The long-running hit machine that is Barry Manilow takes a bold step at age 67 with his new release, '15 Minutes,' a rocking concept album that follows the story of a pop singer who hits giddy highs and rock-bottom lows. Spinner recently spoke to Manilow to discuss the perils of fame, his recovery from tumors and why he's not going to Vegas to die.
Spinner (SP): We'll ask you the question you ask on the album: Fame -- is it worth it? Barry Manilow (BM): That's exactly not right. The quote you're looking for is on the cover -- "Fame -- can you take it?"
SP: But there's also a lyric that asks, "Is it worth it?"
BM: Well, I say it's worth it if you're doing it for the right reasons. I hear some of these young people saying "I want to be famous," and I clench up. You need to do what you believe in. Do it because you can't not do it. If you do it for money, applause, or to be famous, that's dangerous. If you do it because you can't not, whatever your field, you have a better chance of having a happy life.
SP: The album seems clearly influenced by 'American Idol,' which has condensed the process of becoming famous. How much of the story is autobiographical? BM: We were really writing about our fictional character, but halfway through, I actually found myself in every song. I'd been through every experience in every song, except the very last two. Thank goodness I've never gone down that far, although I went down pretty far.
SP: But you've had a fortunate career, without too many down periods. BM: It's been a roller-coaster ride. If you're lucky, you explode, and from that moment on, it's a roller coaster until it's over. I've certainly had my share of failure, though I always felt I'd get through it. After 'Read 'Em and Weep' I never got another [Top 40 hit], and that makes you feel terrible. When I left Arista the first time I couldn't get a record deal. Everyone was interested in R&B in those years.
SP: This album is obviously a labor of love. Was it hard to get it made? BM: It wasn't hard. It was complicated, because I wanted it to be guitar-driven and I don't play guitar. In the studio, we had this batch of great guitar players, and they looked at me like I was crazy. When I handed the music out, they said, "That's not the way we would play." It took months of communication with these brilliant people to explain what I was hearing in my head. I was playing air guitar in the middle of the studio.
SP: There have been so many album-inspired shows on Broadway recently. How much were you inspired by things like Green Day's 'American Idiot'? BM: Oh, it never even entered my mind. When I started writing the album, I didn't just want to write 12 pretty songs. I wanted to do an album that had an idea to it instead of 12 pop songs. Frankly, I don't know how to do that. I know it sounds crazy, but for me, the most difficult thing to write is "I love you, I miss you." That's torture. Give me an idea, a situation, a character to write for and man, I'm there. But I don't really feel like this could be onstage.
SP: But you must have people around you saying it could be. BM: One or two people, yeah. But I've been down that road, Broadway musicals, and listen, that's not the way you do it. You don't take an album like this and put it onstage. At least that's not how I would do it. The way I learned, you take a story and find the places for the songs. There are rules to writing a Broadway musical.
SP: You must have met Andy Warhol at some point. BM: Never! Though I'm from New York, believe it or not, I was too young. How many times will I ever say that [laughs]?
SP: Not at Studio 54? BM: That wasn't my life. I was already in [places like] Wisconsin, on the road. I did take the album title, of course, from that phrase that he's famous for.
SP: Who do you think of as your peers? BM: Oh! Um ... I don't know.
SP: Neil Diamond? Elton John? BM: Yeah, but Neil and Elton started 10 years before me.
SP: Neil Sedaka, Billy Joel? BM: He's the greatest songwriter we have, Billy Joel.
SP: But none of their careers match up precisely with yours. Elton was obviously outrageous, and Sedaka is considered from a different decade. Your career kind of stands alone. BM: I have a little piece of the pie. It's small, but it's mine. I can't compare to those guys -- they're so brilliant. Most of them have written their own material, and I didn't really get the chance to do that. Most of them have their own style. I went everywhere -- big band, show tunes, jazz. They're creators, songwriters. One thing I love most of all is arranging songs. I was going to be Nelson Riddle or Don Costa when I grew up. Or George Martin, with the Beatles. Those were my idols. I had to learn how to become a performer.
SP: A few years ago you had benign tumors in your mouth and plenty of dental work. That had to be awful for a singer. BM: Yeah, it was touch and go for a while there. They patched me up, but for a couple of years, I nearly spit those two front teeth at the audience. I had a big cyst up there, and they had to remove a piece of my palette. It was a rough patch, but I'm all better now.
SP: You've been in Vegas for years. BM: I may be breaking Elvis' record.
SP: Are you happy to be off the road, or are there times when you feel like you want to see the rest of the country again? BM: A little of both. I was so done with the road, and I was lucky to get the offer to go to the Hilton. Touring is for a younger person. I'd done it for 25 or 30 years. But I must tell you, when they offered, I had that feeling, like, "Oh, God, isn't that where old singers go to die?" My fear was that I'd fade away into the distance, but that didn't happen at all. We did really good work at the Hilton, and now I'm at the Paris, and I love it. I'll do a couple nights out, here and there. I just came back from four shows at the O2 arena in London. They were sold out -- an insanely great experience.
SP: Playing in Vegas seems like it might be a hindrance to introducing a record like '15 Minutes,' where you almost need to tour with all the songs. BM: I would never do that anyway, even if I was touring. Those audiences come to see what they're paying for. I know what they want. We did it in London, one or two songs, and that's about as much as they can take.
ITV invites one of the world’s biggest music stars onto its stage as the globally acclaimed, singer songwriter; Barry Manilow hosts An Audience With... This multi award winning music legend, who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, will be bringing his unique and extraordinary talents to the small screen, headlining this special one off show in front of a star studded audience.
Barry Manilow’s career has spanned more than four decades, and his songs have become part of the soundtrack to our lives. His many hits include "Mandy," "Could it be Magic" and "Copacabana," and he has performed to massive audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Guaranteed to be one of the hottest tickets in town, the celebrity audience will be able to get up close and personal with the international singing superstar, as he performs some of his classic hits and some new tracks.
The audience will be invited to ask questions about Barry Manilow’s amazing life and music career, making this must see viewing for all music fans. Barry Manilow says: I’m so excited to have been asked to do An Audience With... The list of hosts that have appeared on An Audience With... reads like a who’s who of great talent. It’s an honour to have been asked to host the show."
Daniela Neumann, Acting Controller of Entertainment says: "Barry is one of the world’s most iconic performers and has some of the most recognised songs in his repertoire. We are delighted that he will be treating ITV viewers to a unique performance of all of our favourites in front of a celebrity audience."
Lee Connolly, Creative Director for ITV Studios says: "We are very excited about Barry’s long awaited An Audience with... He will join a long list of other great names to have already done so. As one of the world’s biggest music stars his unique style and voice will make it an unmissable show."
Music legend Barry Manilow has been lined up to host An Audience With... for ITV1. The Copacabana singer will front the established strand this autumn, where a star-studded audience will ask questions about his career and music. The show will be made by ITV Studios with Lee Connolly acting as the executive producer. "Barry is one of the world’s most iconic performers and has some of the most recognised songs in his repertoire," said Daniela Neumann, ITV’s acting controller of entertainment.
What is '15 Minutes'? "I'm a songwriter and I really missed writing songs, so as soon as I could put this one together and it's an interesting idea, this 15 Minutes. It's about fame and what fame can do to you ... I looked around and saw these young people on these reality shows, and within weeks or months they become stars, and how do they handle it? I know that when 'Mandy' came out, I was kind of an adult and I had done jingles and I had conducted for people, and when 'Mandy' hit, it knocked me over! What is it doing to these younger people? So, I thought that was an interesting subject to write about."
Who handles fame well? "You know, Usher is pretty great. Dave over at the Foo Fighters is really great ... Lady Gaga is at the top of the pyramid, she is great. Really. Original, and handling it just great. But there's a lot of people who this fame throws for a loop, and those are the people that I worry about.
On dealing with celebrity... What saved me was my family and my old friends. They were the people who grounded me and told me the truth. They would look at me and say, 'What are you doing? What are you saying?' And those are the people that these young people need to keep around them. Because, otherwise, these young people are going to say 'You look great! You look wonderful!' They need to keep their old friends and their family around them, and then maybe they might be able to get through it."
There is more to 67-year-old singer/songwriter Barry Manilow than the many romantic ballads he made famous over his long career in music. His new CD "Fifteen Minutes," now available online and in music stores, breaks new ground by telling in music the story of a man who gains fame before falling from grace and then attempts to begin his career again.
The 16-song journey begins with much optimism through the anticipation of the title track and an apprenticeship in "Work The Room," sharing the good news with a loved one in "Bring On Tomorrow," celebration in "Wine Song" and affirmation of his new found fame in "He’s A Star".
However, the responsibilities of fame and the beginning of the star’s decline are shared in "Written In Stone," with disappointment expressed in "Letter From A Fan/So Heavy, So High," sung by both Manilow and Nataly Dawn. The feeling of despair and isolation continues in "Everybody’s Leavin’," "Who Needs You," "Winner Go Down" and "Slept Through The End Of The World."
The "star" seeks redemption and attempts to restart his career in the songs "Reflection," "Trainwreck," with hope renewed in a reprise of "15 Minutes" before ending his journey with great desire in the upbeat "Everything’s Gonna Be All Right."
Although Manilow has recorded concept albums before, this project is different - listeners hear Manilow tell a linear story of the ups and downs of fame expressing hope, despair and anger all in this journey. Manilow’s different sound comes from his expressions of anger as interpreted in his phrasing of lyricist Enoch Anderson’s words accompanied with guitar and electric guitar arrangements.
It was Manilow’s objective to have "15 Minutes" sound different from his other albums, and he accomplished that goal. The edgy nature of the heavy price of fame is felt both by the excellent guitar and electric guitar arrangements, especially in the middle section of the album with the songs surrounding the star’s fall from grace. When heard together with the contrasting upbeat optimistic songs beginning the album, the effects are dramatic. Manilow’s singing of the lyrics with much raw emotion in his voice makes the songs sound that much more poignant.
The most memorable songs on the CD include the optimistic power ballad "Bring On Tomorrow," as well as "Winner Go Down" expressing much anger with a CNN style of recalling the headlines of those falling from fame, such as Marilyn Monroe and Britney Spears and the addictive melody of the title song "15 Minutes."
It took Barry Manilow close to a decade to create and release "15 Minutes." The CD was well worth the long wait. To learn more on Barry Manilow and the "15 Minutes" CD, go to www.manilow.com.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Not bad for a decidedly unfashionable singer.
Barry Manilow earned a coveted spot as a trending topic on Twitter recently when he went on a daytime TV chat show to promote his first album of original material in 10 years. The honor is usually reserved for high-flying hotshots rather than golden-oldie types. Alas, the Internet buzz did not reflect the momentous occasion...
But Manilow has heard it all before. After 40 years in the business as the butt of all sorts of jokes, there's nothing that can faze him. "I'm surprised I'm still here, I really am, because they were really hard on me, from the late-night talk shows to the press," he said in an interview with Reuters hours after his appearance on "The Talk." "But the audiences, most of the times, were on my side. They were there for me."
But will his older-skewing female fans be there for his new album "15 Minutes," an ambitious follow-up to a series of covers albums that sent him to the upper reaches of the charts for the first time since his '70s heyday? Set for release in the United States and Canada on Tuesday (and the UK on June 20), the rock-flavored project is inspired by the harsh media spotlight shone on young celebrities.
The 16 songs detail the rise, fall and possible redemption of a youngster who seeks fame and fortune. Manilow wrote the music, working with lyricist Enoch Anderson. He released it on his own label. "It's not pretty piano tinkling," he said. "It's got a lot of energy. Some of it is anger. I don't know whether they'll like that. But there's a lot of great melodies on it, so hopefully they'll connect with that."
The project took hold while Britney Spears was undergoing a public meltdown in 2007, shaving her head and later landing in a psych ward under the full gaze of the paparazzi. "(We) both said, Is that the price of fame? Is this what's going on these days?," Manilow said. "If you do it for the fame, you are asking for trouble," he added. "I did it for the music. I did it because I couldn't not do it. It saved my ass."
By the time Manilow scored his first No. 1 single with "Mandy" in early 1975, he was a 31-year-old veteran well versed in the cruel reality of showbiz. More hits quickly followed: "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made It," "Can't Smile Without You," "Copacabana (At the Copa)." But by his admission he became a bit of a tyrant, and he had to try to be "a good guy again."
He considers himself pretty secure these days ... The fans can't get enough. Manilow is seven years into a Las Vegas residency, jetting to the weekend engagements from his home in nearby Palm Springs where he maintains a strict fitness and dietary regimen.
He always knows exactly what is planned for the next five years. A recent stint at London's 02 Arena with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was taped for a live album that will come out in the winter. Then he plans to record a follow-up to his first jazz album, 1984's "2:00 A.M. Paradise Cafe."
By the end of this five-year plan he would be 73. "In my head I'm going on 35," he insisted... "Five years from now I'll be 40. Hey!"
Barry Manilow is going all in on possibly the riskiest bet of his recording career. With his latest CD, "15 Minutes," being released Tuesday, the Palm Springs resident is abandoning the formula that has made him the best-selling adult contemporary artist of all time. In an era in which people download songs onto their iPods and listen to them on shuffle, Manilow is hoping his fans will take the time to listen to the guitar-driven concept album - preferably with the lyrics in front of them.
The singer, who turns 68 on Friday, recorded "15 Minutes" primarily in his Palm Springs home facility, which he named Peppertree Studios after the pepper trees he planted on the property. Unlike his recent series of decade-themed cover albums, Manilow is distributing it through his Stiletto Entertainment company and Fontana Distribution, an arm of the Universal Music Group that handles independent projects for labels and non-label artists.
Clive Davis, the longtime chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment Worldwide, refused to release "15 Minutes" even though Manilow's last five albums were bestsellers for the label. "I presented the idea to Clive before he came up with the ('Greatest Hits of the) Fifties' album (a Billboard No. 1 in 2006)," Manilow told The Desert Sun. "He turned it down because he believes an artist of my age cannot sell an original album. "He gave me a list of all the people who have crashed and burned - people like Sting, Elton (John) and Joni Mitchell. He said, 'If you write an original album, I won't be able to sell it. The only way I could sell an album is if you do cover albums.' He might be right. I don't know. I don't really care."
"15 Minutes" is Manilow's first album of original material since 2001's semi-autobiographical "Here At the Mayflower." It's also deeply personal, which he realizes leaves him vulnerable to criticism. "I know what's going to happen," he said. "There's going to be cranky critics that are going to make fun of me. They never like Barry Manilow, but their mothers-in-law did... This is a more energetic pop album than I've ever made. So, it is more risky than all the other ones."
But Ron Spaulding, president of Fontana Distribution, says its uniqueness should give his company an opportunity to reach new fans. "The beauty of working with these type of brands is you have a built-in fan base," said Spaulding. "If you're a Barry Manilow fan you'll want to participate in any of his new works. The goal when he's changed a little stylistically is to turn on a whole new generation of fans -- frankly two new generations since it's been a decade since his last record -- to the kind of craftsman he is."
Spaulding refutes Davis' philosophy that older artists should only record well-known songs. "I think artists of any age can sell records - especially an artist with a brand like Barry Manilow," he said. "He's spent his entire career convincing his fan base that he continuously produces good music. It's our job to excite that fan base and turn on a new fan base."
Thematically, "15 Minutes" is Manilow's exploration of the attainment and loss of fame. The title comes from Andy Warhol's statement that everyone will experience 15 minutes of fame. Manilow achieved monster fame in the mid-1970s and then lost a fortune before he and his current manager, Garry Kief, rebuilt his career and expanded his revenue base.
So Manilow says he can relate to the main character he and lyricist Enoch "Nick" Anderson created for "15 Minutes." "Nick and I were writing about a fictitious young person who was talented and ambitious and wanted to get his art out there," Manilow said. "And, somewhere in the middle of writing this album, I realized I was writing about myself. I didn't start out doing that. This was about someone else until about five or six songs into it. I realized I had gone through every single experience on each song until we got to the last two songs."
Bits and pieces of the album actually had their genesis years before. "Winner Go Down," about the public taking pleasure in seeing a successful person fail, was actually submitted to Manilow by Anderson in the early '70s. Manilow said he always loved the lyric, but couldn't find an album for it.
Manilow wrote the words and lyrics to "Everybody's Leaving" after the success of his 1974 hit, "Mandy." He said the circumstances that inspired the lyric no longer apply to him, but a verse fit the emotions of the character in "15 Minutes":
Sooner or later Everybody goes That's for sure And the ones that don't leave Won't leave me alone.
Manilow said he went through those emotions at the height of his fame. "My dark night of the soul was five years in, in Florida, when I was in the middle of a tour," he said. "I was outside in a rocking chair looking up at the stars and I realized I had no friends. I was paying everyone around me. I had a cook, I had a driver, I had a publicist, I had a manager, I had an agent, I had an assistant, and I suddenly realized my friends had disappeared. My life had disappeared. I didn't even know where I was. I didn't know what area code I was in. I really had to make a big decision right then. Was this the life I wanted or did I want to go back to my real life and still figure out how to have success and be a real person at the same time?" Manilow says he has found "real friends" in Palm Springs, and "that's more important to me now than any of the success."
He's maintained for years that success is more difficult than failure, but it's become even more difficult in recent years because of the way reality shows such as "American Idol" build up and spit out young talent. "You just kind of count the days before they're going to wind up on TMZ," he said.
Manilow decided to make his principal character in "15 Minutes" a 23-year-old guitar player, which -- unlike any of his other albums -- meant that the album had to be guitar-driven. That presented a huge challenge. "I can't communicate with guitar players," he said. "Even my own guitar player in my band or in studio sessions, I've never been able to communicate with him. I knew what I wanted it to sound like. I made demos on my computer, but I played it on a keyboard even though the sound was a guitar. When I handed it to the guitar player, he said, 'Well, I can't play that. That's what a piano player would play.'"
Manilow said the compositions he wrote for the album are his simplest ever. He included no more than four or five chords for each song because his guitar-playing character wouldn't have been able to play the jazz chords or minor thirds he normally uses.
The first song Stiletto has released is the most traditional-sounding tune, "Bring On Tomorrow." But Manilow said he didn't write any of the songs with radio airplay in mind. And while he's hoping for a breakthrough as surprising as the melodic "Mandy" in the era of classic rock, he's not counting on it.
"The audience is very fragmented and distracted," Spaulding said. "With smart phones or video games, satellite TV, the computer and Facebook, there are just so many distractions. I think cutting through the clutter of those distractions and getting music to the forefront is more challenging. It's challenging to cut through the noise, if you will, and have people pay attention."
Singer/songwriter Barry Manilow, who is releasing a new album "15 Minutes," appeared at The Grove for a special performance, where he talked with "Extra" host Mario Lopez about everything from Britney Spears and Lady Gaga to the one guy he'd love to work with... Sting!
Manilow said his new album, "15 Minutes," is about fame -- and his inspiration was Britney Spears. "When the paparazzi were driving Britney Spears crazy, and they were surrounding her and we all looked at it in horror watching this girl try to live a life and they wouldn't let her -- is that the price of fame today?"
The multi-platinum crooner also had said he admires Lady Gaga. "She crosses all styles of music. I think I was the first one to discover her on my block. She's just fantastic."
What other music does Manilow like? "I am listening to Electronica. I know it's crazy, right?" he laughed. "I usually head towards wherever they're playing underground or basement tracks."
Check out Manilow's performances at The Grove!
The one guy Manilow is dying to collaborate with is Sting. "My favorite guy is Sting. My favorite composer, performer, producer is Sting. If I had one guy to choose he would be the one."
And for that odd rumor he and actress Suzanne Somers are planning each other's funerals, Manilow explained, "We both went to a funeral that was produced very badly. And we decided whoever goes first, the other produces their funeral. We gave each other the music we wanted. Isn't that the weirdest thing you've heard?"
As morbid as it sounds, Barry Manilow can rest easy knowing that when he dies, he could go out in style. That's because he and his best friend, Suzanne Somers, made a pact to produce each other's funerals ... or at least one will for "whoever goes first."
On Wednesday's The Talk, the ladies and guest host Somers sat down with Manilow, who was promoting his new album, "15 Minutes." The BFFs revealed that they had once attended the same funeral, which was badly produced. "We said somebody should plan our funerals when we go, so we made a deal that if I go first she'll plan my funeral, and if she goes first I'll produce hers," Manilow said.
In less gruesome Manilow news, the legendary musician also told Access Hollywood that his new album, available Tuesday, was inspired by Britney Spears' trouble with the paparazzi. He also noted he's inspired by Lady Gaga ("She's just fantastic.") and revealed that he'd love to work with Sting ("If I had one guy to choose, he would be the one.").
Barry Manilow is still going and now he's back with his first original album in a decade which he's titled "15 Minutes," whose title and songs make a strong commentary on the fickle nature of fame. Explaining the album, Barry Manilow described it as: "Fame and success are something we all strive for, and yet when we get it how do we behave? That question jumps out at us daily from magazine covers, TV news and online gossip sites. In my world of entertainment, I’ve watched perfectly decent and talented people achieve the success they’ve been striving for only to crash and burn as their star rises. It happens in every walk of life, not only in the entertainment field; in sports, in politics and in daily life when the assistant manager gets promoted at the grocery store. It’s something that continues to fascinate us, and for me it represented an interesting musical journey to explore."
We've got 3 copies of 15 Minutes to give away, so if you fancy yourself a fan of Manilow you've come to the right place. Winning is easy, just read on to find out how to enter. (1) "Like" JustPressPlay on Facebook. (2) On our Facebook wall, just comment on our Barry Manilow 15 Minutes Album Giveaway Post. The contest ends on July 1, 2011. One entry per person.
Barry Manilow just celebrated his 100th show at Paris Las Vegas. He also recorded a new album, "15 Minutes," his first original work in 10 years. "It's an interesting idea, this '15 Minutes.' It's about fame and what fame can do to you," the singer said.
After more than 30 years and more than 80 million records sold worldwide, Manilow knows a lot about dealing with fame. He was reflecting about his life in the spotlight when he started to write his latest album. He said one inspiration for the album was Britney Spears, when he saw her being chased by the paparazzi. "Is that the price of fame, I kept saying, is that it? Is that what she has to go through?" Manilow questioned. "I know that when 'Mandy' came out I was kind of an adult and I had done jingles and I had conducted for people, and when 'Mandy' hit, it knocked me over. What is it doing to these younger people? So I thought that was an interesting subject to write about."
He said his family and "old friends" saved him and helped keep him grounded. "They would look at me and say, 'What are you doing? What are you saying?' And those are the people that these young people need to keep around them," Manilow advised.
Along with Spears, Manilow is a fan of several of today's top-selling artists, including Lady Gaga. "Lady Gaga is the top of the pyramid. She is great, really original and handling it just great," he said.
Manilow continues to handle his career with grace, including his permanent gig in Las Vegas. "I look forward to being with my band and my crew and the audience in front of me. So far it's been just great. But I'm a songwriter, I've always been a songwriter and an arranger, and I love, love doing that just as much," he said.
Manilow's album, "15 Minutes," goes on sale on Tuesday.
Grammy Award winner Barry Manilow will make a special appearance at 6pm on Monday, June 13 at Radio City Music Hall to sign copies of soon-to-be-released album, 15 Minutes. He will return to Radio City Music Hall on February 10, 11, and 12 for a three-night run. 15 Minutes, featuring songs by Manilow and Enoch Anderson, will be in stores on June 14.
Manilow's Broadway credits include his Tony Award-winning Barry Manilow on Broadway and Barry Manilow at the Gershwin. He also contributed songs to Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell Revue and The Madwoman of Central Park West. In the West End, his music was featured in Barry Manilow's Copacabana - The Musical, which went on to tour the U.S., Australia and Asia.
The Radio City Music Hall box office will be open on during the CD signing to offer attendees first access to the concert; fans who attend this event must purchase his new CD in order to receive access to the tickets. For more information, visit www.radiocity.com.
It’s a remarkable new talent contest and a first in showbiz history. Superstar entertainer Barry Manilow is going to give one person 15 minutes of fame on the Strip alongside him onstage in his headliner show at the Paris. Barry, who celebrated his 100th performance there over the weekend, wants people who think they have what it takes to perform with him onstage to send him YouTube audition videos -- details are at BarryManilow.com. He'll review and provide the winner with airfare for two here and send his own limousine to and from McCarran Airport. Barry will pick up the tab for their three-night stay at the hotel complete with food and beverages. Then he'll host with two behind-the-scenes, all-access, front-row tickets to his show, and then the big night itself when the winner performs onstage with him. The contest ties in with Barry’s new album 15 Minutes, his first of original songs in a decade.
Barry Manilow is one of the most popular and beloved performers in the music business. He is also, without a doubt, America's #1 Showman and proves it nightly with his smash hit Las Vegas show on the famed entertainment and casino "strip" at The Paris Showroom, one of the most beautiful theatres in that town.
And now, on I HEART RADIO, For the next three months, all day and all night, it's all MANILOW! To check it out, click here.
For Barry's fans and theatre-goers alike, everyone still hopes to get to see HARMONY, a new musical he wrote with Bruce Sussman, find its way to the Great White Way. This has been a life-long passion project of his and those who have heard the music or seen various workshops and stagings, have raved about it. Fingers crossed!
In the meantime, this is an amazing opportunity to find all things MANILOW in one place.
LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- "Radio Manilow" launches today via Clear Channel's iHeartRadio.com in association with singer, song-writer Barry Manilow. Hosted by Manilow, the new channel features music from Manilow's new album "15 MINUTES," his extensive catalog of hits, and the music from artists who have influenced him.
"This is an exciting new venture," Manilow said, "I'm proud to share this new channel and thank Clear Channel for the opportunity."
Listeners can access the channel at iHeartRadio.com and enter the keyword "Manilow."
Manilow and Clear Channel also announced the "15 MINUTES" contest asking listeners, "what would you do to become famous?"
Video entries can be submitted at manilow.com/GetFamous now through June 19 at 11:59 PM (EST).
The Grand Prize winner will receive the opportunity to appear on-stage as part of Manilow's concert at The Paris Las Vegas, free round trip airfare for two to Las Vegas, limo transport to/from the Las Vegas airport, three hotel nights at The Paris, food beverage vouchers, behind the scenes coaching, and VIP treatment.
"15 MINUTES," the first original album from Manilow in ten years, is set to be released on June 14th. Inspired by the Andy Warhol quote that "In the future, everybody will be world famous for fifteen minutes," this exciting guitar-driven pop album explores the perils and pinnacles of fame's double-edged sword.
Clear Channel's iHeartRadio.com and the free iHeartRadio app feature over 750 of America's best local radio stations from more than 150 cities.
With worldwide record sales exceeding 80 million, Barry Manilow is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio & Records); with no less than 25 consecutive top 40 hits to his credit between 1975 and 1983, on the Billboard Hot 100. Manilow has worked on over 40 albums over the course of his career as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer.
Barry Manilow sings about the pleasures and pitfalls of fame on "15 Minutes," his upcoming CD that was inspired by a certain blonde pop princess.
"The thing we started to think about was when Britney Spears was being hounded by the paparazzi," Manilow tells the L.A. Times of his concept for the album. "They were driving her crazy. She couldn't have a life without them pulling up next to her car and following her and driving her crazy to the point where, that was around the time she shaved off her hair. I think they actually helped to drive her crazy. We all looked at it in horror… and I said, 'Is this what happens these days?' So it seemed like a thing to be writing an album about."
Manilow, whose new disc drops June 14, also drew inspiration from the young talent he worked with as a mentor on "American Idol." "What I saw was a lot of young people becoming famous very quickly, overnight," he says. "I've done three 'American Idols,' and it was an amazing thing to watch these young, talented people becoming household names within months. And I remember when I got hit with it, with 'Mandy,' that I was an adult. And yet when 'Mandy' hit, it knocked me for a loop. It turned me into a person I didn't like."
The singer-songwriter admits he began treating people badly. "I felt I was being demanding. I felt like I was not treating people kindly. But most of all I didn't like where I found myself," he says. "I remember this night in Florida about five years, four years into my beginning of this trip—I don't like the word 'celebrity'—my fame trip. And I was outside in a rocking chair looking at the stars, and I realized that everybody in my house that I was renting on a beach in Florida I was paying. Everybody around me I was paying. My friends had seemed to have disappeared. And this craziness becomes a job, a job that I'm grateful for and that I like, but it's not my life. I had to rethink everything."
Barry Manilow's first album of original songs in a decade, "15 Minutes," hits stores June 14. The 67-year-old crooner is based in Las Vegas, where he's the resident headliner at the Paris Las Vegas.
Sunday Conversation (SC): Your new album, "15 Minutes" — everyone knows the reference, but what inspired it? Barry Manilow (BM): First of all, I've been having a wonderful run of luck with cover albums, songs I didn't write. I had five pop cover albums and two Christmas albums, and they were all very successful. But I did miss writing. So I looked around, and what I saw was a lot of young people becoming famous very quickly, overnight. I've done three "American Idols," and it was an amazing thing to watch these young talented people becoming household names within months. And I remember when I got hit with it, with "Mandy," that I was an adult. And yet when "Mandy" hit, it knocked me for a loop. It turned me into a person I didn't like.
SC: How so? BM: I didn't like how I was treating other people. I felt I was being demanding. I felt like I was not treating people kindly. But most of all I didn't like where I found myself. I remember this night in Florida about five years, four years into my beginning of this trip — I don't like the word "celebrity" — my fame trip. And I was outside in a rocking chair looking at the stars, and I realized that everybody in my house that I was renting on a beach in Florida I was paying. Everybody around me I was paying. My friends had seemed to have disappeared. And this craziness becomes a job, a job that I'm grateful for and that I like, but it's not my life. I had to rethink everything.
SC: How old were you then? BM: I was 29, 30. I was an adult. I wasn't 15 years old. But the thing that started this album off was my collaborator [Enoch] Nick Andersen, the thing we started to think about was when Britney Spears was being hounded by the paparazzi. They were driving her crazy. She couldn't have a life without them pulling up next to her car and following her and driving her crazy to the point where, that was around the time she shaved off her hair. I think they actually helped to drive her crazy. We all looked at it in horror, and Nick and I said, "Is this what happens these days?" So it seemed like a thing to be writing an album about.
SC: You talked about how this was your first album of original songs in 10 years, but hadn't there been a long break before that album as well? BM: Yeah, it does take me a while, doesn't it? In the beginning when I started with my first album through "2:00 A.M. Paradise Café," which was about 10 albums in, eight albums in, it was a little easier because the public hadn't heard my pop songs. But these original albums these days take a little longer for me to figure out because they've got to be more interesting for me as a creator. To write a love song that might be able to make it on the radio, that is something that is terrifying to me. But I can definitely write a song about that chair over there. That I can do, but to sit and write a pop song out of the clear blue sky, that is very difficult and I admire the people that can do it.
SC: So here you are in Vegas. Do you feel at all imprisoned by your past? You do have to sing your hits in Vegas, right? BM: Yeah, that's the job, and I love it. I know you must think I'm not telling the truth, but I really mean it. I look forward to it every weekend. And audiences just flip out night after night. This whole Vegas thing began when I had had it with touring. Touring is a young man's game, but after 30 years of it, I want to stay home. And I got this offer to play at the Hilton. And I said, "Oh, God, is this the end of my career? Is this where old singers go to die, Las Vegas?" But it doesn't feel like that at all. It enables me to stay home, and I have a life — I've got dogs, I've got friends, I go to the movies, I have dinners — and then I go to work over the weekends. And then I do go out on tour, but I do one-nighters here and there. I just finished doing four nights in London at a big arena called the 02 arena, and we sold out four nights of 15,000 people a night. But no touring.
SC: I wanted to ask you about "Harmony," the musical you developed with Bruce Sussman at the La Jolla Playhouse in '97. I know you fought to get the rights back and finally won them back in 2005. Do you have any plans for the musical? BM: We do have the rights, and it hurt so bad that Bruce and I decided we were going to put it away for a while until we get our strength back. It was a very, very difficult experience. It's a beautiful musical, and it says some very important things, we think. And my work on it is probably the best work I've ever done, and Bruce feels the same way. But it took a long time to get it up, and when it was up at the La Jolla Playhouse it felt like this was going to be a home run; we're going right into New York. And from that moment on, it fell apart. We dealt with three different producers, and it crashed on the first two. The third one was a real mess until we had to sue to get the rights back.
SC: I read that the stress was so intense that you ended up being hospitalized at one point. BM: Actually, all of us who had anything to do with it had a lot of trouble. Bruce went bankrupt. My manager went right into the hospital. I went to a heart place. And that's what happens with these Broadway musicals. You put your soul into these things, and when they're successful, it's fantastic. When you go through this, it gets you in the gut.
SC: So I was surprised to learn that you wrote the music for "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there." BM: I wrote a lot of those in those days.
SC: That's probably your biggest hit. Do you still get royalties on that? BM: I got $500. They buy you out. And in those days I was happy to get the $500.
On June 14th, Barry Manilow releases 15 Minutes, his first studio album in a decade. Manilow has spent the last two years in the studio with lyricist Enoch Anderson working on the album, and the guitar-focused album covers a theme that's become all too prevalent in artist albums lately: dealing with fame, the title inspired by Andy Warhol's "fifteen minutes of fame" quote.
Manilow explains the album thusly: Fame and success are something we all strive for, and yet when we get it how do we behave? That question jumps out at us daily from magazine covers, TV news and online gossip sites. In my world of entertainment, I’ve watched perfectly decent and talented people achieve the success they’ve been striving for only to crash and burn as their star rises. It happens in every walk of life, not only in the entertainment field; in sports, in politics and in daily life when the assistant manager gets promoted at the grocery store. It’s something that continues to fascinate us, and for me it represented an interesting musical journey to explore.
Barry Manilow’s new album, 15 Minutes -- available everywhere on June 14 -- is his first original material in a decade. I called Manilow to talk about 15 Minutes, and he picked up the phone in mid-laugh ... He began our conversation by asking what he’d have to do to get on the cover of Vanity Fair, and exactly how shirtless he’d have to be.
Eric Spitznagel (ES): This is your first album since 2001. What took you so long? Were you locked in your bedroom obsessing over every song like Brian Wilson? Barry Manilow (BM): No, I was just on a good roll with the cover albums. We started with the greatest songs of the 50s and then we did the 60s and the 70s and the 80s. My last one was the greatest love songs of all time. I got a Grammy nomination for it. So I didn’t want to stop it. It was an honor to sing those classic songs, but I missed writing my own material. I missed that part of making a record.
ES: 15 Minutes is a concept album based on Andy Warhol’s over-referenced quote about fleeting fame. Are any of these songs autobiographical? BM: I started out writing about a fictional character who wanted fame, got it, blew it—like so many of these young people do—and is starting over. But as I wrote it, I realized that I had lived every experience in these songs, except I never went down as far as this guy does. I never had to pull myself up and start over. I actually got the idea for this record back when Britney Spears was being attacked by the paparazzi. Remember that year when they were driving her crazy? ... I said to Nick, my co-writer, "Is that the price of fame? Is this what it’s become? They won’t leave you alone and you can’t have a life?" It was a lot different when I was coming up. There was no TMZ, and the paparazzi weren’t everywhere. You could have some privacy.
ES: But in your defense, you never shaved your head or spent time in a psychiatric ward. That’s like chum in the water for tabloids. BM: Yeah, but fame got to me in other ways. I turned into a person that I didn’t like. These days, with American Idol and all the other reality shows, young people become famous overnight, and that can be very difficult to handle, the way photographers follow you around and study your every move. You say something stupid and the next morning you’re in the headlines. That never happened to me, but it happens all the time now.
ES: You debuted the new album last week on QVC. That seems like a curious choice. Is it because the people who love "Weekend in New England" also love wholesale jewelry? BM: I never thought of it that way.
ES: When I buy your album, will I also get a juicer? BM: [Laughs.] I don’t think so. QVC has been very good to me. They did the same thing for my last three albums. They let me come on the show and talk with the gal and sing a few songs off the new album. Then the public calls in and buys it if they like it, and if they don’t, the phone doesn’t ring. We’ve had very good fortune and we’ve broken a few sales records. I like doing it this way because really, how the hell do you sell a record these days anyway? There aren’t any more record stores! Where’s Virgin? Where’s Tower? Where are they?
ES: I’m pretty sure they went out of business. You have heard about iTunes and Amazon, right? BM: I try to keep out of that. We’re releasing this album on my own label but we’re signed up with Universal, and they’ve got a lot of young people working for them. All those young people know the Internet. They live and breath the Internet. That’s how you sell a record these days, so I just trust them. I do what I can do. I’ll go on the morning shows and sing wherever I can. But that’s as much as I know how to do. I don’t know how to sell a record anymore.
ES: Most artists work out the kinks on their new songs by playing them in concert. Will your audience let you get away with that, or do they start rioting if you don’t sing the hits? BM: I try to slip in one or two songs from the new album. It was easy with the last few, when we were doing the greatest hits of the 50s and 60s. The fans knew most of those songs anyway, so they weren’t as resistant. On this album, I’m been playing the single “Bring On Tomorrow,” and it’s going over very well. They’re really loving it. If I keep getting this reaction, I may drop in another one from this album. But I have to respect the fact that they are there to hear the old hits. I don’t want them running down the aisles in the middle of a tune, heading to the lobby to get some orange juice from the concession. "Just give me two minutes!"
ES: Are you sick of singing "Mandy" yet? BM: Noooo! Noooo!
ES: Well, what’s your least favorite song, the one you wish could be burned from our collective memories? BM: I must say, now and again, something like “Looks Like We Made It” feels a little stale to me. When that happens, I take the song out of the show and give it about six months. Sure enough, when I sing it again, it feels fresh.
ES: Do you ever mix it up with different arrangements or completely different lyrics? BM: I can’t do it. I changed arrangements around and audiences hated it. They want to hear the original arrangement on the record that they bought when it was a hit. Don’t f*** with it now! Leave it alone!
ES: I was shocked to find out you didn’t write "I Write the Songs." When you sing it, do you ever think, I’m living a lie? BM: No, because the song isn’t about me or anybody else. It’s about the spirit of music. The first line says, "I’ve been alive forever," so it can’t be about me.
ES: You may not have written "I Write the Songs," but you have written dozens of commercial jingles, everything from "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There" to "I Am Stuck on Band-Aids." Is that a creative muscle that disappears, or can you still knock off a jingle in your sleep? BM: It was never easy. Writing jingles was a very competitive field. You had to write the catchiest melody in 30 seconds or less and make it better than the other guy’s. I learned a lot about orchestration, about song structure and arrangement. I think State Farm still uses my jingle.
ES: Have you heard the Weezer version of "Like a Good Neighbor"? ... I had no clue the song had more verses than the "Like a good neighbor" part. BM: Oh yeah, I wrote a whole song. I really got into it. They only used a small part of it for the commercial, but it was a proper song.
ES: Some of the lyrics are weirdly poignant. "We all hope the good times never leave us behind / We face our tomorrow with some peace of mind / No man has a promise of a life without care." BM: That’s the one. I haven’t heard those lyrics in ages. That was nice.
ES: You did the "You Deserve a Break Today" jingle for McDonald’s back in the 70s. If they asked, would you write a new commercial jingle for them? BM: I sure as hell would, man. I got two CLIO Awards a few years ago. You know what that is? The advertising awards? They found out that I’d written all those jingles so they gave me an award. I sat through their whole ceremony, and it doesn’t seem like people are making commercials with memorable melodies anymore. Some of them can be beautiful and very expensively produced, but they don’t have those jingles that you want to sing along with like they used to. I sat there and watched them pass out awards to all the new commercials, and there was nothing, at least nothing as catchy as "You Deserve a Break Today."
ES: If McDonald’s were to pay you a large sum of money to write for a new commercial campaign, would you find a way to include the lyric "Sorry about the diabetes"? BM: You’re funny! Sure, I’ll try.
ES: I read somewhere that when you met Bob Dylan, he hugged you and called you an inspiration. Are you sure he was being serious? BM: I wish I knew, but that’s what I remember him doing. We were at a Seder at Burt Bacharach’s place, and he walked right up to me and hugged me and said, “Don't stop what you’re doing, man. We're all inspired by you.” It was very important for me at the time, because those were the days when the critics were just killing me. They would have annihilated me if they had the chance.
ES: I’m sorry, I’m still trying to digest the idea of you and Bob Dylan and Burt Bacharach at a Seder. BM: Isn’t that great? Frank Sinatra also said a kind thing about me around that same time. Somebody asked him about me and he said, "He’s next." That meant a lot. Despite what the critics were saying, I did what I could do and I made the most beautiful music I knew how to make.
ES: Speaking of legends, you’re about to tie an Elvis Presley record, aren’t you? Seven years of performing in Las Vegas? BM: How about that? I’ve been having a great time. I did five years at the Las Vegas Hilton and now I’m on my second year at the Paris.
ES: Do you have your eye on any other Elvis Presley records? How many peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches can you eat in one sitting? BM: What are you talking about? I’ll stick with the Vegas record. I only did it because I wanted to get off the road. The road is a young person’s gig. Now when I’m out on tour, all I can think about is coming home. I wasn’t done performing. I wasn’t done with my band. And I didn’t want to leave my crew. I had just had it with the road. I wanted to get away from the room service and the planes and the noise. Even with the Vegas show, my life is so full of noise. There’s the band behind me and the audience is in front of me. When it’s all over, I need to go home, where it’s peaceful and quiet.
ES: Do you never feel nostalgic for the bathhouses you played with Bette Midler in the 70s? BM: One bathhouse. We played one bathhouse ... I played with Bette at the Continental Baths [in New York City]. They had a cabaret stage, and they hired me as the house piano player. They asked me, "Hey, do you want to play piano here full-time?" And I was like, "Sure, why not?" I played with all the acts that came through, all the singers. Bette was the best of them. She was the best one, so I stayed with her.
ES: There’s an old show-business trick that if you ever get stage fright, just imagine that the audience is in their underwear. What do you do if your audience is dressed entirely in towels? BM: That’s a great question. Personally, I don’t really get stage fright. And in any case, I wasn’t really the focus of attention during those shows. It was all about Bette. She was f****** brilliant. I mean it. You never saw anything like it. It topped anything Lady Gaga is doing today. And she did it without any stage tricks or fancy effects. It was just Bette and me and a drummer.
ES: Since you mentioned Lady Gaga, I feel like I should ask you about her, but I feel weird about it. BM: What’s to feel weird about? ... I love Lady Gaga! I think I was the first guy on my block to discover her. You’d be surprised by what’s on my iPod.
ES: Tell me what you like about Gaga. Are you a fan of the music, the alien-Egyptian-dominatrix costumes, the sacrilegious videos? BM: I think it’s the whole package that really impressed me. She has such an individualistic style. I was sold on that from the beginning. Later I realized that on top of everything, she’s a good musician and a great singer. That was it, that’s what sold me. This girl is the real deal.
ES: During your show at the Paris in Las Vegas, do you, at any point, get hatched out of a gigantic egg? BM: It’s a little different. I come out of a Gefilte fish.
The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra is joining pop music legend Barry Manilow on a four-city tour, including an Aug. 27 concert at the Covelli Centre. "We are excited to be a part of this," said Patricia C. Syak, executive director of the Youngstown Symphony Society, which oversees the orchestra. "It’s great for the orchestra, and it’s great for Youngstown to have the orchestra do this. I’m looking forward to the orchestra playing with him."
It’s the first time the Youngstown Symphony will tour with a major musician, Syak said. "We come with a certain reputation, and [Manilow’s management team] was impressed with the orchestra," she said. Orchestra members will be Manilow’s "full contingent of strings" during the four shows with some others playing brass, wind and percussion instruments on the tour...
Manilow and the symphony are to perform Aug. 24 at the Rexall Centre in Toronto; Aug. 25 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Aug. 27 at Youngstown’s Covelli Centre; and Aug. 28 at the Colosseum at Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Manilow had two dozen Top 40 songs between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s including "Mandy," "Could It Be Magic," "I Write the Songs," "Weekend in New England," "Can’t Smile Without You" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." He was a mainstay at the Las Vegas Hilton between February 2005 and December 2009, performing about 300 concerts there. Manilow’s been the headliner at the Paris Las Vegas on the Vegas Strip since March 2010. He is scheduled to have 51 concerts there between July and December.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow will perform along with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra on Thursday, Aug. 25, at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. Manilow is best known for hit songs such as "Could It Be Magic," "Mandy," "Can't Smile Without You" and "Copacabana." Tickets range from $20 for lawn seats to a high of $99.50 in the amphitheater and are available online at LiveNation.com, the SPAC box office or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000.
The old adage is that as long as there are dental offices and elevators, there will be Barry Manilow. But a funny thing happened on the way to Paris Las Vegas, where Manilow is in the midst of a two-year residency. The king of the '70s power ballad got cool. Seriously cool.
Alternative rocker Dave Grohl is a fan, as are Sly Stone, Vince Neil and Elton John. British pop rockers Take That recorded a cover of "Could It Be Magic," while the Irish band Westlife had a hit with "Mandy."
It may have all started with Bob Dylan, who, after running into Manilow at a party a number of years ago, hugged the singer and said: "Don't stop what you're doing, man. We're all inspired by you."
You can wait for Manilow to play Coachella (he lives in Palm Springs, after all), but it's probably easier to catch his new show at the intimate 1,500-seat Paris Theatre.
The staging and set list show off Manilow's talents as the consummate showman. Along with his vast catalog of hits ("Mandy," "Can't Smile Without You," "I Write the Songs," "Ready to Take a Chance Again," "Could It Be Magic"), Manilow performs covers of a few of his favorites by other songwriters.
Handling directing duties is Jeffrey Hornaday, who choreographed "Flashdance" and "A Chorus Line" and directed world concert tours for Madonna and Backstreet Boys.
Manilow calls the new show the "most romantic of my career," and the setting certainly suits the mood. The red-swathed walls of the 1,500-seat theater evoke something out of fin-de-siecle Paris. The set makes use of French Impressionist paintings.
Check your ironic detachment at the door, because Manilow can bring even cynical hipsters to their feet, waving glow sticks. Even after all these years, he's all boyish enthusiasm. The show opens with the star standing with arms outstretched at stage edge, belting "Come, come, come in to my arms."
