The honor is handed out annually by the Recording Academy to artists for their artistic and philanthropic achievements
Barbra, who attended the event with hubby Jim Brolin, son Jason Gould, and other close friends and business associates, even walked the red carpet... a part of showbiz she usually shies away from.
An eclectic range of singers and presenters took to the stage to entertain the crowd. Here's what they performed:
Darren Criss & The Warblers from GLEE - 'What Kind of Fool'
Diana Krall - 'Down With Love'
Seal - 'Guilty'
Leona Lewis - 'Somewhere'
Herbie Hancock & Nikki Yanofsky - Medley of 'On a Clear Day' and 'Lazy Afternoon'
Lea Michele - 'My Man'
Jeff Beck, LeAnn Rimes and BeBe Winans - 'Come Rain or Come Shine'
Faith Hill - 'Send in the Clowns'
Kristin Chenoweth & Matthew Morrison - 'One Less Bell to Answer / A House is Not a Home'
Barry Manilow - 'Memory'
Tony Bennett - 'Smile'
Stevie Wonder - 'People'.
"She's one of the greatest talents we've ever had" - Manilow.
He went on to say... "Neither one of us know what the heck the lyric means," referring to the Cats song 'Memory'. Later, Streisand said, "I think it's about a vampire."
"When I was 12, I wished she could be my girlfriend because she sounded so good" - Stevie Wonder.
"There was never a picture of her getting out of a car without her underwear on," - Comedian Bill Maher.
As Barbra took to the stage to close the evening, she joked "I'm stuck with the leftovers!".
Leftovers they might have been, but Barbra was really left with some of the biggest signature tunes of her career, opening with 'Happy Days Are Here Again', segued into 'The Way We Were', 'What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life?', 'Evergreen', 'I Finally Found Someone', and then coming full circle back to 'Happy Days Are Here Again'. She followed the medley by singing 'Make Someone Happy' - a song from Love Is The Answer.
Barbra concluded her performance with two songs from her forthcoming un-named album, which she has been recording since last month in LA... a tribute to Alan and Marilyn Bergman (who were there last night). Barbra sang "The Windmills Of Your Mind" and "I'll Never Say Goodbye".
Barbra thanked a handful of her colleagues for being there... especially Marty Erlichman, who she joked "discovered me in a neonatal unit of Brooklyn Hospital".
In a speech that came straight from her heart, Barbra said "I love music for what it does for the soul. It let me express myself when I had no other outlet."
“I love music for what it does to the soul, how it elevates the moment, the emotions. I love music for what it's given me. It gave me a job when I couldn't get a job as an actress. It let me express myself when I had no other outlet. I love how music binds us together. It also reflects the times we live in.”
