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| January 31, 2014 | WEAR-TV | Bagdad teacher wins VIP concert experience |
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| WEAR teamed up with the Manilow Music Project to give one local music teacher a VIP concert experience.
The finalists were Bagdad Elementary's Heidi Graves, Pine Forest High School's David Samuel, and Central High School's Iris Harper from. Who did you vote for?
Thousands people saw Barry Manilow live at Pensacola Bay Center Thursday night.
But no one saw him like Heidi Graves.
((Manilow applauds Mrs. Graves)) " This whole city came out for you!"
Graves is the music and choral teacher at Bagdad Elementary.She's also the teacher you voted for to win a VIP concert experience with Barry Manilow. "Oh my gosh, I almost fell out."
Almost, but not quite.
Not that we didn't try.
A Schmidt's Music gift certificate...
Limo rides for the evening...
Dinner at Jackson's Steakhouse...
Front row seats at Manilow's concert...
"He knocked my socks off, I am telling you. He is a performer." One-on-one time with the man himself, and ...
"and I also decided to give you a check for 10,000 dollars so you can buy as many instruments and fix up as many instruments for your school as possible." "Oh my gosh!"
"I couldn't believe it."
10,000 dollars.
An incredible end to a month with a devastating beginning.
"I was teaching kindergarten music."
"The kids were like, bangin' on the instruments."
"They were trying to wake me up."
"Something weird happened."
That "Something" was a seizure caused by a brain tumor.
The surgery has taken her out of the classroom and her students.
"I miss them very much. I can't wait to get back."
She did go back on Friday morning to thank her principal, her co-workers, parents and students; and everyone who nominated her. "Heidi is an excellent teacher. Her heart is in this and she gives 100 percent." "I want to thank you personally for being an ambassador for music education." "She is a really good teacher and she is like really fair and like perfection (snaps) Yeah (snaps)" And of course to share the surprise of 10,000 dollars, devoted to the music programs. "It's very nerve-racking and exciting; it's so cool."
"I don't think we'll have any problem spending that."
"Congratulations Miss Graves"
When the all county choir performs in April, they've decided to perform a Barry Manilow song.
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| January 31, 2014 | WFLA NBC-8 | "Tampa Bay teacher receives $10,000 check from Barry Manilow" by Dave Reynolds |
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| TAMPA, FL - Barry Manilow is in his 50th year of show business and is used to bringing fans to their feet. His remarkable career includes accolades from the American Music Awards, Emmys, Grammys and Tonys. As part of his tour, anyone who brought a new or gently used instrument to the St. Pete Times Forum before Friday night's concert, received two free concert tickets. Kevin Fuller and his wife Patty also got in free, but it was because Fuller was named Tampa's "Outstanding Music Teacher" by WFLA-TV and News Channel 8 viewers. Fuller was chosen from over 200 nominees and received a VIP concert experience which included limousine transportation to and from the concert, dinner at the Columbia restaurant in Ybor City, two front row tickets and a chance to meet Manilow backstage. The stop at the Columbia and the limo ride was the first time the Fullers had experienced either one. "For me, my life is kids and my life is music," Kevin Fuller said. And I love being able to share my music with my kids. And not only being able to teach them about music, but teach them about life." "His students, through the opportunity with the contest and everything, have sent him really cool messages on Facebook," Patty Fuller said. "And just letting him know how much they've appreciated him through the years. We're calling it Mr. Fuller's Opus." But once Fuller arrived at the Forum, his night got even better. After the meet-and-greet with Manilow and his band, one of whom was a student at another Hillsborough County school and played with Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, Manilow surprised Fuller with a $10,000 check to the Hillsborough County Public School System Music Program, courtesy of The Manilow Music Project, which is part of The Manilow Fund for Health and Hope. The organization's primary focus is to provide musical instruments to high schools and middle schools and to provide music scholarships at universities throughout the U.S., Canada and the UK. "To choose one music teacher (is tough), but there are thousands more around the country that I would like to do this for," Manilow said. "I do it as much as I can. It's great for your viewers and your readers voted for Kevin. He must be great for them to do that". "I'm totally blown away," Fuller said. "It's very, very cool. My kids will benefit from this so much. I was thinking this is a cool prize package, I could buy a couple of more instruments". Learn more about the Manilow Music Project: http://www.manilowmusicproject.org/ WFLA News Channel 8 |
| January 31, 2014 | Pensacola News Journal | "Barry Manilow gives $10K gift for Santa Rosa music programs: Bagdad Elementary music teacher Heidi Graves receives ovation, check from crooner" by Michael Scott Davidson |
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| It came as no surprise to beloved teacher Heidi Graves that her fifth-grade chorus students cheered when she temporarily returned to Bagdad Elementary School’s music room Friday morning after nearly a month of medical leave. But what absolutely astonished the 39-year-old was meeting pop star Barry Manilow before his performance at the Pensacola Bay Center. With his band beside him backstage, the singer who has sold 80 million albums world wide, gave the small town music and arts teacher - winner of a VIP concert experience from WEAR-TV - a standing ovation. "It was great. I can’t even explain it. I was just very excited," she said. "It was quite the presentation. Just like him to do." A round of applause wasn’t the only thing Manilow gave Graves. He also handed her a check for $10,000 made out to the Santa Rosa County School System from his philanthropic organization, The Manilow Music Project. The money is a gift to help improve the music programs of disadvantaged schools in the county. Graves also received a $300 gift certificate from Schmidt’s Music in Pensacola as part of her prize. The $10,000 check may have come as a surprise to the music teacher, but she immediately knew the impact it could have on her classes. "I was in absolute shock," she said. "I was thinking 'Oh my gosh, do you know how many recorders we could buy with this? How many recorder books?'" And what did Graves think of Manilow’s Pensacola performance? "He knocked my socks off," she said. "He’s a performer." Medical challenges - To say January was a month of ups and downs for Heidi Graves would be an epitome of understatement. It was during her kindergarten music class on Jan. 6 when the teacher became disoriented and confused. Feeling like she had a headache and a stomach bug, Graves left work early that day and drove herself home. "I thought it was the flu," she said. "I really did." But a CT scan performed at the Santa Rosa Medical Center a few hours later revealed that Graves had an unknown growth on her brain. She was immediately transferred to Baptist Hospital in Pensacola for another CT scan. Before sunrise Jan. 7, she had been flown to University of Florida’s Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Graves was told that she had developed a glioma tumor. An operation would be necessary to remove the growth. "It was a whirlwind," she said of the experience. "I didn’t even have time to think about it really." On Jan. 9, surgeons removed 95 percent of the tumor from her brain. Graves said doctors are hoping to eliminate the rest of the tumor with radiation treatment. She will return to Shands in two weeks for a follow-up appointment. "There’s a part of me that’s a little scared," she said. "I just want to come back and start teaching again." That’s because teaching music isn’t a job for Graves. It’s her passion. She said she loves seeing her students’ excitement when they realize they can play an instrument. "They’re so proud of themselves and they get so much confidence," she said. "They realize 'I can do whatever I want to do.'" And evidently the students want her back, too. When Graves temporarily returned to her classroom Friday, her fifth-grade chorus class greeted her with a heartfelt rendition of "How I Love My America." "It was great," Graves said. "I love these kids." |
| January 31, 2014 | SB Nation | "Dick Vitale is live-scream-tweeting a Barry Manilow concert" by Seth Rosenthal |
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| The Friday stop on Barry Manilow's current tour is in Tampa, home of Dick Vitale. Dick Vitale is attending said concert, and he's live-tweeting (IN ALL CAPS) the set list, which reads pretty strangely if you don't know what's going on or see an individual tweet out of context. And even in context... |  |
BARRY MANILOW - - Baby I WantYou Now !
BARRY MANILOW - LOOKS LIKE WE MADE IT !
BARRY MANILOW I CAN't SMILE WITHOUT YOU
BARRY MANILOOW American Bandstand
BARRY MANILOW EVEN NOW
BARRY MANILOW STAY
BARRY MANILOW BROOKLYN BLUES
BARRY MANILOW I AM YOUR CHILD
BARRY MANILOW THIS ONE IS FOR YOU
BARRY MANILOW NEW YORK CITY RHYTHM.
BARRY MANILOW Does a little Garth Brooks IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES
BARRY MANILOW BOOGIE WOOGIE BUGLE BOY
Barry MANILOW WHEN WILL I HOLD YOU AGAIN / come on dudes if u can't get lucky with this song GIVE UP BABY
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| January 31, 2014 | TBO: The Tampa Tribune | "Being Manilow means the crowd sings along" by Kevin Wiatrowski |
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| Repeat this, and I’ll deny it: I knew every word to every song Barry Manilow sang Friday night at The Forum. But, really, who doesn’t know a Manilow song? The man has been writing and performing hit songs for more than 40 years. "Her name was Lola ... Plop, plop, fizz, fizz ... When will our eyes meet ..." You can finish every sentence. Manilow unpacked everything from ballads to Broadway for an adoring crowd for 90 minutes straight. Not bad for a guy who turned 70 last June. Manilow came out for his opener in a Tampa Bay Lightning-blue sequined jacket. "Hello, Tampa! We’re back!" he said. "But what’s with the weather?" By the time he got to "Can’t Smile Without You," he had the entire crowd on its feet singing with -- and in a couple places for him. He followed up with his theme for "American Bandstand," where he made his first television appearance in the 1970s. He took a seat behind one of the two pianos on stage for "Even Now." The glow sticks spread throughout the crowd swayed in time. Manilow slowed down 30 minutes in to introduce Kevin Fuller, band director at Mann Middle School in Brandon. Before Friday’s show Manilow donated a piano to be used in a local school. His Manilow Music Project collects used instruments and donates them to schools in cities where he performs. Manilow told the crowd his Brooklyn high school was voted the toughest in America when he was there. Rather than play sports or join a gang ("Can you see me in a gang?") he joined the orchestra. "I wouldn’t be on this stage tonight if I hadn’t joined that orchestra class," he said. After a costume change to a red jacket, he took to his grand piano for a cover of Hank Williams’ "I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry." He also sang "If Tomorrow Never Comes," made famous by Garth Brooks. The crowd joined in again for "Weekend in New England." Manilow declared it his most romantic song. "If you can’t get lucky to this, give up," he joked. After boisterous covers of two Four Seasons tunes, Manilow performed a song from "Harmony," a Broadway musical he co-wrote. As the setup for "I Made It Through the Rain," Manilow noted he had had a significant birthday recently. "I never intended to be this old," he saidHis voice remained as strong as it was when he performed "Mandy" on [the] "Midnight Special" show decades ago. After a third change of jacket -- this time to white -- the congas and cowbell let everyone know it was time to get up on their feet. "Her name was Lola," he sang as everybody shimmied in their seats. |
| January 30, 2014 | Broadway World | Will Blum, Leigh Ann Larkin, Will Taylor, Chris Dwan & More to Star in Barry Manilow's HARMONY at CTG/Ahmanson Theatre |
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| Full casting is set for Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's "Harmony," a new musical, opening March 12, 2014, at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre and playing through April 13. (Previews begin March 4). Directed by Tony Speciale, with music by Manilow and book and lyrics by Sussman, "Harmony" tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in pre-WWII Germany who rose from unemployed street musicians to become world-famous entertainers, selling millions of records, starring in over a dozen films, and selling out the most prestigious concert halls around the world. Yet while The Comedian Harmonists' sophisticated music, paired with hilarious comedy, made them the brightest of stars, the group's mixture of Jews and non-Jews put them on a collision course with history. "Harmony" is a co-production with the ALLIANCE THEATRE, Atlanta. When Manilow and Sussman began working on "Harmony," Roman "Rabbi" Cykowski was the only surviving member of The Comedian Harmonists, and was able to talk with them about his life and experiences before passing away in 1998. His memories, along with available historical information, provide the basis for the musical. The cast includes, in alphabetical order, Matt Bailey (first national tour of "Jersey Boys"), Will Blum ("The Book of Mormon" on Broadway), Hannah Corneau ("Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson" and "Fiddler on the Roof" in Chicago), Chris Dwan ( "The Old Boy" and "Peter & I" off-Broadway), Shayne Kennon (European tour of "Madagascar"), Leigh Ann Larkin ("A Little Night Music" and "Gypsy" on Broadway), Will Taylor ("A Chorus Line" and "La Cage Aux Folles" on Broadway) and Douglas Williams ("Tigrane" at Opéra de Nice). The ensemble for "Harmony" plays numerous roles, ranging from audience members and people on a train to recognized historical figures like Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein and Richard Strauss - all of whom the Comedian Harmonists knew. Members of the ensemble include Liberty Cogen, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Greg Kamp, Chad Lindsey, Lindsay Moore, Brandon O'Dell, Patrick O'Neill, Charles Osborne, Kim Sava, Dave Schoonover and Lauren Elaine Taylor. The "Harmony" creative team also includes choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter, music director John O'Neill, set and costume designer Tobin Ost, lighting designers Jeff Croiter (2012 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Play for "Peter and the Starcatcher") and Seth Jackson, sound designers John Shivers (2013 Tony Award for Best Sound Design for a Musical for "Kinky Boots") and David Patridge, and projection designer Darrel Maloney. Lora K. Powell is the production stage manager, Doug Walter is the orchestrator and casting is by Caleri Casting and Mark B. Simon, CSA. Tickets for "Harmony" are available at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, the CTG box office located at the Ahmanson Theatre, or by calling (213) 972-4400. |
| January 30, 2014 | Playbill.com | "Leigh Ann Larkin, Shayne Kennon and More Will Appear Again in Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's Harmony in Los Angeles" by Michael Gioia |
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| Leigh Ann Larkin and Shayne Kennon, who starred in the 2013 Atlanta production of Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's Harmony, will again appear in the musical when it plays the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre beginning March 4, prior to an official opening March 12. Directed by Drama Desk Award nominee Tony Speciale (Classic Stage Company's Unnatural Acts, A Midsummer Night’s Dream), with music by Manilow and a book and lyrics by Sussman, the co-production with Atlanta's Alliance Theatre will play through April 13. The cast includes Will Blum (The Book of Mormon), Hannah Corneau (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson and Fiddler on the Roof in Chicago), Chris Dwan (Off-Broadway's The Old Boy and Peter & I), Kennon (European tour of Madagascar), Larkin (A Little Night Music, Gypsy), Will Taylor (A Chorus Line, La Cage Aux Folles) and Douglas Williams, who were all seen with the production in Atlanta. New to the cast is Matt Bailey (first national tour of Jersey Boys). The ensemble of Harmony plays numerous roles, ranging from audience members and people on a train to recognized historical figures like Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein and Richard Strauss - all of whom the Comedian Harmonists knew. Liberty Cogen, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Greg Kamp, Chad Lindsey, Lindsay Moore, Brandon O'Dell, Patrick O'Neill, Charles Osborne, Kim Sava, Dave Schoonover and Lauren Elaine Taylor again comprise the ensemble. Harmony, according to press notes, "tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in pre-WWII Germany who rose from unemployed street musicians to become world-famous entertainers, selling millions of records, starring in over a dozen films, and selling out the most prestigious concert halls around the world. Yet while The Comedian Harmonists' sophisticated music, paired with hilarious comedy, made them the brightest of stars, the group’s mixture of Jews and non-Jews put them on a collision course with history." When Manilow and Sussman began working on Harmony, Roman "Rabbi" Cykowski was the only surviving member of The Comedian Harmonists, and was able to talk with them about his life and experiences before passing away in 1998. His memories, along with available historical information, provide the basis for the musical. Other members of the creative team include choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter, music director John O'Neill, set and costume designer Tobin Ost, lighting designers Jeff Croiter and Seth Jackson, sound designers John Shivers and David Patridge and projection designer Darrel Maloney. Lora K. Powell is the production stage manager, and Doug Walter is the orchestrator. For more information and tickets, call (213) 972-4400 or visit CenterTheatreGroup.org. |
| January 30, 2014 | TheaterMania | "Barry Manilow Musical Harmony Announces Complete Casting for Los Angeles Mounting: Broadway's Leigh Ann Larkin joins the musical's cast at L.A.'s Center Theatre Group" by Hayley Levitt |
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| Complete casting has been announced for Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre's upcoming production of Harmony, a new musical written by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman and directed by Tony Speciale. Performances are set to begin March 4 in advance of a March 12 opening. Featuring music by Manilow and a book and lyrics by Sussman, Harmony tells the true story of The Comedian Harmonists, an ensemble of six young men in pre-World War II Germany who rose from struggling street musicians to world-famous entertainers. The cast features Matt Bailey (Jersey Boys), Will Blum (The Book of Mormon), Hannah Corneau (Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson), Chris Dwan (The Old Boy), Shayne Kennon (Madagascar), Leigh Ann Larkin (A Little Night Music), Will Taylor (A Chorus Line), and Douglas Williams (Tigrane). The ensemble includes Liberty Cogen, Bryan Thomas Hunt, Greg Kamp, Chad Lindsey, Lindsay Moore, Brandon O'Dell, Patrick O'Neill, Charles Osborne, Kim Sava, Dave Schoonover, and Lauren Elaine Taylor. The creative team for Harmony features choreography by JoAnn M. Hunter, music direction by John O'Neill, set and costume design by Tobin Ost, lighting design by Jeff Croiter and Seth Jackson, sound design by John Shivers and David Patridge, projection design by Darrel Maloney, and orchestration by Doug Walter. |
| January 30, 2014 | Bradenton Herald | "Barry Manilow performs in Tampa: He's one of the most popular singers ever, and he still draws crowds" by Marty Clear |
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| From "You Deserve a Break Today" to "Copacabana (At the Copa)," Barry Manilow writes the songs that make the whole world sing. Well, maybe not the whole world, but at least a good-sized chunk of it. Manilow's schmaltzy pop has its detractors, but he's nonetheless one of the most popular singers of all time. Some 40 years after he first hit the airwaves with "Mandy," Manilow is still able to fill the biggest arenas in the country. He'll be at one of them, the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, for a concert on Friday. His shows are packed with hits, of course, and since he's written songs for so many other artists -- Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler and Dionne Warwick among them -- there's a solid chance that he'll include some songs that were hits for other people. But the songs his legion of fans will come to see are ones that the Manilow himself has made famous -- "Can't Smile Without You," "Could It Be Magic," "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made it" and "Ready to Take a Chance Again." He's won a Grammy, he's been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, he's been nominated for an Oscar and at, age 70, he's still filling huge venues. Not bad for a guy who got his start writing jingles for fast-food restaurants. Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Tampa Bay Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. Tickets: $7.24-$157.24. Information: 813-301-2500, www.tampabaytimesforum.com. |
| January 28, 2014 | WAFB CBS-9 | Barry Manilow concert rescheduled for February 3, 2014 |
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| Due to the weather conditions in Baton Rouge and the State of Emergency declared by Governor Bobby Jindal, the Barry Manilow Concert scheduled for Wednesday evening has been postponed and rescheduled for Monday, February 3rd. Tickets for the original date will be honored for the February 3rd concert. "I'm sorry that we've had to reschedule," Manilow said, "but feel better knowing that everyone will be home safe and sound on Wednesday. I'd like to thank everyone at the Baton Rouge River Center, SMG, Bill Rogers Presents, and my own cast and crew for working so quickly to re-arrange schedules to make the February 3rd concert possible," Manilow added. Tickets for Monday's concert start at $19.99 and are available online at Ticketmaster.com, in person at the Baton Rouge River Center Box Office, or by calling 1-800-745-3000. |
| January 28, 2014 | The Times-Picayune | "Barry Manilow concert in Baton Rouge rescheduled for Feb. 3" by Chelsea Brasted |
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| Barry Manilow's concert at the Baton Rouge River Center, originally scheduled for Jan. 29, has been rescheduled until Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 due to Baton Rouge weather conditions and the official state of emergency. Tickets for the original show will be honored at the rescheduled date. The announcement was made via Manilow's Facebook page Tuesday afternoon. "I’m sorry that we’ve had to reschedule," Manilow said in the announcment, "but feel better knowing that everyone will be home safe and sound on Wednesday." Tickets for the concert are still available through the Baton Rouge River Center box office and Ticketmaster. |
| January 28, 2014 | Tampa Bay Times | "Interview: Barry Manilow rising from punch line to cool" by Sean Daly |
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| In this touchy-feely 21st century, Barry Manilow doesn't just make the girls cry, he also has LeBron James reaching for the Kleenex. Last November, the Miami Heat star and pop-cultural trendsetter made headlines - not for a tomahawk dunk or a deft pass, but for what was on his iPod. King James, following a Manilow admission from New York Knicks and Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony, showed incredulous NBA beat reporters a playlist that included "Copacabana" and "Mandy." "I got all music," LeBron said. Grunty sportswriters presented the athlete's musical taste as a less-than-macho revelation: How could the coolest cat on the planet enjoy the soft-hit mastermind behind "Even Now?" But in 2014, LeBron and Carmelo as budding Fanilows isn't really that strange. Look at the bromantic cinematic boys clubs of Seth Rogen and James Franco, Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. Or the brains-over-brawn comedy of The Big Bang Theory, the No. 1 show on TV. Or schmoopy radio hits such as A Great Big World's "Say Something" and Pink's "Give Me a Reason," the latter essentially a "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" redo. Heart-sleeved earnestness is back in a big way. It's okay to say you care. Hugs for everyone! Manilow, for so long the uber-example of uncool, is en vogue. "[LeBron] needs to listen to music that makes him feel good, too," the 70-year-old Manilow tells me in a rather poignant early morning phone call. "That's my job. To make you feel better." If only Barry felt better. Manilow, who plays the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Friday, doesn't bother with pop radio much these days: There's no melody, no warmth, no love — all his specialties. "I won't go into that other world," he laments. "I just can't." Oh, he likes "Adele, Katy Perry, Gaga." But the rest? "So angry." While interviewing Manilow — who had five albums on the charts simultaneously in 1978 — it becomes pretty clear pretty fast that the balladeer has no use for modern pop because he believes that modern pop has no use for him. He's wrong, but no one can blame him for being guarded. Manilow's up-and-down status as an icon mirrors the past 50 years of American pop culture. If the '70s were about warm cuddles, the '80s were about glammy sex. The '90s weren't about the bedroom at all; they were just grungy and glum. Sex, AquaNet and depression: definitely not ingredients of Could It Be Magic or Daybreak. As a result, Manilow went from being a melodic genius (Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan were both fans) to public punchline (berated in '80s teen flick The Breakfast Club as the epitome of risk-averse adulthood). For a long time, belting Weekend in New England — "When will our eyes meet? When can I touch you?" — was something many of us did only in the guilty-pleasure privacy of our iPods. "I went through the self-pity," Manilow says about the digs at his expense, including Australian cops blasting his songs to deter youth gangs from congregating in a residential area. "I pulled the covers over my head." I tell Barry a quick story: In 1994, I was a bellboy schlepping Samsonite at a Maryland hotel near Merriweather Post Pavilion, a concert venue between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. One summer night, I had the nerve-fraying thrill of driving Manilow and his entourage around in the courtesy van. It was chaos, mainly because hundreds of spirited middle-aged women in Manilow concerts tees tracked that van like Secret Service agents. It was terrifying; it was also awesome. I'm a music critic now, and I've rarely seen that sort of fan adoration, especially in adults. Getting Manilow safely back inside the hotel remains one of the greatest achievements of my life. Plus he tipped me $95. Manilow doesn't remember the night I chauffeured him, probably because he has lived through thousands of nights just like it. But the story nevertheless reveals a curious quirk: When I ask him to explain the Fanilows - all those diehards who never abandoned him for hair metal or grunge - he says he can't. He doesn't understand them, either. "I don't know. I write the stuff that moves me. You have to ask them why it moves them. I get all these letters; they send the most beautiful things. My impact has been so positive to strangers." His relationship to his songbook is also complicated. He has written dozens of hits and made hits out of other writer's songs. He even penned, among other commercial gigs, the State Farm jingle: "Like a good neighbor ..." And yet when I gush about, say, the life-affirming "Can't Smile Without You," he becomes defensive, as if there's been some negative rebuttal to that perfectly innocent tune: "How can you resist a song like that? Songs like that transcend your taste!" I joke that I recently made the discovery that the couple in "Looks Like We Made It" didn't, in fact, make it. He sighs: "Most people don't listen to the lyrics. What do you do when you get to the second lyric of that song?" Oh, and don't get him started on "I Write the Songs" (which he didn't actually write; Beach Boy Bruce Johnston penned it): "It isn't about me, okay? 'I've been alive forever'? How can that be?!" The one thing that makes Manilow happy, at least relatively, is touring. He has been a live performer from the get-go, when he was backing up Bette Midler and playing bathhouses in New York City. He was good at it; still is. "Wouldn't it be terrible if I stunk after all these years?" he jokes. The stage provides Manilow with a sense of security, maybe even a time-warping revision of history, one in which he never went through that painful hiding-under-the-covers phase. "I can't see faces," he says when asked what his crowds look like these days. "I can only see shadows. But they seem to be the exact same crowds I started with. Young people, middle-aged people, older people." They are the ones who "always stood for me." Manilow will play for those same people in Tampa on Friday, of course. But what he won't see, or maybe won't allow himself to see, are the new shadows, the new faces, happy and tear-streaked and belting Copacabana just like LeBron. It may not be 1978, but hey, it's never too late to get that feeling again. If You Go: Barry Manilow. Barry Manilow performs at 7 p.m. Friday at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $9.99-$159.99. (813) 301-2500. |
| January 24, 2014 | The Advocate | "Barry Manilow brings musical gift to more than just his audience: Instrument drive to benefit Baton Rouge schools" by John Wirt |
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| Barry Manilow has sold 80 million records worldwide and sustained a career in the fickle world of pop music through four decades. He’s the winner of a Grammy, two Emmys, a Tony Award, an Oscar nominee and a Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee. The Brooklyn-born singer-pianist’s best-known songs include the ultra-romantic ballads "Mandy," "Could It Be Magic" (inspired by Chopin), "I Write the Songs" (composed by Beach Boy Bruce Johnston), the Latin-disco-flavored "Copacabana (At the Copa)" and "Bandstand Boogie" (the "American Bandstand" theme with lyrics). If Manilow’s Wednesday show at the River Center Arena plays along the lines of his Jan. 18 concert at the Amway Center in Orlando, he’ll play the hits backed by a nine-piece band and three supporting vocalists, tell some stories and a few jokes. "When I went to see (Frank) Sinatra back in my youth," Manilow told The Baltimore Sun last year, "I would have been very disappointed had he not been singing those great songs that I came to see. So I’m happy to do these very familiar songs all night long. Yeah, I love my new songs. Yeah, I love my album cuts. But I’m not there for me. I’m there for them." Manilow reached his commercial peak in the 1970s during his first tenure with music mogul Clive Davis' Arista label. He proved resilient despite the derisive comments he’s inspired through years. With his heart displayed so often, so unapologetically, he’ll never win a contest for coolest guy in the room. In recent years, Manilow’s 2002 greatest hits album, "Ultimate Manilow," reached No. 3 on the Billboard album chart. He also performed at the Super Bowl that year. Manilow’s subsequent interpretations of hits from the 1950s, "Greatest Songs of the Fifties," hit No. 1. Manilow, 70, grew up in humble circumstances in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Williamsburg neighborhood. He played piano and accordion as a child and later attended the Juilliard School of Music. His early professional experience included writing and performing jingles for Dr Pepper, McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 1971, the soon-to-be famous Bette Midler hired Manilow to be her music director. He served as pianist and arranger for the singer’s 1972 debut, "The Divine Miss M," and the self-titled follow-up. His work with Midler opened the door for a record deal. Arista Records boss Davis brought a British hit called "Brandy" to Manilow’s attention. Changing the name to "Mandy," he recorded the song and got his first No. 1 hit. Manilow’s pop singles success ended in 1980 with another ballad, "I Made it Through the Rain." He later recorded albums of jazz, classic pop songs and Broadway standards. His interest in Broadway continued with 1994’s "Barry Manilow’s Copacabana: The Musical" and 1999’s "Harmony." Following the success of 2006’s "Greatest Songs of the Fifties," the prolific Manilow released "The Greatest Songs of the Sixties," "The Greatest Songs of the Seventies," "The Greatest Songs of the Eighties" and "The Greatest Love Songs of All Time." The best of his songs, Manilow told NPR in 2012, must have a great melody. "But as a performer, it really needs to have lyrics that I can crawl into," he added. "You know, when I did 'American Idol,' I tried to tell these kids: You have to tell the story of the lyrics. Otherwise, closing your eyes and trying to show us how many notes you can fit into a bar — no one’s going to care about it. But if you tell the story in the lyrics, then I think you’ve got a chance of connecting with an audience. That’s the difference between the kind of songs that I’ve been doing all of my career. (When) I listen to the lyrics of ‘Mandy,’ I try to put myself in that situation, and then I sing the song." In addition to performing at the River Center, Manilow has donated a new Yamaha piano to the East Baton Rouge Parish School District. His donation launched a musical instrument drive for the schools. Anyone who donates a new or gently used musical instrument to the Baton Rouge River Center box office will receive two free tickets for Manilow’s River Center concert. The Manilow Music Project has conducted musical instrument drives for schools throughout the country. "I’m thrilled to be able to help bring the gift of music to these kids," Manilow said in statement. The River Center is the base for the instrument drive through Wednesday. The instrument drop-off location is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday as well as two hours prior to the starting time for Manilow’s concert. |
| January 24, 2014 | NOLA.com | "Barry Manilow to perform in Baton Rouge on Jan. 29" by Chelsea Brasted |
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| International pop star Barry Manilow is scheduled to perform in the Baton Rouge River Center on Jan. 29. The singer, whose breakout hit "Mandy" first dropped in 1974, recently performed along the east coast through Florida, which can give local fans an idea of what next week's show could bring. Tickets start at $18 and are available through Ticketmaster. Here's a look at some of the recent reviews of Manilow's performances: - The Pensacola News Journal interviewed the star ahead of his Jan. 23 show in Pensacola: "You know, I just made music," Manilow told the paper. "That’s it. That’s where it starts, and that’s where it ends. Sometimes, I get lucky and people like it, and sometimes critics kill me, and that’s the way life goes. It’s a balance between good stuff and rotten stuff. I’ve lived a great life. I’ve had both of them. The biggest goal is to stay somewhere in the middle, that’s what I’ve always tried to do."
- The Orlando Sentinel called Manilow's approach to a Jan. 18 performance "subtle," stating that "even with a stripped-down vibe, the guy still knows how to make an entrance." The review continued: "the songs turned the show into a guilty-pleasure nostalgia trip, even for the cynical. Whether powered by orchestra, lounge band or solitary piano, this material still has the power to make at least an arena sing, if not the whole world."
- Following the same Orlando show, Freeline Media Orlando posted a review stating: "Manilow was in fine form throughout the night, and when the women in the audience swooned during one of his love songs, he yelled out 'I’ve still got it!'"
- The Florida Times-Union reviewer Tom Szaroleta was impressed with Manilow's rendition of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." He wrote: "He played the country standard as a Barry Manilow-esque piano ballad to show that genre doesn’t really matter when a song has a strong melody. 'A great song is a great song,' he said. 'It will last.' He did the same with Garth Brooks’ 'If Tomorrow Never Comes,' and darned if he isn’t right."
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| January 23, 2014 | Pensacola News Journal | "Barry Manilow brings the hits to the Bay Center: Legendary singer-songwriter discusses his storied career" by Julio Diaz |
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| It’s hard to imagine an American of any age who has not been touched by the music of Barry Manilow. The singer-songwriter, 70, has of course sold more than 75 millions records in the U.S., has won an armload of awards including the Grammy Award and the Emmy Award, and remains a force on the Adult Contemporary charts with more than 50 Top-40 hits, most recenly hitting that chart in 2012. And songs such as "Copacabana (at the Copa)," "Mandy," "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made It," "Can’t Smile Without You" and "I Made It Through the Rain" have become great American standards. But let’s say you’ve somehow managed to avoid hearing all of that (how’s that rock you’re living under, by the way?). Let’s say you’ve missed the multiple television, movie and stage appearances. You’ve still heard Manilow, whether you realized it or not, in the classic advertising jingles he’s written -- "I am stuck on Band-Aid, ’cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me," "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there," and on and on and on. "You know, I just made music," Manilow said of his success. "That’s it. That’s where it starts, and that’s where it ends. Sometimes, I get lucky and people like it, and sometimes critics kill me, and that’s the way life goes. It’s a balance between good stuff and rotten stuff. I’ve lived a great life. I’ve had both of them. The biggest goal is to stay somewhere in the middle, that’s what I’ve always tried to do." Manilow spoke of his storied career to the News Journal in a phone interview to promote Thursday’s concert at the Pensacola Bay Center. Pensacola News Journal (PNJ): Tell us about the tour that brings you to Pensacola.
Barry Manilow (BM): I try to do as many of the hit songs that I’ve been fortunate enough to have over the years as I can. I haven’t been on the road in a while. We stopped in the middle of the summer, and I’ve been working on a musical that I wrote. We’re going back, just for the Florida dates, we put the show together that I have been doing for a couple of years. I understand what the audience wants. They want to hear the familiar songs, and I’m happy to do them. I remember going to a (Frank) Sinatra concert when I was younger, and all I wanted to hear was the stuff I grew up with, that’s really all I wanted to hear. Whenever he did a song I didn’t know, it was all right, but I couldn’t wait to hear the big band things he did. I think that’s where I’m at. My audience wants to hear the things that they grew up with. So I’m happy to do those, and I put as many of the familiar songs into my show as I can. PNJ: Are there certain songs that are always the first ones mentioned when you meet new people?
BM: There’s a wide range, but the one that keeps coming up is "Copacabana." For some reason, that’s the one that people like the most or want to hear the most. And it’s odd, because when the album that "Copa" is on came out, the record company didn’t want to put it out as a single. So they put all the other singles out, but they left "Copa" alone, and "Copacabana" came off that album on its own. I looked at the Billboard charts one week and it was on the dance charts, and then the next week, it was Top 20 on the pop charts, without any help from the record company. It was the public that made "Copacabana" successful, and it continues to this day. I think it’s a very smart song. My lyricist, Bruce Sussman, I think he wrote a fantastic lyric. In three verses and a repeated chorus, you get the whole story of Tony and Lola and Rico. I think the lyric that he wrote is just a brilliant lyric, and certainly, I love the melody. PNJ: Talk a bit about the Manilow Music Project.
BM: About five years ago, I realized that schools around the country are running out of instruments. Actually, they’re cutting music and arts classes all around the country, which, as a musician, is killing me and every other musician. But the schools that do have music classes, they’re running out of instruments. They’re either running out or they’re broken down. So I decided to take it upon myself to see if I could get instruments into schools where I’m touring. And I ask the audience to donate their used instruments, if they’re not using them, bring them to the show, and we’ll collect them all and give them out to the schools in every city. I donate a piano in every city I go to. Maybe we’re making a dent, or at the very least, making the public aware of the fact that these kids are running out of instruments. There may be some talented kid out there who would be great but hasn’t got an instrument to play. So there’s one lone man in the cavalry coming out trying to save music (laughs). I just have to do something. PNJ: You mentioned that you’ve been working on a musical. Talk a bit about "Harmony."
BM: My collaborator, Bruce Sussman — he’s the guy that I’ve been working with for many, many years — he writes the words, and on "Harmony," he wrote the book and the script. We came up with this idea about 15 years ago. It’s a beautiful story, a true story about ... I guess you would call it the first boy band in Germany back in the 1930s. It’s an original musical, and we’re very proud of it. It did really well in Atlanta. We’ll see what happens in L.A., and who knows? Maybe there’s a future for it. PNJ: In such a successful career, is there any aspiration you haven’t fulfilled?
BM: I think the next one really is "Harmony." We’ll see what happens with this beautiful, beautiful musical. We’re very proud of it, and that would be great if it went further. PNJ: How do you stay grounded?
BM: I tell you, people ask what I’m the proudest of, and I think that would be the answer. I’m proudest that I think I’ve stayed the same guy that I was when the success hit me. I think that’s because I consider myself a musician first. I don’t consider myself a star or a performer or a singer, although I’ve had a lot of luck doing all that, but in my heart -- and on my passport -- it says musician. And that’s different from somebody who’s in it for the applause or because they want to be famous or they want to be a star or they want loads of money. That comes after, if you work hard enough, from all the sweat that you pile into it, if you’re lucky, all that comes. I started off just wanting to be a musician. I would have been happy if my career ended with being a successful musician. The rest of it is just fantastic good fortune. PNJ: You’ve always seemed to have a good sense of humor about yourself, too. Does that help?
BM: Who can take this seriously? Really, if you take yourself seriously, I think you get in trouble. I take my work seriously, but I’ve never taken myself seriously. I mean, really, wearing a "Copacabana" jacket, that’s pretty stupid. I knew it was stupid, it was for a joke, and that’s what I love doing. I come from this world of variety shows, and even before that, Vaudeville, that’s the stuff that I love to watch. So when I got the opportunity to get on stage, that’s exactly where I went, to have fun with my audience. PNJ: Do you think you’ve done it?
BM: I think I’m close (laughs). If you remember "Copacabana," that’s a good sign (laughs). WHAT: Barry Manilow in concert. WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. WHERE: Pensacola Bay Center, 201 E. Gregory St. TICKETS: $179.99, $159.99, $129.99, $99.99, $69.99, $39.99 and $19.99, available at the Pensacola Bay Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at (800) 745-3000. Additional fees may apply. Alternately, donate a new or gently used musical instrument for the Escambia County School District at the Bay Center box office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, through the day of the show, and receive a free pair of tickets to the concert from the Manilow Music Project. DETAILS: 432-0800, or visit www.pensacolabaycenter.com. |
| January 23, 2014 | Jacksonville.com | "Barry Manilow: Country singer? It's not as far-fetched as you'd think" by Tom Szaroleta |
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| I’m a big fan of surprise cover songs, when a big-time musician plays someone else’s tune that’s totally out of left field and makes it his own. But never in a million years would I have expected Barry Manilow to launch into Hank Williams’ "I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry." And even more surprising: It worked. He played the country standard as a Barry Manilow-esque piano ballad to show that genre doesn’t really matter when a song has a strong melody . "A great song is a great song," he said. "It will last." He did the same with Garth Brooks’ "If Tomorrow Never Comes," and darned if he isn’t right. Manilow’s voice sounded strong throughout his 90-minute set Thursday night at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. He wrapped up a seven-year residency in Las Vegas a few years back, and it shows in his act. It’s very polished and choreographed and the crowd, which filled the lower bowl of the arena , ate it up. The arena was a sea of green glow sticks, which were handed out to everyone as they came in the door, bopping to the beat. Manilow ran through most of his big hits - even if you don’t think you know any Barry Manilow songs, he has a way of playing songs that bring back memories of long-ago transistor radios and 8-track tapes. "Mandy," "It’s a Miracle," "Copacabana," "Weekend in New England," "Can’t Smile Without You," "Looks Like We Made It" - the guy’s got a million hits and he isn’t shy about playing them. It’s a Miracle / Could It Be Magic / Looks Like We Made It / Can’t Smile Without You / Bandstand Boogie / Stay / Even Now / Brooklyn Blues / I Am Your Child / This One’s For You / New York City Rhythm / I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry / If Tomorrow Never Comes / Jump Shout Boogie / Weekend in New England / Let’s Hang On / Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You / Every Single Day / I Made It Through The Rain / Mandy / Copacabana / I Write The Songs |
| January 22, 2014 | Naples Daily News | Donate an instrument;get a Barry Manilow ticket |
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| Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow brings his Manilow Music Project to Lee County School District in Florida by donating a Yamaha piano to launch a local music instrument drive. Anyone who donates a new or gently used musical instrument to the Germain Arena Capital Bank Box Office will receive 2 free tickets (valid for pre-selected seat locations) for Manilow’s Jan. 24 show. The Manilow Music Project has conducted music instrument drives all over the country to assist local schools with their music programs. "I’m thrilled to be able to help bring the gift of music to these kids," Manilow said in a news release about the project. The Germain Arena will be the base for the instrument drive. The instrument drop off location is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday. "It is most encouraging that someone with the success and notoriety that Barry Manilow has earned still remains aware of the importance of arts and music in the development of our young people," said a statement from Nancy Graham, Superintendent of Lee County School District. The Manilow Music Project (MMP) is part of The Manilow Fund for Health and Hope. It was formed as a grass roots organization to assist local charities and programs. Its primary focus is to provide musical instruments to high schools and middle schools and to provide music scholarships at universities throughout the US, Canada, and the UK. More information on the Manilow Music Project can be found at http://www.manilowmusicproject.org. Tickets are available online at Manilow.com or Ticketmaster.com, in person at the Germain Arena Capital Bank Box Office, or by calling 1-800-745-3000. |
| January 19, 2014 | The Florida Times-Union | "Expect to hear nothing but hits when Barry Manilow plays Jacksonville arena Thursday" by Tom Szaroleta |
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| Fans attending Barry Manilow’s Thursday night concert shouldn’t worry too much about having to sit through songs they don’t know. "I’m just doing as many of the hits as I can," he said last week in a phone interview from his home in California. "I’m one of those lucky guys that have enough to fill up a whole evening." Manilow has lots of songs you know - he’s put out 29 studio albums, four live albums, 15 compilations, four movie soundtracks and 57 singles (but, surprisingly, only three No. 1 singles). And he knows that his fans are there to hear "Mandy" and "Copacabana" and "Daybreak." He said he learned that at a Frank Sinatra show he saw many years ago. "I just couldn’t wait for him to do all those great songs that my parents had played," Manilow said. "Then he would do his latest song and it wouldn’t be that exciting. I think I’m in that place now, where the audiences really want to hear the songs they know. I’m happy to do it." One thing you won’t hear from Manilow is him trying to sound trendy with a hip-hop song. "Oh, now, that’s not for me," he said. "I kind of admire the people who know how to do that, but it’s so far away from the kind of music that I like to write and perform that I couldn’t even come close to doing anything like that." The thing that’s missing from a lot of modern music, he said, is melody. "I listen to the radio periodically and there’s no melody anymore," he said "There’s a lot of great rhythm, but where did the melody go?" A few acts -- he cited Katy Perry and Adele as examples -- have figured that out, he said. "You give the audience some melody and you become hugely successful," he said. "I think the public is starving for melodies." Manilow stops by Jacksonville as part of a short tour of Florida. He said he was watching weather reports last week, when temperatures were ridiculously cold in some parts of the Midwest, and he was glad he wasn’t heading there. He wrapped up a seven-year residency in Las Vegas a few years ago, and did six weeks on Broadway last year. It was nice staying in one place and having the fans come to him, but he said every now and then he needs to take his music to where the fans are. "After a while, room service and planes, they get a little old, so I’ve eased up on touring." Manilow isn’t the only New York-bred piano man playing the arena this week - Billy Joel plays the night before. Manilow said his and Joel’s paths have crossed many times over the years. "We bumped into each other now and then," he said. "You don’t get a better songwriter than Billy Joel. I miss his songwriting; I don’t know why he stopped but I wish he hadn’t. He’s so great." |
| January 19, 2014 | Freeline Media Orlando | Review: Barry Manilow in Concert |
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| If anyone needed evidence that the 1970s can evoke a tremendously strong and upbeat sense of nostalgia, and that the decade wasn’t simply a complete downer with Vietnam, Watergate, long gas lines, inflation and the like, you should have been at the Amway Center on Saturday night, when one of the decade’s favorite hitmakers proved he could still delight a crowd. "A few months ago I turned 35," singer and songwriter Barry Manilow teased, then added, "Double!" It was toward the end of the crooner’s 90-minute concert, and he admitted that it actually felt quite good to still be on stage, appearing before large audiences like the one at the Amway – exactly four decades after he scored his first #1 hit in 1974 with "Mandy." Looking fit and trim, wearing a black shirt and pants and a red vest, Manilow joked, "I never thought I’d get this old." But he also reminded the audience that he still makes new albums, including "The Greatest Love Songs of all Time" in 2010, and that in 2013 he embarked on a new project, writing the music for a stage musical called "Harmony," which had a run at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater and is now heading to Los Angeles. Age aside, Manilow keep the concert lively, opening with his hit "It’s A Miracle". "It’s going to be magic tonight," he said as the song ended. He went through a litany of his chart-topping songs, including "Could It Be Magic," "Even Now," and "Looks Like We Made It," before concluding with a trio of his best known hits, "Mandy," "Copacabana," and "I Write The Songs." He opened "Mandy" with a video showing one of his earliest television appearances playing the song in the 1970s, before taking over the medley live on stage. "I love singing these old songs," he said. "I hope you enjoy listening to them." But the music was only one aspect of the concert. Manilow spent a lot of time talking with the audience, on a variety on topics. He joked about the fact that he was holding a concert in Orlando – and there was none of that tropical weather that Florida is known for. "Hey, what’s with the weather?" he said. "What happened to Florida in January – it’s freezing out there. But you came to the right place, I’m going to heat you up. We could be here all night." Manilow was in fine form throughout the night, and when the women in the audience swooned during one of his love songs, he yelled out "I’ve still got it!" He also pointed out that his album "Even Now" had achieved huge success, noting "I had an album with five hit singles. I was the Justin Bieber of the 1970s!" He had plenty of comical moments, including showing the cover of his first album, "Barry Manilow" from 1973 – "which I did in 1821," he quipped - and as the cover was projected onto the video screen at the back of the stage, Manilow said he couldn’t even look at it anymore. "My first album sold five copies, and I know why," he said. Noting the long hair that was a trademark of the 1970s, he added, "I looked like the Mona Lisa up there." Manilow also had his own nostalgia moments, recalling growing up in Brooklyn, and how his grandfather used to take him to a commercial booth that let them record a 45 record. He even played one of the records they made, which captured his grandfather urging the very young Manilow to hurry up and talk because the machine was now recording. Manilow also asked the audience to help out with a special project he had started, to donate musical instruments to high school orchestra programs that are being cut back in tough economic times. He noted that his own life dramatically changed when he joined the orchestra program at his high school in Brooklyn. "Even though I went to a dump of a high school, they had an orchestra class that changed my life," he said. "I wouldn’t be here tonight if it wasn’t for that orchestra class in Brooklyn." Sadly, he said, music is considered less important to many schools today. "They’re cutting orchestra classes all over the country," he said. "It’s driving me crazy." To help those young aspiring musicians, Manilow noted that he had started the Manilow Music Project, to provide instruments to local schools. "Music will change a kid’s life like it did mine," he said. He also urged the audience to chase their dreams, and if they’re doing something now they don’t like, give it up, he said, and follow your heart. "I left Brooklyn and it was scary, but look what I got – I got you," he said. |
| January 18, 2014 | Orlando Sentinel | "Concert review: Barry Manilow at Amway Center" by Jim Abbott |
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| On Barry Manilow’s last visit to Orlando, in 2011, the pop veteran arrived with a 70-piece orchestra, enough firepower to turn the crescendos of "Could It Be Magic" and "Somewhere In the Night" into nuclear-sized explosions. He took a more subtle approach on Saturday at Amway Center, proving that bigger isn’t always better, even when it comes to splashy pop songs. This time, Manilow was accompanied by a 9-piece band and trio of backing vocalists flexible enough to allow expressive twists in old favorites. Even with a stripped-down vibe, the guy still knows how to make an entrance. Attired in a bright-red jacket over black shirt and slacks, Manilow stepped into a solitary spotlight in the middle of the band to launch into "It’s a Miracle," the first in a string of hits that stretched throughout a briskly paced 90 minutes. "Hey! What’s with the weather?" Manilow said in the opening moments. "It’s freezing out there, but you’ve come to the right place! I’m here to warm you up." Sonically, Manilow’s set was warmer with the band than it was in 2011, allowing the singer’s voice to assert itself above the lush ballads and bouncy anthems such as "Bandstand Boogie." At age 70, Manilow knows how to deliver a ballad. At the piano, he offered a faithful "Even Now" with conviction that was impressive for a pop star in the fifth decade of a career. Even the melodramatic "I Am Your Child," a lesser piano ballad, was endearing. The guy can tell a joke, too. "I was the Justin Bieber of the '70s," Manilow told the crowd. "Really! Ask your mother." Manilow talked about his childhood, his early days in the business and the satisfaction he takes from the music now. He covered obligatory oldies - "This One’s For You," "Mandy," "Copacabana (At the Copa)," "I Write the Songs" - with skill, energy and style. In the end, the songs turned the show into a guilty-pleasure nostalgia trip, even for the cynical. Whether powered by orchestra, lounge band or solitary piano, this material still has the power to make at least an arena sing, if not the whole world. |
| January 15, 2014 | Orlando Sentinel | "Like fans, Manilow loves the hits" by Jim Abbott |
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| Barry Manilow has put 50 songs into Billboard's Top 40 Adult Contemporary Chart, a total that only trails Elton John (68), Barbra Streisand (64), Neil Diamond (58) and Elvis Presley (53). It might be reassuring to know that, at least on one occasion, he grew tired of singing one of them. "There was one time when I couldn't find the truth in 'Looks Like We Made It,' so I took it out of the show for a while," Manilow says by phone from West Palm Beach, where he's based for a Florida concert swing that includes a Saturday stop at Orlando's Amway Center. "It wasn't fair to the song or the audience or myself, so I put it aside for about six months and when I put it back in, it was fresh again." Thankfully, Manilow fatigue is a rare condition for the singer known for such enduring pop anthems as "Mandy" (1974), "I Write the Songs" (1975) and "Copacabana (At the Copa)" (1978). "You would think that these would get stale, but I just have not found it," says Manilow, 70. "They mean more to me now than ever. When I hit the first chords of 'Mandy,' it reminds me of so many incredible moments in my life. It's not just a pop song anymore. I feel that way with so many of the songs I've been doing, including 'Copacabana.' When those drums begin and people go wild, how could I ever say that I feel stale about this song?" Manilow knows that fans go to concerts for hits, so he doesn't impose too much material from recent albums such as 2011's "15 Minutes." "I remember when I was younger and I went to see a [Frank] Sinatra concert," Manilow says. "I was hoping he would do the songs that my parents would play when I was growing up — and he did. Every once in a while, he'd throw in a song that nobody knew and the audience would put up with it. The crowds are really coming to hear the songs that mean a lot to them and it's my pleasure. I'm one of the lucky guys who has a catalog of songs that could actually fill out a couple of hours." In his 2011 Orlando concert, Manilow was accompanied by a 70-member orchestra, but the approach will be different this time because he's touring with a more flexible nine-piece ensemble. Working with an orchestra "was such a thrill, but I couldn't change anything," Manilow says. "If I threw in a different song, you would see sheet music flying through the air and we wouldn't know what we were doing. I'd like to be free to change things when we want." Manilow hasn't changed his commitment to public-school music programs through his Manilow Music Project. In Orlando, fans can donate a used instrument at Amway Center in exchange for two tickets to Saturday's show. Manilow hopes that future pop stars might be inspired the way he was once motivated to embark on a career that has stretched from concert halls to Broadway. After starring in "Manilow on Broadway" last year, the singer and collaborator Bruce Sussman are opening the musical "Harmony" in March at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. It's based on the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, a 1930s "boy-band" in Germany. Manilow wants to see it on Broadway, but if it doesn't happen, he's undaunted. "I've got a million ideas, so with me there's always the next song, the next album, the next show. I'm just one of those lucky guys, the well has not run dry yet." Barry Manilow. When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18. Where: Amway Center, 400 W. Church St., Orlando. Cost: $16.24-$173.89. Call: 1-800-745-3000. Online: amwaycenter.com. |
| January 14, 2014 | Broadway World | "Tickets For Barry Manilow's HARMONY In LA Now On Sale" by Pat Cerasaro |
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| Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman's long in-development period-set swing musical HARMONY is set for a Los Angeles production in March and tickets are now available. With a score by pop master Manilow, featuring a book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman and direction by Tony Speciale, HARMONY is Manilow's first original stage musical with an eye set [towards] Broadway following the highly anticipated bow of the show last September at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. The official synopsis of HARMONY is as follows: "HARMONY tells the compelling story of the Comedian Harmonists. They were the first sensational boy band: six talented young men who came together in 1920s Germany and took the world by storm with their signature blend of sophisticated close harmonies and uproarious stage antics. The Comedian Harmonists sold millions of records, starred in a dozen films and packed the houses of the most prestigious concert halls around the globe until the world they knew forever changed. Their amazing story inspirEd Barry and Bruce to create a spectacular new musical with an original score that celebrates this extraordinary group of friends and ensures their quest for true harmony in the most discordant chapter of human history will never be forgotten." HARMONY originally opened September 6, 2013, at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. The new production at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA is planned to premiere in March 2014. |
| January 14, 2014 | WAFB Baton Rouge | "Barry Manilow helps collect instruments for Baton Rouge area" by Kelsey Davis |
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| Singer Barry Manilow is scheduled to perform at the Baton Rouge River Center later this month and while that alone is a big deal for the Capital City; he's hoping to make a larger impact on schools in the area. As a musician, Manilow said he couldn't just stand by and do nothing when school districts started cutting funding for music programs, so he launched The Manilow Music Project. The foundation raises money for school music programs all across the country. In each city he performs in, Manilow donates a piano to one school district. During his January 29 stop in the Capital City, it will be the East Baton Rouge School District that receives the gift. And, as he's done in several cities over the past few years, he's asking his audience to help his cause. Manilow said between 75 and 100 instruments have been collected in each city. Those who would like to donate can drop off instruments at the Baton Rouge River Center from 10 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. They'll stop taking instruments two hours before the show starts on January 29. |
| January 13, 2014 | First Coast News | Donate instrument, get Manilow concert tickets |
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| Want to see Barry Manilow perform for free at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Jan. 23? You can score two tickets to the concert and help musical students right here on the First Coast. Here's how: Just donate a new or gently used musical instrument to the Manilow Music Project. Those instruments will be donated to local schools. You can drop them off at the Veterans Memorial Arena in return for two free concert tickets. |
| January 13, 2014 | WINK News Southwest Florida | Barry Manilow gives back to Lee County Schools |
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| A music legend is coming to Southwest Florida, and he's bringing along his passion for learning the arts. Barry Manilow will be at Germain Arena next week on Friday, January 24th, but first, he's helping Lee County schools. WINK News spoke to Manilow Monday morning as he kicked off his local instrument drive with the Manilow Music Project. He started the project eight years ago, conducting drives in nearly every city where he hosts concerts. "We've been collecting between 75 and 100 instruments in every city that we go to," said Manilow. Now, the legendary singer-songwriter is asking the public to donate new and gently-used instruments to Lee County schools, to go to local music classrooms across the school district. Donations will be collected at the Germain Arena Capital Bank Box Office through January 24th, anytime from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. For donating, you'll receive two free tickets to Manilow's concert on January 24th. "I thought, I've got to do something, when I found out they're cutting music and arts classes in a lot of schools. But even the schools that do have music classes, they're running out of instruments because of budget problems," he tells WINK News. "I said well maybe I can give them a hand." Manilow said he's seen how emphasizing the arts has helped students with other subjects, such as math and science, and he's hoping new instruments will give Lee County schools a musical upper hand. "Every principal that I talk to tells me that when kids are enjoying the music classes, their grades go up, they become better students, they become better people," he said. "Personally, I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't joined that orchestra class in Brooklyn when I was younger." Manilow's performance at Germain Arena is one of eight across [the Southeast] on his current tour, and he said he's looking forward to the Fort Myers show. "The audiences in Florida have always been fantastic for me, always," said Manilow. |
| January 10, 2014 | The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) | "Swap an old musical instrument for Manilow tickets" by Tom Szaroleta |
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| How's this for a bargain? Bring a "new or gently used" musical instrument to the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena box office and they'll swap it for a pair of free tickets for Barry Manilow's Thursday night concert. It's part of the Manilow Music Project, which the singer started several years ago. He will donate all of the instruments -- plus a brand-new piano -- to Duval County Schools for use in music education. "Eight years ago I realized that schools are cutting music programs," Manilow said in a phone interview this week. "Schools that do have classes are running out of instruments, or the instruments they do have are busted. I just thought I have to do something." He said he typically collects 75 to 100 instruments in each city he plays. "Maybe there's a young guy out there who can become a great musician, and he just doesn't have anything to play." The instrument drop-off is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the arena box office. Manilow's show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the arena. Tickets are $9.99-$179.99. |
| January 9, 2014 | The Post and Courier | Sing to win front row Barry Manilow tickets |
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| Does Barry Manilow write the songs that you like to sing? If so, we have two front-row seats to see him Jan. 19 at the North Charleston Coliseum! Winning is simple: Submit a video of yourself singing a few lines of your favorite Barry Manilow and then get all of your friends and family to vote on it. Get all the rules and details at our Facebook page, facebook.com/ThePostandCourier. You'll have until noon Monday (Jan. 13) to submit your video. Don't want to sing for your tickets? Tickets are on sale now for Manilow Live at the North Charleston Coliseum box office and northcharlestoncoliseumpac.com. |
| January 8, 2014 | WEAR-TV | Barry Manilow and WEAR Music project |
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| WEAR wants to honor a local school music teacher. We're teaming up with Barry Manilow and the Manilow Music Project for a V-I-P concert experience. But we need your help. Go to WEAR's Facebook page and nominate your favorite band leader, choral director, or music teacher. And tell us a little bit about them and what makes them special. The winner and their guest will receive two front row seats to Barry Manilow's concert at the Pensacola Bay Center on January 30th. A limo ride to and from the concert, dinner at Jackson's Steakhouse before the concert, and the opportunity to go backstage and meet Barry Manilow himself.
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