Barry Manilow  12/27/1989
Universal Amphitheatre, Section 16, Row D, Seat 9, 10

Although he has never earned the respect of critics or much of the public, Barry Manilow was one of the most successful recording artists of the '70s and remains the undisputed number one adult contemporary artist of all time.

He was born Barry Allen Pincus, on June 17, 1946, son of Edna Manilow and Harold Pincus and was raised in a slum section of Brooklyn called Williamsburg.

Barry, as an infant, couldn't have known that his housing section was poor financially, but his three basic needs were met: food, clothing, and shelter. It was a very simple life, and maybe even on some days, a sweet life. Unfortunately, when Barry was two, Harold Pincus abandoned his family, leaving his wife and in-laws to raise young Barry on their own.

As Barry grew older, it was the support, encouragement and devotion of the Manilow family that saw little Barry through what must have been a very difficult time. Soon, Barry Alan Pincus started using his mother's maiden name and became Barry Alan Manilow and a new chapter of Barry's life would begin to unfold. The family bought a piano and Barry found a distraction from the harsh reality of the cold streets of Brooklyn.

Throughout his years at Brooklyn's Eastern District High School, Manilow played at small local gigs and after graduation attended New York's Julliard School Of Music. He also worked in the CBS mailroom and there, at 18, he met a director who encouraged him to do some musical arranging. Soon after, Manilow wrote an off-Broadway adaptation of The Drunkard, which had a long run. In 1967, he became musical director of the CBS TV series "Callback" and later did conducting and arranging for Ed Sullivan productions. Barry married his high school sweetheart, Susan. The marriage lasted about a year and the experience was so emotionally shattering for Barry that he has never re-married.

For a time, Manilow was involved in what he would later call "the jingle jungle"...writing and performing commercial jingles. Over the years, many people mistakenly assume that he wrote the "You deserve a break today" commercial for McDonald's, but in fact, he only sang the song in the ad. The confusion bothered Manilow enough to prompt a letter to the press: "Over the years there's been some confusion about my involvement in the commercial industry. Before my records began to break, I participated in a few dozen jingles, I had a great time, learned a lot and moved on. Recently, I've begun to get credit for writing just about every jingle ever written. I guess that's because in my stage act, I don't stop and break down credits for all the jingles in my commercial medley." Manilow provided a list of jingles he wrote, which included Bowlene Toilet Cleaner, State Farm Insurance, Stridex and Band-Aids. His singing credits only included Pepsi, Jack-in-the-Box, Dr. Pepper and the famed Big Mac spot.

It was 1971 and Barry was busying himself playing piano at Manhattan's Improv on West 44th Street and also at the Continental Baths. One day while rehearsing at home, he received an unexpected phone call. Bette Midler was scheduled to play the Baths the following weekend and wanted Barry to play for her. Barry had seen Bette perform on TV the previous week and thought her to be a little flashy but enthusiastic. When Bette phoned and demanded an extra rehearsal, Barry was not surprised. The moment she walked into his apartment, they fought. Styles clashed between Barry the musician and Bette the showgirl, full of herself. Both growing entertainers had their dreams and what they wanted in mind. Barry was comfortable at the piano, but at this point in his career was not interested in singing, even though he had a fine voice. Bette, on the other hand, was very different. She went for garter belts, peddle pushers, and exaggerated wardrobes, which worked at the time. She had a strong voice, an act that she polished every so often, and grand ideas for Barry's future. Today, Barry refers to her as being ahead of her time. She hired him as her piano player, conductor, and arranger, and later, her musical director.

The dynamic duo answered the call of the road. Bette had put together enough $1,500/per night shows to support a tour. It wasn't the kind of tour that she and Barry would come to know later. This was a throw-what-you've-got-together tour. This meant Bette and Barry would gather all they had and put it into a van and go to cities like Philadelphia, Washington and Boston; places they could drive to overnight. At the time, it sounded great.

As her popularity grew, Bette got an appearance on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson and was asked back for a couple of return spots. By this time, Bette had managed to get herself and her band a few dates at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas by April of 1972. This wasn't her best audience, but her reviews were looking favourable.

When they returned to Manhattan at the end of Bette's tour, they were able to get a gig at a club called, "The Bitter End." Bette was hot at this well-known club, unlike the ones she had played before. Now that she had returned to New York, she could spend more time working on her album and along with Barry, they decided to rent out Carnegie Hall. This was a huge financial risk, but they soon discovered how well it would pay off. Bette Midler at Carnegie Hall with Barry Manilow as music director on Friday, June 23, 1972 ... SOLD OUT.

Barry took to the stage, being struck in the face by the spotlights for the first time. This was Bette's first legitimate concert. The audience response was wild and out of control. Starting off with "Friends", neither Bette nor Barry could get over the way Bette and her act was received. He was well-noted as the conductor and pianist for her concert. Barry was allowed by Bette to take a few minutes after a break in the acts to present some of his original music. This was a gracious offer on Bette's part. Barry would have the opportunity to sing some of his first romantic songs in front of a live audience. Barry performed three songs with the band, one of them being, "Sweet Life." The reaction from the crowd was more than polite.

With a little bow, he was back to the piano to play Bette's entrance, but the crowd would not have it. The audience simply, literally, could not or would not stop applauding him. Shocked, he stood up again from the piano. Then the yelling began. He wasn't sure what was going on over the footlights and he soon concluded, to his astonishment, that people were moving to the edge of the stage. What he figured was a group returning to their seats, was in fact, Barry Manilow's first standing ovation. No one was more surprised than Barry. Bette's band and crew were absolutely floored. Nobody had thought, up to this point, that a six foot, skinny guy could swoon women. Barry had done it. Barry alone had stopped the show! This was just a hint of what was to come later. Barry has said in various interviews that he had gotten his own little slice of the pie, and though it was small, it was his.

Barry let his heart lead him into making a demo tape of original songs during a rest period in New York. Barry recorded "Sweet Life," "I Am Your Child," and "Sweetwater Jones" along with a few others. He decided to do all the tracks himself. He pounded the pavement carefully to find a record business contact. Soon enough, he met and befriended Clive Davis, president of Arista Records. Davis had worked for CBS and had a functioning record label, Bell Records. Davis also had a very good sense of star potential and had faith in Barry's music. Somehow he knew that Barry would be very valuable to him. The first Barry Manilow album was ready for the market by the end of the summer of 1973.

The thrill of a standing ovation and a new album listed in Billboard Magazine with his face on the cover was a real boost to Barry's career and his ego. The airplay Barry received in correlation to his "live" promotion of the "Barry Manilow 1" album was very respectable when he appeared with Bette Midler.

To help add to his experience and credentials, Barry wanted credit as producer of Bette's first album. After all, he had worked closely with Bette, helping polish her musical style and working the songs to fit her unique personality. Another success was had, for Bette earned a Grammy and a Tony for the L.P. By this time, Bette's energy from past tours and promoting her latest album had left her exhausted. In the spring of 1974, Bette's tour was complete and she went to Paris to recover. Barry was, for the first time, on his own.

During production of Barry's second album, "Barry Manilow 2" Bell Records changed ownership and became Arista. Along with the name change came a new president, Clive Davis. Barry was getting a little nervous because Clive was dropping almost everyone on the new label. Would he make it with Arista? He had to prove to Clive that this second album was worthy of its new label. Barry went to work.

The crowds wanted Barry and his music but they wanted "commercial" hits. Barry was a songwriter and was surprised when Clive Davis asked him to record a song that had previously been a UK hit for its co-writer Scott English, called 'Brandy.' It was at this point when frustration set in. He wrestled with this cute, "up-beat" song for hours and couldn't make it work. Finally he tried it as a slow ballad, and another hit was born. The title "Brandy" was changed to "Mandy", to avoid confusion with a song already using that name, by a group called "Looking Glass".

"Barry Manilow 2" went double-platinum, "Mandy" sold 4 million singles and the album itself sold 1,600,000 copies. This great success also boosted his first album to the platinum mark. His second single release, "It's A Miracle" stayed on the Adult Contemporary charts for months.

Hit after hit followed, including the number one single "Looks Like We Made It", as well as the Top Tens "Could It Be Magic", "Copacabana" and "I Made It Through the Rain". Manilow became a popular live act and played to sold out concerts throughout the world. Strangely enough, the song that became his 'theme song', "I Write the Songs", was actually written by Bruce Johnson of the Beach Boys.

As the hits piled up, music critics never let up on Barry Manilow. Brutal attacks on his sweet sounding ballads hurt Manilow deeply, but his legions of fans flocked to his concerts. At one point, country singer Ray Stevens went so far as to make fun of Manilow on a single of his own entitled, "Here's To You Barry Manilow". Although Manilow's fragile ego needed support, he continued with the style he knew best, the love song, and along the way, became the undisputed, number one adult contemporary artist of all time, scoring a whopping 25 consecutive Top 40 hits.

By the mid-'80s, he decided to broaden his musical horizons by making records of jazz and pop standards, recording with Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme and many other great jazz artists on an album called "Singing With The Big Bands". At the end of the decade, the widow of famed song writer Johnny Mercer invited him to set music to a number of unpublished lyrics. Manilow continued in a similar vein on "Another Life", before he returning to his classic romantic ballad style with what may have been his finest effort, "Live On Broadway". He later recorded the nostalgia-drenched "Summer of '78" in 1996.

Barry wrapped up the "Reminiscing Tour" in early 1998, traveling throughout England and then took a well deserved rest.

In the Spring of 1999, Manilow completed "Harmony", a stage production written and produced by himself and Bruce Sussman. That same year, he recorded "Manilow Sings Sinatra", when Barry selected a few of Sinatra's favourites and recorded them in his own classic style.

In late Fall of 2001, Manilow released another album, "Here At The Mayflower", this time in the original "New England" style that has been his trademark for so long. The concept L.P. was constructed around the idea of life inside an imaginary apartment building, and integrated Manilow's love of pop balladry, jazz, and Broadway show tunes. The project also sparked renewed vigour in Manilow's skills as a composer. To find melodies comparable to these, one has to go all the way back to Manilow's earlier work of the mid to late '70s.

Barry Manilow seems to be one of the last of the successful recording artist of the '70s to benefit from "retro chic". Though other critically reviled acts of the era - everybody from ABBA to KISS to the Carpenters, have been embraced by retro-rockers, Manilow is still considered by critics to be irredeemably square. What many of his detractors fail to consider, is that long after many of his contemporaries have left the business, Barry Manilow continued to record and sell out concerts wherever he performed.

He began to make a resurgence as 2002 rolled around, being featured on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve and performing during the half-time show at The Super Bowl. In February, 2002, Arista Records released a new greatest hits package called "The Ultimate Manilow", a compilation of twenty of his best selling songs. Manilow was chosen to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York on June 13th, 2002, by the National Academy of Popular Music.

In early 2004, Manilow appeared as a guest judge on the popular US television show American Idol, where contestants sang his songs in the competition. In September, Concord Records released "Scores: Songs from 'Copacabana' and 'Harmony'", Manilow's 43rd album. The CD is a collection of tunes from two musicals penned by Manilow, as performed by him. He also announced that his Fall tour, called "One Night Live! One Last Time!" will be his last. Although he will still perform, he won't be doing any more big tours.

In December, The Las Vegas Hilton signed Barry to a long-term engagement through 2005 and beyond.