Barry Manilow | |
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 Manilow in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Barry Alan Pincus (1943-06-17)June 17, 1943 (age 82) New York City, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1964–present |
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| Website | barrymanilow |
Barry Manilow (/ˈmænɪloʊ/MAN-il-oh; bornBarry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career spanning over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Mandy", "I Write the Songs", "Ready to Take a Chance Again", "Can't Smile Without You", "Weekend in New England", and "Copacabana (At the Copa)".
Manilow has recorded and released 51 Top 40 singles on theAdult Contemporary Chart, including 13 that hit number one, 28 that appeared within the top ten, and 36 that reached the top twenty. He has released 13 platinum and sixmulti-platinum albums.[2] Although not a favorite artist of music critics,[3] Manilow has been praised by his peers in the recording industry. In the 1970s,Frank Sinatra predicted: "He's next."[4]
As well as producing and arranging albums for himself and other artists, Manilow has written and performed songs for musicals, films, and commercials for corporations such asMcDonald's,Pepsi Cola, andBand-Aid. He has been nominated for aGrammy Award (winning once) as a producer, arranger and performer fifteen times (and in every decade) from 1973 to 2015.[5] He has also produced Grammy-nominated albums forBette Midler,Dionne Warwick,Nancy Wilson, andSarah Vaughan.[6] Manilow has sold more than 85 million records as a solo artist worldwide, making him one of theworld's bestselling artists.[7][8][9]
Barry Manilow was born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943 in theBrooklyn borough of New York City.[10] He is the son of Harold Kelliher, a truck driver of Irish descent, and Edna Manilow. Barry's mother made his father change his name to Pincus, the name of a Jewish uncle of his father from the 1800s.[11][12][13] Barry's parents divorced when he was a baby, and his mother's family allowed no further contact between Barry and his father.[13] Barry's maternal grandparents wereRussian Jewish immigrants, and his paternal grandfather was Jewish, while his grandmother was a Catholic of Irish descent.[14] His Irish roots trace back toLimerick, Ireland.[15] Barry's grandfather had his surname changed to Manilow a few weeks before Barry's bar mitzvah.[13]
Manilow grew up in theWilliamsburg neighborhood ofBrooklyn and graduated in 1961 from the now-defunctEastern District High School.[16] In high school, he met Susan Deixler, and they later married for a short time.[17] He enrolled in theCity College of New York, where he briefly studied before entering theNew York College of Music.[18] He also worked atCBS to pay his expenses while he was a student. Afterward he studied musical theater atJuilliard Performing Arts School.[18]
In 1964, Manilow met Bro Herrod, a CBS director, who asked him toarrange some songs for a musical adaptation of themelodrama,The Drunkard.[19] Instead, Manilow wrote an entire originalscore.[20][21] Herrod used Manilow's composition in theOff Broadway musical, which had an eight-year run at New York's13th Street Repertory Theatre.[22]
During this time, Manilow began work as a commercialjingle writer and singer, which continued through the remainder of the 1960s.[23] He performed many of the TV jingles he composed, includingState Farm Insurance ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there") orBand-Aid ("I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!"), for which he adopted a childlike voice and wrote the music (Donald B. Wood wrote the lyrics).[24] His singing-only credits include commercials forKentucky Fried Chicken,Pepsi ("all across the nation, it's thePepsi Generation"),McDonald's ("you deserve a break today"),[25] andDr Pepper.[26] Manilow was awarded an Honorary Clio at the 50th AnniversaryClio Awards inLas Vegas in 2009 for his 1960s work as a jingle writer and singer. When accepting the award, he said he learned the most about making pop music by working for three or four years as a writer in the jingle industry.[27]
By 1967, Manilow was the musical director for theWCBS-TV seriesCallback, which premiered on January 27, 1968.[28] He next conducted and arranged forEd Sullivan's production company, arranging a new theme forThe Late Show, while writing, producing, and singing his radio and television jingles.[29] At the same time, he and Jeanne Lucas performed as a duo for a two-season run atJulius Monk's Upstairs at the Downstairs club in New York.[30][31]
By 1969, Manilow was signed byColumbia/CBS Music vice-president and recording artistTony Orlando, who went on to co-write with and produce Manilow and a group of studio musicians under the name "Featherbed" onColumbia Pictures's newly acquiredBell Records label.[28][32][33][34]
Manilow recorded and accompanied artists on the piano for auditions and performances in the first two years of the 1970s. He recorded four tracks as Featherbed, produced by Tony Orlando on Bell Records. Three of the tracks were "Morning", a ballad; "Amy", a psychedelic-influenced pop song; and an early, uptempo version of his own co-composition (with Orlando) "Could It Be Magic".[28][33][34] The fourth tune recorded was "Rosalie Rosie," which was to be the flip side of "Could It Be Magic", but Bell Records went with "Morning" as the flip for Featherbed's second release instead. Neither of two singles released impacted the charts.[28]
Bette Midler saw Manilow's act in 1971 and chose him as her pianist at theContinental Baths in New York City that year,[35] and subsequently as a producer on both her debut and second record albums,The Divine Miss M (1972) andBette Midler (1973).[36] He also acted as her musical director on the tour mounted for her first album.[37] In 1973, Manilow was nominated for theGrammy Award for Album of the Year for his production role onThe Divine Miss M at the16th Grammy Awards.[38] Manilow worked with Midler from 1971 to 1975.[39]
After the Featherbed singles failed to impact on the music charts, in July 1973, Bell Records released the albumBarry Manilow, which offered aneclectic mix of piano-driven pop and guitar-driven rock music, including a song called "I Am Your Child", which Manilow had composed withMarty Panzer.[40][41]
Among other songs on the album wereJon Hendricks'vocalesejazz standard "Cloudburst", most successfully recorded by his groupLambert, Hendricks and Ross in 1959, and a slower-tempo version of "Could It Be Magic". The latter's music was based onChopin's "Prelude in C Minor" and providedDonna Summer with one of her first hits. It was also covered byTake That in the 1990s, as an upbeat disco song.
In 1974, former CBS Records chiefClive Davis became temporary president of Bell with the goal of revitalizing Columbia Pictures's music division. With a $10 million investment by CPI, and a reorganization of the various Columbia Pictures legacy labels (Colpix,Colgems, and Bell), Davis introduced Columbia Pictures' new record division,Arista,[42] in November 1974, with Davis himself owning 20% of the venture. Bell had its final number 1 hit in January 1975 with Manilow's breakthrough 1974 release of the single "Mandy" (Bell 45,613), followed shortly by the label's final hit, as well as its final single, "Look in My Eyes Pretty Woman" byTony Orlando and Dawn (Bell 45,620—US No. 11), after which the more successful Bell albums were reissued on Arista. The final releases using the Bell imprint have the designation "Bell Records, Distributed by Arista Records, 1776 Broadway, New York, New York 10019" around the rim of the label.[citation needed]
Davis' reorganization efforts continued to bear fruit in 1974, with the release of Manilow's second album,Barry Manilow II, with "Mandy" as the lead single. Manilow had not wanted to record the song, which had originally been titled "Brandy" when recorded by its co-writerScott English, but the song was included at Davis's insistence. The title was changed to "Mandy" during the recording session on August 20, 1974, because there had already been a song called "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" performed byLooking Glass and released in 1972 on Davis'sEpic label.[citation needed]
"Mandy" was the start of a string of hit singles and albums that lasted through the early 1980s, coming from the multi-platinum and multi-hit albumsTryin' to Get the Feeling,This One's for You,Even Now, andOne Voice. Following the success ofBarry Manilow II, the first Bell Records album was remixed and reissued on Arista Records asBarry Manilow I. When Manilow went on his first tour, he included in his show what he called "A V.S.M.", or "A Very Strange Medley", a sampling of some of the commercial jingles that he had written, composed, and/or sung in the 1960s. The medley appeared later on his triple-platinum 1977 albumBarry Manilow Live.[43]
Beginning with Manilow's March 22, 1975, appearance onAmerican Bandstand to promote the second album, a productive friendship withDick Clark started.[44] Among their projects together were numerous appearances by Manilow on Clark's productions ofDick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, singing his original seasonal favorite "It's Just Another New Year's Eve",American Bandstand anniversary shows,American Music Awards performances, and the 1985 television movieCopacabana, starring Manilow and executive produced by Clark.[45]
Despite being a songwriter in his own right, several of Manilow's commercial successes were songs written by others. In addition to "Mandy", written by Scott English andRichard Kerr, other hits he did not write or compose include "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" (byDavid Pomeranz), "Weekend in New England" (byRandy Edelman), "Ships" (byIan Hunter), "Looks Like We Made It" (by Richard Kerr andWill Jennings), "Can't Smile Without You" and "Ready to Take a Chance Again" (byCharles Fox andNorman Gimbel). His number 1 hit "I Write the Songs" was composed byBruce Johnston ofThe Beach Boys. According to album liner notes, Manilow did, however, perform co-production as well as arrangement duties on all the above tracks along withRon Dante, most famous for his vocals on records byThe Archies.[citation needed]
Manilow's breakthrough in Britain came with the release ofEven Now, the first of many top-20 albums on that side of the Atlantic, which contained four singles that became major hits in the US. This was quickly followed byManilow Magic – The Best Of Barry Manilow, also known asGreatest Hits. In the late 1970s and early 1980s,ABC aired four variety television specials starring Manilow, who served as an executive producer.The Barry Manilow Special withPenny Marshall as his guest premiered on March 2, 1977, to an audience of 37 million. The special was nominated for fourEmmys at the29th Primetime Emmy Awards and won in the category ofOutstanding Special–Comedy, Variety or Music.[46]The Second Barry Manilow Special in 1978, withRay Charles as his guest, was also nominated for four Emmys at the30th Primetime Emmy Awards.[46]
Manilow's "Ready to Take a Chance Again" originated in the filmFoul Play, which also featured "Copacabana", from his fourth studio albumEven Now. "Ready to Take a Chance Again" and its songwriters Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel were nominated that year for the "Best Original Song"Oscar at the51st Academy Awards.[47] On February 11, 1979, a concert from Manilow's sold-out dates from hisEven Now Tour at theGreek Theater in Los Angeles aired on theHBO seriesStanding Room Only, which was the first pay-television show to pose a serious threat to network primetime specials for ratings.[48] From the same tour in 1978, a one-hour special from Manilow's sold-out concert at theRoyal Albert Hall aired in the UK.[citation needed]
On May 23, 1979, ABC airedThe Third Barry Manilow Special, withJohn Denver as his guest. This special was nominated for two Emmy awards at the31st Primetime Emmy Awards and won forOutstanding Choreography.[46] Also in 1979, Manilow producedDionne Warwick's "comeback" albumDionne, her first to go platinum. He scored a top ten hit of his own, in the fall of 1979, with the song "Ships" (written and composed by Ian Hunter, former lead singer ofMott the Hoople) from the albumOne Voice.[citation needed]
During the 1980s, Manilow topped the Adult Contemporary radio charts with songs such as "The Old Songs", "Somewhere Down the Road", "Read 'Em and Weep" (byJim Steinman), and a remake of the 1941Jule Styne andFrank Loesser standard "I Don't Want to Walk Without You". Manilow's songs continued to receive frequent radio airplay throughout the decade. In the UK, Manilow performed five sold-out concerts at theRoyal Albert Hall. In the United States, atRadio City Music Hall, his 1984 ten-night run set a box-office sales record of nearly $2 million, making him the top draw in the 52-year history of the venue.[49] In 1980, Manilow'sOne Voice special, with Dionne Warwick as his guest, was nominated for an Emmy forOutstanding Music Direction at the32nd Primetime Emmy Awards.[46]
Also in 1980, a concert from Manilow's shows at London England'sWembley Arena was broadcast while he was on a world tour. Manilow released the self-titledBarry (1980), which was his first album to not reach the top ten in the United States, stopping at number 15. The album contained the top 10 hits "I Made It Through the Rain" (originally a minor hit for its writer,Gerard Kenny) and "Bermuda Triangle". The albumIf I Should Love Again followed in 1981, with two top 40 recordings that both hit number 1 on the AC chart—"The Old Songs" and "Somewhere Down The Road"—and a third single that became a hit in the UK, a cover of the 1965The Four Seasons smash "Let's Hang On!". This was the first of his albums that Manilow produced without Ron Dante. Manilow's sold-out concert at thePittsburgh Civic Arena aired nationally onShowtime and locally onPhiladelphia's now-defunctPRISM. In 1982, a concert from his show at theRoyal Albert Hall was broadcast in England. The live album and videoBarry Live in Britain also came from his Royal Albert Hall shows.[citation needed]
On August 27, 1983, Manilow performed a landmark open-air concert atBlenheim Palace in Britain, an event that he told the audience was "one of the most exciting nights" in his life.[50] It was the first such event ever held at that venue and was attended by an estimated 40,000 people. This concert was also taped for airing on Showtime. In December 1983, Manilow was reported to have endowed the music departments at six major universities in the United States and Canada.[51] The endowments were part of a continuing endeavor by Manilow to recognize and encourage new musical talent.[52]
In 1984, Manilow released2:00 AM Paradise Cafe, ajazz/blues collection of original barroom tunes recorded in one live take in the studio. That same year, Showtime aired a documentary of Manilow recording the album with a number of jazz legends includingSarah Vaughan andMel Tormé. In 1984 and 1985, England aired two one-hour concert specials from hisNational Exhibition Centre (NEC) concerts. In 1985, Manilow left Arista Records forRCA Records, where he released the pop albumManilow, and began a phase of international music, as he performed songs and duets in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. TheManilow album was a complete about-face from theParadise Cafe album, containing a number of uptempo tracks that featured synthesizers. In 1985, Japan aired a Manilow concert special where he played "Sakura" on thekoto.[citation needed]
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In his only lead acting role, Manilow portrayed Tony Starr in the 1985 CBS filmCopacabana, based on his 1978 song "Copacabana", alongsideAnnette O'Toole as Lola Lamarr andJoseph Bologna as Rico Castelli. Manilow wrote all the songs for the movie, with lyrics provided by his longtime collaboratorsBruce Sussman andJack Feldman. A soundtrack album for the TV film,Copacabana: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album, was released on RCA Records.[citation needed]
In October 1986, Manilow, along with Sussman,Tom Scott, andCharlie Fox, went to Washington, D.C. for two days of meetings with legislators, including lunch with then SenatorAl Gore.[53] They were lobbying against a copyright bill put forward by local television broadcasters that would mandate songwriter-producer source licensing of theme andincidental music on syndicated television show reruns and would disallow the use of the blanket license then in effect. The songwriters said without the blanket license, artists would have to negotiate up front with producers individually, without knowing if a series would be a success. The license now pays according to a per-use formula. Manilow said that such a bill would act as a precedent for broadcasters to get rid of the blanket license entirely.[54]
The following year,McGraw-Hill published Manilow's autobiography,Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise, which took three years to complete. While promoting the work, Manilow defended his music in a telephone interview: "I live in laid-back L.A., but in my heart, I'm an energetic New Yorker and that's what has always come out of my music. I've always been surprised when the critics said I madewimpy little ballads."[55] Manilow returned to Arista Records in 1987 with the release ofSwing Street. The album, a mixture of traditional after-dark and techno jazz, contained "Brooklyn Blues", an autobiographical song for Manilow, and "Hey Mambo", an uptempo Latin style duet withKid Creole, produced with the help ofEmilio Estefan, Jr., founder ofMiami Sound Machine.[citation needed]
CBS aired Manilow'sBig Fun on Swing Street special in March 1988. It featured songs and special guests from hisSwing Street and2:00 am Paradise Cafe albums, includingKid Creole and the Coconuts,Phyllis Hyman,Stanley Clarke,Carmen McRae,Tom Scott, and Uncle Festive, a band within Manilow's band at the time. The special was nominated for two Emmys in technical categories, and won in the category ofOutstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program at the40th Primetime Emmy Awards.[46]
In 1988, Manilow performed "Please Don't Be Scared" and "Mandy/Could It Be Magic" atThat's What Friends Are For: AIDS Concert '88, a benefit concert for the Warwick Foundation headed by Dionne Warwick and shown on Showtime a few years later. In the 1988Walt Disney Pictures animated featureOliver & Company, Bette Midler's character sang a new Manilow composition, "Perfect Isn't Easy". The 1989 release ofBarry Manilow, which contained "Please Don't Be Scared", "Keep Each Other Warm", and "The One That Got Away", ended Manilow's streak of albums of original self-written material (he wrote or arranged only two of the album's songs) and began a phase of his recording career consisting of covers and compilations.[citation needed]
From April 18 to June 10, 1989, Manilow put on a show calledBarry Manilow at the Gershwin, making 44 appearances[56] at theGershwin Theatre (also known as the Uris Theatre), where he had also recordedBarry Manilow Live in 1976. A bestselling 90-minute video of the same show was released the following year asBarry Manilow Live onBroadway. The Showtime one-hour specialBarry Manilow SRO on Broadway consisted of edited highlights from this video. Manilow followed this set of shows with a world tour of the Broadway show.[citation needed]
Manilow released a number of cover tunes during the 1990s, starting with tracks on the 1989 releaseBarry Manilow, and continuing with his 1990 Christmas LPBecause It's Christmas. On the Christmas album, Manilow was joined by pop girl trioExposé and together they recreated, note for note, a 1943 million-selling recording of "Jingle Bells" byBing Crosby andThe Andrews Sisters. Manilow has credited Patty, Maxene, and LaVerne Andrews as inspiring him, perhaps most evident in his recording of "Jump, Shout Boogie".[57] More "event" albums followed, includingShowstoppers, a collection of Broadway songs (1991),[58]Singin' with the Big Bands (1994), and a late 1970s collectionSummer of '78 (1996), which included the hit "I Go Crazy", a hit forPaul Davis in 1978. The decade ended with Manilow recording a tribute toFrank Sinatra,Manilow Sings Sinatra (1998), released months after Sinatra's death.[59]
In 1990, Japan airedNational Eolia Special: Barry Manilow On Broadway where he sang the title song "Eolia", which was used as a song there in a commercial for anair conditioner company of the same name, as well as other songs from his 1989–1990Live on Broadway tour. In the early 1990s, Manilow signed on withDon Bluth to compose the songs with lyricistsJack Feldman andBruce Sussman for three animated films. He co-wrote the Broadway-style musical scores forThumbelina (1994) andThe Pebble and the Penguin (1995). The third film,Rapunzel, was shelved after the poor performance ofThe Pebble and the Penguin. Manilow was to be cast as the voice of a cricket. He also composed the score and wrote two songs with Sussman forDisney Sing Along Songs: Let's Go To The Circus.[citation needed]
Manilow produced the 1991 albumWith My Lover Beside Me by legendary jazz vocalistNancy Wilson.[58] The record is based on lyrics left behind by famed composerJohnny Mercer that had never been set to music. Manilow was invited in 1993 by Mercer's widow to complete the songs. His own recording of "When October Goes", with lyrics by Mercer, was released as a single in 1984, from his album2:00 AM Paradise Cafe.[58] Further Mercer compositions were set to music by Manilow over the following years, culminating in the 1991 Nancy Wilson release. Manilow is featured in a duet on the record in the final cut "Epilogue".[citation needed]
On February 19, 1992, Manilow testified before the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and Judicial Administration House Committee in support of H.R. 3204, TheAudio Home Recording Act of 1991.[60] The bill was signed into law on October 28, 1992, by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush and became effective immediately. In 1993,PBS airedBarry Manilow: The Best of Me, which was taped at Wembley Arena in England earlier that year. The BBC also played a one-hour version of the same show including "The Best of Me", sung during the concert, as a bonus song or "lucky strike extra" as Manilow says, not seen inThe Complete Collection and Then Some..., the video release of the show, but the song was included on the DVD of the same title, with Manilow seated in front of a black curtain, lip-syncing to the recording. He performed 14 concerts as part of an extended tour of Germany,Austria, andDenmark. Manilow branched out in another direction and, with Sussman, launchedCopacabana, a musical play based on previous Manilow-related adaptations. They wrote new songs and it ran for two years in London'sWest End, and a tour company formed.[61]
In December 1996,A&E airedBarry Manilow: Live By Request, the first of his twoLive By Request appearances. The broadcast was A&E's most successful music program, attracting an estimated 2.4 million viewers. The show was also simulcast on the radio. In March 1997,VH-1 airedBarry Manilow: The Summer of '78, a one-hour special of Manilow solo at the piano being interviewed and playing his greatest hits as well as songs fromSummer of '78, his latest release at the time.
In another collaboration, Manilow and Sussman co-wroteHarmony: A New Musical, based on the story of theComedian Harmonists, a male singing group popular in Germany from 1928 to 1934. The musical previewed from October 7 to November 23, 1997, at theLa Jolla Playhouse.[62] In 2003,Harmony was originally scheduled for a tryout run in Philadelphia before going to Broadway, but was canceled after financial difficulties. In a legal battle with Mark Schwartz, the show's producer, Manilow and Sussman in 2005 won back the rights to the musical.[63] The work was staged in Atlanta in 2013 and Los Angeles in 2014, had its New York debut in 2022 at the National Yiddish TheatreFolksbiene and came to Broadway in late 2023 for a three-month run at theEthel Barrymore Theatre.[64]
In 1998, Manilow released the record albumManilow Sings Sinatra which earned him a Grammy nomination forBest Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the42nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1999.[38]
On October 23, 1999,NBC aired the two-hour specialStarSkates Salute to Barry Manilow, taped at theMandalay Bay Hotel inLas Vegas, featuring numerousfigure skaters performing to Manilow's music. Manilow also performed.[citation needed]
In 2000, Manilow had two specials,Manilow Country andManilow Live!, taped over two consecutive days at theTennessee Performing Arts Center inNashville, Tennessee. On April 11, 2000,The Nashville Network (TNN) aired the two-hourManilow Country, which featured country starsTrisha Yearwood,Neal McCoy,Deana Carter,Jo Dee Messina,Lorrie Morgan,Kevin Sharp,Lila McCann,Gillian Welch, andJaci Velasquez singing their favorite Manilow hits with a "country" twist; Manilow also performed. This special was TNN's first High Definition (HD) broadcast and became one of TNN's highest rated concert specials.[citation needed]
In June 2000,DirecTV aired the two-hour concert specialManilow Live! where Manilow had his band, a 30-piece orchestra, and a choir. ThisHDTV special documented the concert tour at the time with the greatest hits of his career and was also released to video. Also that year, he worked withMonica Mancini on her Concord albumThe Dreams of Johnny Mercer, which included seven songs of Mercer's lyrics set to Manilow's music. Meanwhile, Manilow's record contract with Arista Records was not renewed due to new management. He then got a contract atConcord Records, a jazz-oriented label in California, and started work on the concept albumHere at the Mayflower. The album was another eclectic mix of styles, almost entirely composed and produced by Manilow himself.
While Manilow was at Concord Records, the Barry Manilow Scholarship was awarded for four consecutive years (2002–2005) to the six highest-achieving students to reward excellence in the art and craft of lyric writing. TheUCLA Extension course "Writing Lyrics That Succeed and Endure" was taught by long-time Manilow collaboratorMarty Panzer, and each student received three additional "master class" advanced sessions as well as a three-hour private, one-on-one session with Panzer. Scholarship recipients were selected by the instructor based on progress made within the course, lyric writing ability, and the instructor's assessment of real potential in the field of songwriting.[65] In February 2002, Manilow returned to the charts whenArista released a greatest hits album,Ultimate Manilow. On May 18, 2002, he returned to CBS withUltimate Manilow, his first special on the network since hisBig Fun on Swing Street special in 1988. The special was filmed in theKodak Theatre inHollywood, California, and was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Music Direction at the54th Primetime Emmy Awards.[46]
Produced by Manilow,Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook was released on September 30, 2003. It was the first time the pair had worked together in more than twenty years. The albumwent gold, and they collaborated again in 2005 onBette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook. On December 3, 2003, A&E airedA Barry Manilow Christmas: Live by Request, his second of two concerts for the series. The two-hour special had Manilow taking requests for Christmas songs performed live with a band and an orchestra. Manilow told the audience that he was whatClay Aiken was going to look like in thirty years, acknowledging an ongoing comparison of the two. Also on the special were guestsCyndi Lauper,José Feliciano, and Midler (who, busy preparing her own tour in Los Angeles, appeared only in a pre-taped segment).[citation needed]
In 2004, Manilow released two albums: a live album,2 Nights Live! (BMG Strategic Marketing Group, 2004); andScores: Songs from Copacabana & Harmony, an album of Manilow singing songs from his musicals.Scores was the last of Manilow's creative projects with the Concord label.[citation needed]
During his third appearance onThe Oprah Winfrey Show on September 15, 2004, Winfrey announced that Manilow is one of the most requested guests of all time on her show. On the show, he promoted hisOne Night Live! One Last Time! tour. It was around this period that Manilow appeared for the first time on the mainstream FOX programAmerican Idol in which his back-up singer, Debra Byrd, doubles as voice coach on the series. Manilow also appeared on Clay Aiken's TV specialA Clay Aiken Christmas.[citation needed]
Las Vegas Hilton executives in a press conference with Manilow on December 14, 2004, announced his signing to a long-term engagement as the house show.[66] He began the residency in February 2005 with a show entitledManilow: Music and Passion.[67] In March 2006, Manilow's engagement was extended through 2008.[67]
Manilow returned to Arista Records under Davis for a new covers album, released on January 31, 2006,The Greatest Songs of the Fifties. Manilow said he was blown away by the idea, which Davis presented when he visited Manilow's Las Vegas show. "When he suggested this idea to me, I slapped my forehead and said, 'Why hasn't anyone thought of this idea?'" Manilow said.[68] It was an unexpected success, debuting at number one in theBillboard 200, marking the first time a Manilow album debuted at the top of the album chart as well as the first time a Manilow album had reached number one in 29 years. It was eventually certified Platinum in the U.S., and sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.[citation needed]
In March 2006,PBS airedBarry Manilow: Music and Passion, a Hilton concert recorded exclusively for the network's fundraising drive. Manilow was nominated for two Emmys, winning forOutstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program at the58th Primetime Emmy Awards. A sequel album to his bestselling fifties tribute album,The Greatest Songs of the Sixties was released on October 31, 2006, including songs such as "And I Love Her" and "Can't Help Falling in Love". It nearly repeated the success of its predecessor, debuting at number 2 in the Billboard 200.[citation needed]
In January 2007, Manilow returned to New York City for three shows atMadison Square Garden. These included showing onscreen Manilow performing in one of his first television appearances, while the "live" Manilow played along onstage. In August, he played several shows on the east coast of the United States. Four more took place in December, half in the New Yorktri-state area inUniondale andEast Rutherford, and two inCleveland and Detroit. Manilow launched another short tour in early 2008, visiting several large venues, including theXcel Energy Center inSt. Paul, Minnesota. A further album in the decades themed series,The Greatest Songs of the Seventies, went on release September 18, 2007.Barry Manilow: Songs from the Seventies, a PBS concert special based on the work, was taped in Brooklyn in October 2007. The show aired on PBS in December 2007 and was rebroadcast over New Year 2009. He appeared onAmerican Idol on February 3, 2009, during Hollywood Week to give advice to the contestants.[citation needed]
Manilow released his third Christmas album in November 2007,In the Swing of Christmas, which went Gold and earned him another Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy Award nomination at the51st Grammy Awards in 2008.[69][70]
In December 2008, Manilow narrated the animated Christmas specialCranberry Christmas, which was broadcast onABC Family and sponsored byOcean Spray. In addition to narrating, he also contributed two original songs that he composed with his long time collaborator, lyricist Bruce Sussman: "Christmas Is Just Around the Corner" and "Watch Out for Mr. Grape". "Christmas Is Just Around the Corner" was also released as a single, and appeared as a bonus track on the 2009 re-release ofIn the Swing of Christmas.[71]
In October 2009, Manilow TV, a monthly video subscription service, launched. Once a month, Barry Manilow picks a different concert from his personal archive to show to subscribers. In the first month, the first episode showed performances on April 20–21, 1996, at Wembley Arena in London.[citation needed]
Manilow ended his residency at the Hilton with a show entitled "Ultimate Manilow: the Hits" on December 30, 2009, after 300 performances for 450,000 fans.[67]
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On January 26, 2010, Manilow releasedThe Greatest Love Songs of All Time, and, in December of that year, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the52nd Grammy Awards.[38]
He opened his new show "Manilow Paris Las Vegas" at theParis Hotel & Casino at Las Vegas in March 2010.[72]
On December 11, 2010, Manilow performed at theNobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway.[73]
Manilow completed work on his new album,15 Minutes, in March 2011, with his official Facebook page announcing that he had completed putting "finishing touches" to the album on March 16, 2011.[25]
On March 13, 2011, Manilow appeared at the2011 Laurence Olivier Awards at London'sTheatre Royal, Drury Lane, singing "Copacabana" with theBBC Concert Orchestra and also singing with hit West End star,Kerry Ellis.[74]
Since March 2011, he has hostedThey Write the Songs, a documentary series forBBC Radio 2 in which he looks at the life and work of popular composers.[75]
In May 2011, Manilow recorded his concerts at theO2 Arena in London, for CD and DVD release in early 2012.[76]
In a June 2011 interview with theLos Angeles Times, Manilow said his new album was influenced byBritney Spears; the album is about the pleasures and pitfalls of fame. It was influenced directly by Spears's personal struggles in 2007.[77]15 Minutes debuted at number 7 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Album Chart. The first single from15 Minutes, "Bring on Tomorrow", entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 200 Singles Chart's top 40, becoming Manilow's 47th top 40 hit.[78]
In November 2011, Manilow recorded his shows at the Paris Las Vegas for an upcoming TV special and DVD release.[citation needed]
Manilow concluded his two-year residency at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas on December 11, 2012. This also ended his seven-year stay in Las Vegas.[citation needed]
In January 2013, Manilow returned to Broadway with his concert series "Manilow on Broadway". It was his first appearance on Broadway in more than two decades.[79]
On July 4, 2013, Manilow performed live on the west lawn of theU.S. Capitol as part ofA Capitol Fourth. This was his second appearance on the PBS program.[80]
On September 6, 2013,Harmony: A New Musical started a second run. This time atAtlanta'sAlliance Theatre. The musical then had performances in Los Angeles in 2014.[citation needed]
On November 12, 2013, he performed at the BBC'sChildren in Need Rocks 2013.[81]
On March 11, 2014, Manilow releasedNight Songs, an album of standards performed only with piano and synthesizedacoustic bass by Manilow himself. It earned him a Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy nomination that year at the57th Grammy Awards.[38]
On October 28, 2014, Manilow releasedMy Dream Duets, which won him his fourth Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy Award nomination at the58th Annual Grammy Awards. This was the fifteenth Grammy Award nomination of his career, with nominations occurring in every decade since the 1970s.[82][5]
On February 11, 2015, Manilow began his One Last Time! tour at theCenturyLink Center Omaha inOmaha, Nebraska with stops at most majorNorth American venues. Other destinations included Chicago at theUnited Center, Los Angeles at theStaples Center, andBrooklyn at theBarclays Center for the tour finale on June 17, where Manilow celebrated his 72nd birthday.[83]
In 2017,Billboard declared that Manilow has been on aBillboard 200 hot streak since 2002, when his greatest-hits collectionUltimate Manilow debuted and peaked at No. 3 (February 23, 2002), becoming his highest-charting set (and first top 10) since 1979'sOne Voice (No. 9). Since 2002, Manilow has logged a dozen top 40 efforts (including Ultimate). Further, he has notched at least one top 40 album in each of the five decades from the 1970s through the 2010s.[84]
In 2019, it was announced that Manilow's original musicalHarmony would make its New York debut atNational Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in theMuseum of Jewish Heritage, running from February 11 until March 29, 2020.[85] The run was canceled due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and rescheduled for spring 2022.[86]
On February 14, 2020, Manilow releasedNight Songs II, which debuted at No. 32 on the Billboard 200, marking his sixth consecutive decade of top 40-charting albums beginning withBarry Manilow II in 1975.[citation needed]
In April 2020, Manilow scored his 36th top-20 Billboard Adult Contemporary chart hit with "When the Good Times Come Again", which peaked at number 12 the week of July 2. The song was originally recorded for his self-titled 1989 album and never released as a single. A fan made a lyric video for the song when theCOVID-19 pandemic hit. Manilow found the video and posted it on his Facebook page, leading his management company to send the song to radio stations for airplay.[87]
In August 2020, Manilow sold his song catalog toHipgnosis Songs Fund.[88]
In 2021, Manilow started his The Hits Come Home residency at theWestgate Hotel in Las Vegas.[35]
On December 11, 2023,NBC aired the Christmas specialBarry Manilow's A Very Barry Christmas, featuring Manilow.[89][90]
A fourteen-night residency at theLondon Palladium in May and June 2024 has been billed as the "last, last UK concerts".[91]
On September 23, 2025, Manilow released the Peter Allen/Dean Pitchford-penned song "Once Before I Go," a single from his forthcoming albumWhat a Time.[92]
Manilow married his high-school sweetheart, Susan Deixler, in 1964.[17] He later said he was in love with her but his passion for a music career and lack of maturity strained their relationship. He left the woman he considered "the perfect wife" after one year of marriage in pursuit of a "wondrous musical adventure". Manilow credits the response he received fromPlayboy in December 1965 for the courage to leave everything behind and begin a career in music:
I asked a lot of people what I should do, and they all said different things. Finally, I was so desperate, I wrote to the Playboy Advisor.[93]
Deixler had the marriage annulled in 1966.[94] Aftercoming out as gay in 2017, Manilow said that he had been in love with Deixler and the marriage's failure was not related tosexual orientation.[17]
In 1978, Manilow began a relationship with TV executive Garry Kief, who soon became his manager. They married in 2014, aftersame-sex marriage became legal in California.[35] They kept the relationship and his sexual orientation private until the marriage made headlines in 2015. The media reported it after a friend of Manilow's,Suzanne Somers, disclosed that the two men had privately exchanged vows at Manilow's home inPalm Springs, California. No official paperwork was filed, but it was reported that the couple exchanged wedding bands as a sign of their dedication.[95][96] Manilow officially came out as gay in April 2017, tellingPeople that he was pleasantly surprised to find that his mostly female fan base was supportive of the marriage; he had feared the news would disappoint them.[17][35][97][98]
Manilow has a stepdaughter through his husband's previous marriage and an adopted granddaughter.[99]
On December 22, 2025, Manilow, a cigarette smoker from age 9 to age 39,[100] announced a diagnosis of early stage lung cancer, for which he would undergo surgery.[101]
AfterHurricane Hugo in 1989 affected theCharleston, South Carolina area Manilow held a benefit concert at theUniversity of South Carolina'sCarolina Coliseum inColumbia where the $10 tickets sold out in three hours, and asked concertgoers to bring canned food to be donated to residents in disaster areas.[102] Before his concert, MayorT. Patton Adams declared the day "Barry Manilow Day." Manilow presentedThe Red Cross and TheSalvation Army with checks of $42,500 each.[103]
On January 15, 1994, three hours before showtime, Manilow canceled a performance at an Ethnic Pride and Heritage Festival hosted at theConvention Center inAtlantic City, New Jersey. Benefactors included theChildren's Hospital of New Jersey inNewark, the Community Foundation of New Jersey as well as United Hospitals Medical Center Foundation andNewark Museum in Newark during the pre-inaugural activities for thenNew Jersey Governor-electChristie Whitman. Manilow said that he was specifically told in writing that the concert would be part of a nonpartisan event.[104]
To help in the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina in 2005, every dollar his fans donated to theAmerican Red Cross through the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope website Manilow personally matched, and the fund itself also matched, tripling the original donation. The fund delivered $150,000, raised in 48 hours, to the American Red Cross.[105][106]
On October 27, 2011, Manilow visitedJoplin, Missouri, a little more than five months after atornado destroyed one-third of that city, including its only high school. His Manilow Music Project made a contribution of $300,000 to restore the musical program and instruments that were lost.[107]
On February 8, 1994, Manilow sued Los Angeles radio stationKBIG (104.3 FM), seeking $13 million in damages and $15 million in punitive damages, claiming that one of their advertisements was causing irreparable damage to his professional reputation. The ad, a thirty-second spot that began airing on January 31, suggested that people listen to KBIG because it doesnot play Manilow's music. The lawsuit was filed inOrange County Superior Court by Los Angeles attorney C. Tucker Cheadle.[108] Two days later, KBIG agreed to drop the commercial, but Cheadle stopped short of agreeing to withdraw the $28 million lawsuit.[109]
Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Philip Espinosa sued Manilow over the audio volume of a December 23, 1993, concert he attended with his wife.[110] The judge said in the lawsuit he has had a constant ringing in his ears (tinnitus) and nearly blew his ears out. Espinosa sought unspecified damages, and the trial was set for September 23, 1997. The suit also named Manilow's production company, anArizona concert promoter, and the city ofTucson, Arizona, which runs theconvention center where the concert was held. In July 1997, to settle the suit it was reported that Manilow donated $5,000 to theAmerican Tinnitus Association.[111]
In 1979, Manilow's musical style was satirized in the song "I Need Your Help Barry Manilow" performed byRay Stevens.[112] The song leads off with a musical phrase resembling the opening of "I Write the Songs" and also references "Mandy", "Copacabana", "Can't Smile Without You", "Weekend in New England", "Could It Be Magic" and "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" in a storyline where the singer details a litany of comedically unfortunate events in his life, concluding that he needs Manilow to sing one of his more melancholy and wistful songs to comfort him, as several of Manilow's biggest hits have storylines about suffering and misfortune.
The song reached number 49 on the USBillboard Hot 100 number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It spent a total of eight weeks on Hot 100 chart and also charted in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia. The single's cover art is a spoof of Manilow's albumBarry Manilow II, and the song's album spoofs title and cover art of Manilow'sTryin' to Get the Feeling.
In 1989, an American tabloid claimed that Manilow was engaged to porn starRobin Byrd. On a June 22, 1989, appearance onThe Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked Manilow about the story.[113] Manilow replied that he was just friends with Byrd, an innocent picture had been taken, and that there was no truth to the engagement. After he met Byrd, his band gave him a videotape ofDebbie Does Dallas as a present for his birthday. Manilow told Carson that he could not watch his friend doing what she does in that movie.[114]
Manilow made headlines in June 2006 when Australian officials blasted his music from 9:00 p.m. until midnight every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to deter gangs of youths from congregating in a residential area late at night.[115] In February 2022, New Zealand authorities employed a similar tactic against protesters who camped outside the country'sparliament building to protestCOVID-19 vaccine mandates.[116]
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He was not just knocked but pilloried by music critics, including those at The New York Times, who wrote him off as schlock
I am about to give you a break down of which commercials I did what to. ... And if one more person gives me credit for writing that stupid MacDonald's jingle, I will not be responsible for what I do with my next Big Mac. ... Kentucky Fried Chicken – Sang; Bowlene Toilet Cleaner – Wrote, arranged; State Farm Insurance – Wrote; Stridex – Wrote, sang; Chevrolet – Wrote, sang, arranged; Dr. Pepper – Sang; Pepsi – Sang; Jack-in-the-Box – Sang; McDonald's – Sang; Band-Aids – Wrote, arranged
