streisand album is mind-blowing. How did you get all these artists? A. Barbra, of course. Everyone says yes. That's the amazing part. What singer could possibly get all these people to say yes without any questions? Barbra Streisand. Q. How did this project come together? A. Jay Landers, who works with Sony, had this idea of putting myself and [Grammy-winning] producer Walter Afanasieff together on the project. Then it was just going through lists of songs and lists of people, assembling the right mixture. We had great arrangers. Barbra's singing is extraordinary. She's older than me [at 83], and she totally nailed it. Q. She and Dylan sing 'The Very Thought of You.' How did that get picked? A. As I recall, Barbra told us he didn't want to do one of his own songs, that he felt more comfortable doing something in the way of a standard, and Ray Noble's 'The Very Thought of You' came to mind. That was a song he particularly liked. He and Barbra worked on ideas together. He was very amenable to Barbra's suggestions. He sings it like Bob Dylan but at the same time, Barbra gave Dylan some hints on maybe how to sing it, and he was incredibly obliging. Q. The two names that strike me as people you might've helped connect here are Paul McCartney and James Taylor. Advertisement A. I helped connect them, yes. At the same time, everything went through management channels and so on. Paul was an obvious choice in that he's such an amazing singer and great songwriter. He'd written 'My Valentine' for his own (2012) album 'Kisses on the Bottom.' I've always loved that song and it seemed the obvious one to turn into a duet. Q. Taylor duets on his own song, 'Secret O' Life,' which inspired the album title. A. I just thought — for someone who's accomplished everything Barbra has — 'the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time' was a sentiment that might well appeal to her. Q. McCartney dated your sister and lived in your house for two years. A. Yes, our parents offered him the guest room on the top floor, and he moved in. He wrote quite a few songs. 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' I know was written in the house, because he and John [Lennon] played it to me as soon as they finished it. Paul used the piano my mother had in a practice room in the basement. One day, John came over; they called to me upstairs asking if I wanted to hear the song they'd just finished. I sat on this tiny sofa, and the two of them sat side by side on the piano bench and hammered out 'I Want to Hold Your Hand.' Q. Paul gave Peter & Gordon ' A. He wrote it when he was, like, 16. John didn't like it. He thought 'Please lock me away' was an insane way to start a song. He apparently said 'It's ridiculous, yes I will lock you away.' Advertisement So the Beatles weren't going to record it. He didn't finish it. When Gordon and I got a record deal, I asked Paul: That 'World Without Love' song — can we have it?' He said yes, quite casually, not realizing how significant a moment that was in my life. Q. Paul later asked you to join Apple Records; you were head of A&R. You discovered James Taylor. A. Exactly so. Q. He was living on Martha's Vineyard when you started managing him. He didn't have a phone, so you'd have to call a gas station in Tisbury. A. That's right. I forget the guy's name — James would probably remember. But I had to leave a message with the guy: 'James you have a gig on Thursday.' Q. You also discovered his sister, A. Yes, they were singing in this empty pool, which had fantastic acoustics. I realized Kate was even more of an R&B-influenced soulful singer than James. Kate called Linda Ronstadt and [suggested she call me]. That's how I got to manage Linda. Advertisement Q. Linda has A. It's a creeping disease. But she's in good spirits. She's up in San Francisco, and I go up there fairly often just to say hi. Q. You also managed Joni Mitchell. A. I did for a few years. Elliot Roberts was Joni's manager forever — they had a parting of the ways briefly, and I was honored to step in for a bit. Q. You were the best man at the late A. Yes, she married my partner at Indica Books and Gallery, John Dunbar. Q. Then you introduced her to Mick Jagger. A. Not the best move I ever made. I've been the best man three times, and all three were disasters. Q. I have to ask: Are you excited about the four Beatles biopics from Sam Mendes A. I am. This whole thing about four different films, and what order you watch them in — it's going to be fascinating. Q. Is anyone going to play you? A. There's been discussion about whether I'm necessarily in it or not. [laughs] I imagine I will be somehow. Q. Ed Sheeran would be great. A. His name has come up, yes. Advertisement Q. Any thoughts on the Beatles cast? [Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, and Joseph Quinn.] A. They're all great actors. It's certainly not a band of lookalikes. This is not a Beatles tribute band. These are brilliant actors playing fascinating people. Lauren Daley can be reached at