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| April 30, 2009 | MarketWatch Press Release
SOURCE: RHINO | Barry Manilow's First HBO Special: Rhino, in Association With STILETTO New Media, Presents the DVD Debut of Manilow's Legendary Concert at The Greek Theatre, Originally Broadcast by HBO in 1979, Available May 5, 2009 |
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| LOS ANGELES, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- Apr 30, 2009 -- The year was 1978. Barry Manilow was playing outdoor amphitheaters around the U.S. and getting ready to head overseas. The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles asked if Manilow would play not one, but two straight weeks for more than 72,000 fans. Being new on the scene and anxious to compete with the major networks, HBO got involved and created its first two-hour musical special, "Manilow: Live at the Greek Theatre." The powerhouse performance garnered a huge viewing audience, becoming the first cable special to beat the networks in ratings. Thirty years later, Manilow's HBO special makes its long-awaited DVD debut with "BARRY MANILOW: IN CONCERT - THE LEGENDARY 1978 CONCERT AT THE GREEK THEATRE." The digitally restored and re-mastered DVD will be available in time for Mother's Day from Rhino Records, in association with STILETTO New Media, exclusively at www.manilow.com. As an added bonus, each DVD will be accompanied by the 28-page 1978 Summer Tour Program. This limited edition package is available May 5. "BARRY MANILOW: IN CONCERT - THE LEGENDARY 1978 CONCERT AT THE GREEK THEATRE" captures the momentous occasion at the outset of his distinguished career which led him to perform before millions of people around the world for the next 30 years and continues today. The nearly two-hour concert spotlights pop hits, lushly arranged romantic ballads, as well as a medley of '40s boogie tunes that includes a cover of Louis Jordan's "Jumpin' And Jivin'" and Manilow's own "Avenue C." "People were literally sitting in the trees," Manilow recalls fondly. "Words simply cannot describe the energy and incredible magic in the air that night." The concert was recorded near the end of Manilow's In Concert tour for "Even Now," his fourth multi-platinum album in a row. On the charts for a year, the album included the hits "Can't Smile Without You" and the title track, both of which Manilow performed at The Greek Theatre. For "Copacabana (At The Copa)," another huge hit from the album, the stage is transformed into a period set by the show's magnificent art director Ed Flesh. Shortly after the special was aired, Manilow received a Grammy for that song. Much of the Greek Theatre concert is drawn from songs that first appeared on Manilow's back-to-back, triple-platinum albums -- "Trying To Get That Feeling" (1975) and "This One's For You" (1976). Manilow revisits those albums, delivering memorable performances of "Weekend In New England" and "Looks Like We Made It," plus his #1 pop smash, "I Write The Songs." "BARRY MANILOW: IN CONCERT - THE LEGENDARY 1978 CONCERT AT THE GREEK THEATRE" also features Manilow's emotional performance of "Mandy," the artist's first #1 single. For further information regarding "BARRY MANILOW: IN CONCERT - THE LEGENDARY 1978 CONCERT AT THE GREEK THEATRE," please contact Christoph Buerger in the Rhino Records Media Relations Department at (818) 238-6248 or christoph.buerger@wmg.com. BARRY MANILOW: IN CONCERT - THE LEGENDARY 1978 CONCERT AT THE GREEK THEATRE Track Listing ACT 1- "Here We Go Again"
- "New York City Rhythm"
- "Daybreak"
- "Even Now"
- Jump Shout Boogie Medley
- "Jump Shout Boogie"
- "Avenue C"
- "Jumpin' At The Woodside"
- "Cloudburst"
- "Bandstand Boogie"
- "Ready To Take A Chance Again"
- "Weekend In New England"
- "Looks Like We Made It"
ACT 2 - "Beautiful Music (Part I)"
- "I Was A Fool (To Let You Go)"
- "All The Time"
- "Copacabana (At The Copa)"
- "Beautiful Music (Part II)"
- Hits Medley
- "Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again"
- "This One's For You"
- "Could It Be Magic / Mandy"
- "It's A Miracle"
- "Can't Smile Without You"
- "I Write The Songs"
- "Beautiful Music (Part III)"
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| April 21, 2009 | Press Release
SOURCE: THE NIELSEN COMPANY | 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards will be a 3-Day Festival to Honor Past Five Decades of Advertising with Themed Award Nights, Celebrity Honorees & Musical Performances and the World's Most Legendary Advertising Icons |
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| NEW YORK, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The CLIO Awards, one of the world's most recognized international advertising and design competitions, has witnessed much advertising history since its inception in 1959. To celebrate its monumental 50th Anniversary, the 3-day CLIO festival will not only feature 5 new, decade-themed award shows, but offer attendees exclusive networking opportunities with hundreds of the world's most influential creatives, the chance to meet Honorary CLIO Award celebrity recipients Barry Manilow, Mark Cuban and Matthew Weiner, as well as the opportunity to pose on the red carpet with memorable brand icons during the Ad Icon Walk of Fame. The 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards will take place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, May 12 - 14. "The celebration of the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards marks a very special moment in the history of the advertising industry," said Karl Vontz, director of events. "And this year's event is unlike any other - we have created an engaging, educational and interactive festival that will honor the best advertising of today, tomorrow and the past 50 years." For the first time ever, CLIO will present Honorary Awards live to Barry Manilow (singer/songwriter), Mark Cuban (entrepreneur and chairman of HDNet) and Matthew Weiner (creator & executive producer of AMC's MAD MEN) for their distinguished contributions to the industry... The new concept and design for this year's festival will showcase advertising from the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000s, exemplifying each decade of CLIO's history. To complement the decade-themed nights, award shows will feature interactive elements including: video commentaries from the 2009 CLIO International Jury about work in all categories/mediums; musical performances by Barry Manilow and Spencer Day; a dance performance by Internet sensation Judson Laipply; and an aerial acrobatic tribute to CLIO. "To honor the 50th Anniversary, we've reached deep into the CLIO archives for groundbreaking work from each decade that has ultimately changed the face of advertising and upped the ante for creatives all over the world," said Brad Hurtado, executive producer of the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards. "Our cameras were on site to capture the voice of the CLIO International Jury and what they had to say about this year's work. We believe it will enliven and enrich the experience of winning a coveted CLIO award." In addition to conference sessions, networking opportunities and nightly after-parties, festival highlights include ... Thursday, May 14 - Design Awards/Moving Image Awards: Design Awards Reception & Awards Luncheon: for the first time, the design medium will be recognized in a separate ceremony Moving Image Awards Reception & Awards Show: recognizing Television/Cinema/Digital & Television/Cinema/Digital Technique mediums with a tribute to television advertisements made popular in the '70s and '80s. Barry Manilow Honorary CLIO: Manilow has produced some of the most famous advertising jingles of all time for companies such as State Farm, Band-Aid, Tab and Stridex and was the recipient of two CLIO Awards for his well-known television and radio commercial jingles in the '70s... About The CLIO Awards: The CLIO Awards is one of the world's most recognized awards competition for advertising, design and interactive. Celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2009, the CLIO Awards has maintained its original commitment to celebrate and reward creative excellence, honoring a powerful form of communication and its impact on modern culture. At the same time, the CLIO Awards remains focused on evolving with the industry in order to acknowledge the most current, breakthrough work. To this day, CLIO's iconic statue is the most widely recognized and coveted symbol of the industry's creative accomplishments. The CLIO Awards are produced by Nielsen Business Media, a part of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company. |
| March 29, 2009 | The Desert Sun | Barry Manilow voted desert's favorite celebrity |
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| Palm Springs resident Barry Manilow was named favorite valley celebrity in the 2009 Desert Magazine Best of the Valley voting. This Grammy and Emmy Award-winning member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame has been a desert favorite since the mid-1990s. He was a part-time resident long before that, but, in the mid-1990s he stepped up his philanthropic activities to support College of the Desert's music program. Then he supported the McCallum Theatre, the Palm Springs Art Museum, Desert Regional Medical Center, the AIDS Assistance Program and the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center at Eisenhower Medical Center. But this year, he really stepped up his philanthropy. This year, he elevated to Frank-Sinatra-heir-apparent status among performers using their celebrity for the philanthropic good of the valley. Manilow became the first celebrity to be honored with a Steve Chase Humanitarian Award for Community Service at the Desert AIDS Project's 25th anniversary gala in February. Before that, he started this help-out trend by distributing $500,000 worth of musical instruments for valley schools. Manilow's real message was that anybody could help their local school by donating a musical instrument or some sheet music they weren't using. That message was disseminated internationally by his devoted fans; a woman from a theater in Reading, Penn., picked up the baton, so to speak, and helped a music teacher in her neighborhood. Manilow is sending an international message that he's from Palm Springs, and Palm Springs is a place where famous people help their neighbors. We are honored that by selecting him as your favorite Valley Celebrity, we can all join in saluting Barry Manilow as the personification of The Best of the Valley. 2. Goldie Hawn, Palm Desert
3. Betty Ford, Rancho Mirage
Best of the Rest: William Devane, Thermal; Suzanne Somers, Palm Springs; Aubrey O'Day, Indio; Bella da Ball, Palm Springs; Keely Smith, Palm Springs; Gordon Howie, Palm Springs; Jesse Hughes, Palm Desert |
| March 17, 2009 | DETAILS | "Wiseguy: Barry Manilow - The veteran pop balladeer on his childhood heroes, his asshole period, and how he got turned on to LCD Soundsystem" by Jeff Gordinier |
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Jeff Gordinier: Now that your show at the Las Vegas Hilton has run for several years, do you get a permanent suite?
Barry Manilow: I do, I do. They treat me like a king. It's only about 25 minutes from where I live, which is Palm Springs. I fly to Vegas for three or four days a week, and then I go back home. I don't have to live out of suitcases.JG: So where do you sleep?
BM: I stay in Elvis' suite. JG: What?!
BM: They gave me Elvis' suite. Well, they redecorated it, but it's, like, 11,000 square feet, and it's all pink! With cherubs and frescoes—it's so Las Vegas, it's perfect. It's on, like, the millionth floor, and it's got a pool outside and a lawn. It's just overdone—it's overkill. Vegas is the land of overkill. JG: You've talked about turning into a "brat" toward the end of the seventies. What happened?
BM: I was treating people badly, and that's not my style. I thought I was being rude. I thought I was being demanding. I was being a brat, and I think that's what happens to most young people whose star explodes overnight. You can't possibly prepare for what happens to you the day you hit No. 1 and people treat you differently. I didn't want to be treated like a "star." I fought it constantly, and I think I was rude. I'm telling you, when success hits, you go through your asshole period. And I went through my asshole period. JG: You didn't have a lot of money growing up.
BM: Oh, none. Zero. Zip. Nothin'. I come from nowhere Brooklyn, New York. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These days Williamsburg is kind of a hip area, but when I grew up there, the taxi drivers wouldn't even go over the bridge, it was so dangerous. JG: So you were the original Williamsburg hipster.
BM: I wasn't really a hipster. I was a geek. JG: Hey, geeks rule the world now, right?
BM: You know, you're right. That was me. Steve Jobs? Bill Gates? See how they look? That's exactly how I looked. Worse! My hair was slicked down with a part. But that was before I discovered the blow-dryer. Now I'm fabulous. JG: Your hair in the seventies was magnificent.
BM: Oh, pfffffffft. We all looked like that! JG: Do you ever consider growing it out again?
BM: I did once, and I looked awful! I always thought I'd do it again. I chicken out every time. It's a young look. I can't do it anymore. JG: I've seen references to your having had a fractured ankle, bronchial pneumonia, and a cyst in your upper jaw—a lot of medical crises.
BM: Yeah, I think I've had everything that everybody else has had. It's just that I usually have it in the middle of a show. So it makes the papers. But, you know, I'm pretty damn healthy for a 95-year-old guy. JG: You're 65—has touring taken a toll on you?
BM: I'm an athlete onstage. I've been running around singing "Copacabana" for 30 years. So it's got to get to you somehow. I walked into a wall and I broke my nose. I did! So many hotel rooms, you know? I'm surprised I haven't peed in the closet—I just never know where the bathroom is. I went left instead of right, and I hit the wall and fractured my nose. I was hoping, Oh, goodie, I can get a nose job! JG: When you were growing up, were you a religious kid?
BM: Absolutely not. JG: Did your family go to temple?
BM: They did, but I didn't get it. I didn't get religion. When they took me to shul, it seemed to me they were always telling me that I was doing something terribly wrong and I had to atone for it. And I kept saying, "But I'm a nice fellow. I don't think I need to atone for very much." So I didn't get the rest of it. I went on my own and figured out my own spiritual path. JG: You first generated attention for your work in the early seventies, when you were playing the piano for Bette Midler at the Continental Baths, a men-only bathhouse in New York City.
BM: I only worked there for two weekends. JG: Oh, I had no idea that it was that short a gig. It's become so mythologized.
BM: Yeah, that was it. I think Bette worked there for longer than I did, but when I got there she had already been there, and then she exploded and we went to little nightclubs after that, and it kept going up and up and up and up. But the baths—they were crazy, but they were only two big weekends. JG: What was crazy about them?
BM: Well, you know, the first one that I seem to remember was all the guys that were there in towels. It was a little nightclub situation downstairs by the big pool—a piano and a drum and Bette and a whole bunch of guys cheering her and cheering her and cheering her. She was just great. And then the next time, she had exploded so much that when they got us back, they invited people with clothes on. Because it was such a hip place to go, and then all these society people came—"Oh my goodness, the Continental Baths!" JG: The legend grew so fast that clothed people started showing up.
BM: Right. JG: You've never been a favorite of the critics, but a lot of them had kind words for your 1984 album 2:00 AM Paradise Café. When you recorded that album, you were in the midst of a sort of existential crisis. What fed into it?
BM: It was 10 years of pop stuff that was tremendously successful, and I just needed to do one for me. I needed to get away from the record company and the pop singles, and I went to Clive Davis and I said, "I got to do one for me," and he said, "I think you've earned the right to do that. Go on." He was very kind. JG: Gerry Mulligan's sax playing on that album got a lot of acclaim.
BM: Well, he was my idol. For my 13th birthday my stepfather took me to Town Hall to see my first jazz concert, and it was Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, and it changed my life. So when I got the opportunity, years later, to do a jazz album, Gerry was my first phone call. With trembling hands I dialed his number and I said, "Hi, Gerry, it's Barry Manilow. I'm doing a jazz album. Would you like to do it?" "Sure!" I couldn't believe it. JG: You saw Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan when you were 13?
BM: It was an epiphany for me. I mean, I had heard Willie's albums. Willie Murphy is my stepfather, and before he came into my life I was raised by my grandmother and my mother and my grandfather, and, you know, as musical as my mother was, she wasn't very sophisticated, and certainly Grandma and Grandpa weren't either. They didn't know what to do with me. I was a pretty musical kid. They shoved an accordion in my hands, but that was about it. So when Willie came into my life, he brought with him a stack of records that was like a stack of gold to me. It was filled with loads of great jazz singers and arrangers and great Broadway scores and classical music and big-band stuff, and oh my God, I memorized every single note on these albums. I knew there must be something out there more than "Hava Nagila"! JG: These days I understand you're into electronica.
BM: I am. Well, you know, when hip-hop and rap came in, I couldn't find the melody anymore. So I found electronica, and I think that they're doing some really fantastic work. Groove Armada and the Basement Jaxx—they're as close to inventive music as I can find. I mean, certainly it's not on the "cool jazz" radio stations. That's not cool jazz, not to me. My friend Dave Koz comes pretty close—he's such a great musician. But a lot of the others on those stations are kind of background music. JG: So you're, like, riding around Palm Springs listening to LCD Soundsystem or the Basement Jaxx?
BM: I am! I am! JG: Years back you were locked in a battle with Clive Davis because he wanted you to record "I Write the Songs," which you didn't write.
BM: I fought him on every song that he suggested. Every one. You know, in my heart I'm a composer—but I may not be a hit composer constantly. What Clive offers artists are hit records. That's all he lives for. I really didn't want to sing other people's songs. When I signed with Arista, he started to shtup me with these outside hits, and I fought him every step of the way. JG: "I Write the Songs" became a massive hit. When you sing it now, are you still angry?
BM: I am a very grateful man.
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| March 16, 2009 | Seattle Weekly | "Last Night: Barry Manilow at the Everett Events Center (benefit to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation)" by Mike Seely |
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| Like so many things that shape one's life, the first concert a child sees can have a strong influence on his or her musical taste as an adult. Mine was Barry Manilow at Mercer Arena at the age of eight, and while my profession requires that I exhibit an appreciation for tunes on the cultural vanguard, to this day, nothing revs my engine like a soft, chewy ballad — and I blame that on Barry... Say what you want about Manilow, but there are few male vocalists possessing of pipes so limber and pitch-perfect. Also an ultra-skilled pianist and composer, Manilow's got a point when he says there's never been anyone like him — equal parts Liberace and Bennett, he's as multi-dimensional as they come. And to see Manilow in concert is to be reminded — surprised, even — at the sheer number of hits the guy has charted over the past 35 years. His 90-minute set was taut and breathless, leaving little to no room for spontaneous banter and artistic improvisation. "Mandy" began with a 1975 clip of Manilow playing on a gigantic round screen at center stage. After the first verse-chorus interchange, the real Manilow took over for the younger, video Manilow. Interspersed throughout "I Made It Through the Rain" were anecdotes of Manilow's youth in Brooklyn, when his granddad would take him into Manhattan and plug a quarter into a booth that would record wee Barry singing whatever he wanted. Manilow thanksed his grandpa for being the lone member of his family to recognize his musicality at an early age. Canned and schmaltzy as the Manilow experience can be in some respects, it is ultimately incredibly fulfilling. For one, Manilow gives every crowd a show, the consummate old-school performer who feels as though every audience member should feel like they've gotten more than their money's worth. Late in the show, stripped of his orchestra and backing vocalists, Manilow sat on a stool at the front of the stage, belting out a spare, emotional version of "Somewhere Down the Road." Here, Manilow hid behind nothing, reminding everyone in attendance that behind all the glitz and number-one hits, what got him where he is today is talent, pure and simple. |
| March 16, 2009 | HeraldNet (Everett, WA) | "Barry Manilow brings his Vegas show to Everett" by Andy Rathbun |
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| EVERETT -- Barry Manilow doesn't play outside Las Vegas very often anymore, and really, why would he? The city is an obvious home for the 65-year-old pop star. Like a casino, he makes his money offering simple, guilty pleasures. On Sunday night, however, he brought his hit Vegas show to Comcast Arena, playing a one-off benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The career-spanning revue, "Ultimate Manilow: The Hits," was a near-jackpot for the nearly 6,000 fans he attracted. Manilow delivered hit after hit, smiling broadly and pumping his fist throughout the show. Sometimes the songs made you grin, but usually you found yourself smiling at Manilow himself. Early in the night, he pulled a woman from her seat. He brought her onstage, and her eyes popped as they danced. "Have you seen my show before?" he asked her. "I haven't," she said. "You're in for a treat," he said, guiding her back to her seat. "Well, that was romantic," he continued, sitting behind a grand piano, "but that was just foreplay." Dressed in slacks and a blazer, he described "American Bandstand" as being like MTV without the swearing, said love can get us through anything, and thanked his grandfather for recognizing his musical abilities. He even played a recording of himself as a child, talking with his grandfather. Manilow followed that recording with the conclusion of "Looks Like We Made It"... |
| March 11, 2009 | Seattle Weekly | "Barry Manilow: The Exclusive Reverb Interview" by Mike Seely |
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| Last week, Seattle Weekly conducted a phone interview with pop icon Barry Manilow, who will take a break from his ongoing Vegas run to play a benefit concert for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at Everett's Comcast Arena this Sunday, March 15. Following is an edited transcript of that interview... Seattle Weekly: What is it about the cystic fibrosis cause that motivated you to do this show?
Barry Manilow: I've got this very dear friend who runs the entertainment division of the [Las Vegas] Hilton, where I work, and I've gotten very close to him and his family. His daughter has cystic fibrosis. It stinks. I'm happy to be able to do it. I do as many benefits as I possibly can. SW: I recently heard an interview with you on TV where, when asked if you'd do an album of cover songs from the '90s, you said something to the effect that there were no songs in the '90s. Can you elaborate on that statement, and then speak to what it was about the '80s that you found particularly inspiring in selecting songs for this album?
BM: I should have said I think there are no songs for me from the '90s. Do you really want to hear me sing "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? Maybe I'm just missin' 'em — "My Heart Will Go On" and Mariah's beautiful melodies, they're out there, but they're overdone. The songs I did from the '50s, '60s, and '70s didn't seem as overdone. And the '90s are too close [chronologically]. But I'm not really good at this; it's Clive Davis' brainchild. Everything might change if he came back to me and said, 'Here's 12 great songs where I think you would be fantastic.'" SW: What inspired the ultra-jazzy arrangement of "I Just Called to Say I Love You"? You play it pretty straight on most of the other songs, yet on this particular tune you really take it in a different direction.
BM: I do that kind of thing to every one of my songs for all four [cover] albums. I go far away from the original, and pull myself back, because the public doesn't want to hear and upside-down version of a song they love. This one happened to work out fine. SW: Are you nostalgic for the time, not all that long ago, when crooners like Sinatra, Como, and Bennett were more prevalent in popular music? Do you feel like the last crooner standing at times?
BM: It is kind of lonely up on that stage. There aren't that many people doing what I do. SW: Do you view your extended run in Vegas as a sort of homage to the likes of Sinatra?
BM: No. It's mine. SW: Then what appeals to you about the Vegas gig?
BM: Not going on the road ... I have my own little piece of pie; it's small, but it's mine. My first album has so many different styles to it, they didn't know where to put me. I've done that kind of thing for as many years as I can. SW: Compare and contrast your career with that of Neil Diamond? Do you consider him to be your closest stylistic contemporary?
BM: Neil is a guitar-driven guy. I think I've heard him say one of his idols was Elvis. Elvis was not one of my idols. He was only doing four chords at best, which isn't really my thing. But I think Neil is brilliant. I mean, he's a fantastic songwriter. But I don't think we do the same thing at all. SW: Do you consider the 12 songs on the album to be the very cream of the '80s crop, or did Clive just choose them?
BM: We did it together. They all had to be #1 songs from the decade, so when the public picks up the CD, they jump out at them. These may not be my favorite songs from the 80s, but the public's favorite songs. SW: Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" — what is it about that song that made you want to include it on your album?
BM: I've always loved it; I've always loved the production. They broke all the rules on that record. They made a pop-dance record that was as catchy as any I've ever heard. SW: Do you still write the songs of love and special things, or can we expect more cover albums in Barry Manilow's future?
BM: I'm not looking at any more cover albums right now. I've got to get back to writing my own things. My next project is two big projects of original material... These cover albums are not torture. Believe me, I love doing it. It's just that I miss songwriting. SW: What younger artists do you count among your favorites? And is there one in particular whom you feel has what it takes to be an heir to the Manilow sound?
BM: Katy Perry, she's the real deal, she's a star. Jennifer [Hudson] is terrific too. These kids that come out of American Idol, they aren't kidding around. I've worked with them three times and they're very serious, very ambitious. But this Katy Perry, she's got me, I'm a fan. SW: Let's say, hypothetically, that George Michael, whose "Careless Whisper" you really nail on your album, was looking to reunite Wham! and Andrew Ridgeley wasn't interested in re-establishing the partnership. Would you be up for taking his place?
BM: I ain't got the legs. Have you ever seen that video? [George] is one of the greats. The challenge to this last '80s album is it's so well-known, so close... These are wonderfully made records. In the '50s and '60s, they weren't wonderfully made records. But when you get to the '80s, man, they really knew how to make records, and George Michael's was one of the most beautifully made records. SW: Explain, in ten words or less, the essence of "Manilow Magic."
BM: Truth. |
| March 11, 2009 | The Examiner | Barry Manilow this weekend |
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| Barry Manilow will be performing at a special benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (Everett Comcast Arena, Sunday, March 15 at 8:00 p.m.), presented by Platt Electric Supply and Global Spectrum. The concert, called 'Ultimate Manilow: The Hits... and then some' is a tribute to the musician's long career. Look for "Mandy," "I Write the Songs," "Copacabana," and many more. Looks like you made it, Barry. Manilow's charitable work is almost as well known as his music and we're told that he "has long been a supporter of charitable and humanitarian efforts around the world. In addition to his own foundation, the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope as well as the Manilow Music Project, launched this past September, his altruistic involvement includes The Prince's Trust, United Way, The Starlight Foundation, numerous organizations fighting the battle against AIDS and many others. He is the national spokesperson for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and a member of the National Academy of Jazz Board of Governors and the Music Center of Los Angeles. Barry is thrilled to lend his talent and support to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Washington." Tickets runs from $52 to $252 and are available through the Box Office or by phone at 866-332-8499. |
| March 10, 2009 | Seattle Times | "Barry Manilow comes to Everett for a cystic fibrosis benefit: Barry Manilow, the crooner behind hits such as 'Mandy,' 'It's a Miracle,' 'I Write the Songs' and 'Copacabana,' headlines a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on March 15 at Everett's Comcast Arena" by Nicole Brodeur |
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| Make all the jokes you want about Barry Manilow. There's plenty of material. Last week, the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, started blasting Manilow's songs through the loudspeakers of its mall district. They're hoping songs like "Mandy" and "Can't Smile Without You" will scatter loitering teens. And yet, the 200 young hopefuls on "American Idol" hung on Manilow's every word when he held a session on singing and songwriting earlier this season. "They were like sponges," Manilow said by phone the other day. "They couldn't get enough of what I had to say. And they were all very serious." Need more? Manilow sold out every one of his "Music and Passion" shows at the Las Vegas Hilton for three straight years. He took a couple of months off before opening a new show, "Ultimate Manilow: The Hits," last July. He's packing them in. Manilow is still racking up No. 1-selling albums, he won an Emmy in 2006 and, on Sunday, the singer will headline a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Washington at Everett's Comcast Arena. Manilow can write the songs, and organizers are sure he can raise the research money. Sunday's event — "Ultimate Manilow: The Hits ... and then some" — is Manilow's second benefit concert to raise money for research for CF, a chronic, inherited lung disease. The first, two years ago in Oregon, raised $400,000, according to organizers. "Even if you don't like me, I think you should go," Manilow said. "Because it's a wonderful way to spend your money." Manilow has made plenty of his own since the Brooklyn native started plinking on a spinet piano given to him by his stepfather (he still has it), and later working in the mailroom at CBS Records, where he used to sneak into the rehearsal rooms to play their Steinway and Yamaha pianos. Sometimes he accompanied singers, sometimes he played for himself — and always, they sent him back to his desk. "It's a long, long time ago," Manilow said the other day. "Now and again, I meet people from the mailroom, and most of them are directors at CBS, because they promoted from within. I could have been a director! I could have had a great career at CBS!" he said. "But no, I left." Was that such a bad thing? Look what it gave us. "Mandy." "It's a Miracle." "I Write the Songs." "Weekend in New England." A TV movie and two stage shows have been built on one of his hits, "Copacabana." The producers of "American Idol" have brought him back three times to work with their wannabes. "These kids are so green, and they get thrown on stage, and they have to learn songs that they don't really know," he said of the "Idol" finalists. "It's a rough contest. So I thought I helped a little bit in that way. And I think the ones that win are very talented," he continued. "Carrie Underwood is no accident." Who is Manilow listening to these days? "A lot of rock 'n' roll," he said. "Oddball people like Garbage. Have you ever heard of Peeping Tom? They're a really interesting group. And Coldplay." Interesting. That band's lead singer, Chris Martin, has said he is trying to write the perfect song. Hasn't Manilow already done that? "Who, me?" he asked. "No. There's no such thing. If anybody has ever come close, it's the Beatles. Something like 'Michelle' is just about the perfect song. But good luck!" Barry Manilow: A Special Benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. 8 p.m. Sunday, Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett; $52-$252 (866-332-8499 or www.comcastarenaeverett.com; for VIP packages, call the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at 206-282-4770). |
| March 7, 2009 | MSNBC.com | "Cystic fibrosis a daily struggle but one with hope for Marysville family" by Sharon Salyer |
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| From the moment she wakes up each day, 6-year-old Brenna Krug faces an hour and a half of medical treatments -- a routine she repeats each night before she goes to bed. There are two antibiotic pills to swallow. There's a black vest that she straps to her chest, connected by a plastic tube to an air compressor. Its rapid, jack-hammerlike compressions shake her 45-pound body like a leaf in a strong breeze, loosening the mucus that threatens to clog her airways. It's just one of the medical problems caused by cystic fibrosis, a genetic, ultimately fatal disease she was diagnosed with when she was 10 months old. While being jiggled by the medical vest, Brenna holds a plastic tube to her mouth, a sophisticated vaporizer, breathing in the medications carried on its steamy vapors. Before Brenna can eat, she takes three enzyme pills to help overcome the digestion problems also caused by her disease. And there are vitamins to help ensure her nutrition. "If you count all the pills she takes, it's well over 20 pills a day," her mother Brandy Krug said. Even though one out of every 28 people carry the gene for cystic fibrosis and it affects 30,000 children and adults nationally with about 650 in Washington, it doesn't have the kind of public awareness -- and understanding -- of diseases such as cancer or leukemia. That's something those affected by the disease hope to change, in part through a March 15 event at Comcast Area at Everett. Singer and songwriter Barry Manilow is donating net proceeds from his 8 p.m. concert to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The concert is part of a long-term commitment by Portland businessman Harvey Platt to cystic fibrosis research. Platt is chairman of Platt Electric, with branches in five Western states, including three in Snohomish County. Platt said his first fundraiser for cystic fibrosis was in 1989, initially drawn to the cause by an employee whose son was diagnosed with the disease. Through what he candidly describes as a strategy combining begging and being "pleasantly annoying," Platt was able to talk first to business associates of Manilow and then Manilow himself about a 2007 benefit concert in Portland. In August, when Manilow heard that Platt was trying to organize a similar concert in the Seattle area this year, Manilow quickly agreed to do it, Platt said. As of late last week, about 4,300 tickets had been sold for the March 15 concert, Platt said. With an expected last minute push of about 1,000 more tickets this week, he estimates the event could net close to a quarter million dollars for cystic fibrosis. Platt said that Manilow, who often is involved in charity causes, is an unusually humble performer. Manilow displayed his self-effacing humor during a recent interview with Seattle radio station KRWM about the Everett concert. After the interviewer noted it was a benefit for cystic fibrosis, Manilow joked, "Even if you don't like me, you should come." The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation helps fund research at medical centers throughout the country, including the Seattle Children's Research Institute, where scientific studies also are funded through the National Institutes of Health. One of the breakthroughs pioneered there is the use of inhaled antibiotics to treat lung infections. Cystic fibrosis leaves Brenna vulnerable to common wintertime viruses, despite having the strength and energy to participate in weekly gymnastics classes. "By looking at her, you couldn't tell she was sick," her mom said of her brown eyed, energetic daughter. For cystic fibrosis patients, just catching a common cold can result in a trip to the hospital, said Dr. Bonnie Ramsey, a cystic fibrosis researcher at Seattle Children's Research Institute. "It creates an environment where bacteria can grow," sometimes triggering bronchitis or pneumonia, she said. In fact, Brenna has been on antibiotics since April of last year, after being treated at Seattle Children's Hospital for a bacterial lung infection. Her mom said she worried about Brenna's health nearly from the day she was born. There was wheezing when she breathed. Lower than usual amounts of oxygen in her blood. Abnormal sleeping problems. And a voracious appetite that had her devouring 16 ounces of milk at one feeding, four times the amount for a typical newborn. "We ended up at the hospital emergency room several times," Brandy Krug said, but medical staff couldn't pinpoint the problem. "All the doctors thought she had a viral infection or a cold." Finally, a Snohomish Health District nurse who came to their home heard Brenna's wheezy breathing and told her mom: "This isn't normal." Her daughter was referred to Seattle Children's Hospital, where her problems were finally diagnosed. Washington began screening all newborns for cystic fibrosis on March 15, 2006. For Brenna, the disease intrudes in ways beyond the morning and evening rituals of medical treatments. It prevents her from having girlhood sleepovers. To leave, even for a day, means packing up two to three bags of equipment and medications. "It's like I'm going away for a week," Brandy Krug said. And at picnics, "if someone tries to give her a cookie, I'm running after her saying, "No way, you have to have the enzyme pill first. "The other thing we have to steer clear of is sick children," her mom said. It's often misconstrued by those who don't know about her disease as being overly protective. Medical advances have dramatically changed how long cystic fibrosis patients are living. When Ramsey, the Seattle cystic fibrosis researcher, first began her career 30 years ago, "most of these patients lived to be 12 or 13, she said. "Now it's close to 40." Researchers are at an exciting time of transition, Ramsey said, "where we could see a dramatic change in the health of these patients." Tests are now under way on medications that, if ultimately found to be effective, could allow cystic fibrosis patients to extend their life expectancy and live a normal life. "We have made a phenomenal difference in these people's lives," she said. "But to us a cure means their life span is the same as anyone else's." While progress toward this goal is being made "we're not there yet." |
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