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| March 8, 2006 | Washington Post | Catching Up With... At The Copa: Q&A with Barry Manilow |
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| Barry Manilow has a top ten album ("The Greatest Songs of the Fifties") that entered the Billboard charts three weeks ago at Number One and stunned everyone. It's his first chart topper in 29 years. He says he feel vindicated after all those put-downs. "I feel like I wasn't crazy all these years for continuing to stand up for the kind of music I believe in," he told United Press International. He just celebrated the 100th performance of his hit Vegas show Manilow: Music and Passsion and PBS will air it (March 11) as part of its March pledge drive. And he's here [to] talk about it all... Question from Fishkill, NY: With the recent and well-deserved success of The Greatest Songs of the Fifties CD, will you ever consider going back on the road?
Barry Manilow (BM): I'm assigned to the Las Vegas Hilton for a couple of years but that doesn't mean I might not sneak away for a weekend here and there, so be on the lookout. Fall River, MA: Does the music that begins the Music and Passion show get you as pumped up as it does your fans?
BM: More so. I created that based on all of my favorite electronica music and it gets all of us crazy before we come out on stage. Baltimore, MD: On the Fifties album, are you trying to sound just like the originals or are you doing a new version that's more yours?
BM: It's a challenge. I can't go too far away from the originals but I need to put myself in the songs so I'm walking a thin line. Harrisburg, PA: How were the songs from the Fifties picked? Were these your personal favorites or songs you thought people would more want to hear? Were there some songs you wish you could have added to the album?
BM: These were the ones that sounded best coming from me. There were many others but these were the best ones for my vocal ability. Carmel, ME: Any news about your play, Harmony?
BM: Yes, lots of news. I should know about the next step within the next few weeks, so cross your fingers. Puyallup, WA: Do you have any original songs that you are currently working on that may someday go on a new album?
BM: I've got an original idea that the fans will adore. I've been working on this idea for the last six months and if I ever release it, it will be only for the fans through my company called Stiletto. Cleveland, OH: I enjoyed the treatments you gave the songs from the 50's on your new CD and I've heard that you plan to tackle the decade of the 60's next. Will you be looking for more mellow ballads, or those with a rock edge?
BM: I'm staying mostly mellow but the sixties began to rock and I'm investigating that. Pittsburgh, PA: Who designs your clothes for the Vegas shows?
BM: A gal named Leslie Hamel, who is the daughter of Suzanne Somers. West Hollywood, CA: What are your fondest memories of working as Bette Midler's musical director? Any wild stories you want to share?
BM: It was the most creative time in my life. We batted ideas back and forth like baseball players. We fought like a married couple and we loved like a married couple. The final result was explosive and it made both of us stars. Purcellville, VA: I loved your collaboration with Bette Midler on the Rosemary Clooney songbook -- it still gets a lot of play in our house, especially "Sisters." Do you plan to work with Bette again soon?
BM: Yes, both of us are so busy but we're trying to figure out a time to another album. Miami, FL: What do you think of the American Idol craze? Are you hooked too? Do you think that kids should be trying to gain stardom in that fashion or take it slower or more tradition route?
BM: I fear for those kids on American Idol. I fear they're becoming extremely popular too quickly. I feel that they don't get to pay their dues and within months they end up in front of thousands of people. It can really throw you for a loop when you're that young. I'm doing Idol in a couple of weeks. Last time I kind of coached them and gave them arrangements and then I judged them and then sang and I'll be doing all of that again. Hamburg, NY: How do you prepare for and find the immense energy and passion you put into your Vegas show?
BM: The audiences do it for me. Standing in front of this crackerjack band is like singing in front of a Mack truck ... you have to be dead not to be excited. Washington, DC: I was an a karaoke bar recently where a guy did a great version of "Could It Be Magic." If you could have any other artist record your music, who would it be?
BM: The Basement Jaxx or James Blunt. Utica, NY: My mother and I both think you're great - she's in her late 50s, and I just turned 30; that's some long-term popularity. Do you think that your songs are simply of the "timeless" genre, or have you actively tried to keep in sync with changes in popular music over time?
BM: I have purposely tried not to stay in sync with the times. I just do what feels good. Baltimore, MD: I have your album on steady rotation right now. But out of curiousity, what are you listening to now? Anything I should keep my ears out for?
BM: Wait a minute. Let me go through my stuff here. The new Ramsey Lewis album. Michael McDonald's Blue Obsession. The James Blunt album. A guy named Devon Niko and Jason Mraz. And the Scissor Sisters. Alexandria, VA: I loved you on "Will and Grace"! VERY funny! Do you enjoy doing those types of television appearances?
BM: No, I don't. I'm terrified. I don't know how these people do it every week. Grand Rapids, MI: I love when you bring Debra Byrd on stage with you. Where did you meet her and where is she now?
BM: I met her over 20 years ago. She was one of my background singers for many years and then American Idol hired her to be their vocal coach. She coaches all those lucky kids on American Idol and she also does Canadian Idol, Mongolian Idol... Hastings, Neb.: Is there any truth to the rumor that you are going to an audiobook biograhy?
BM: Yes, it's called an audio biography but there's no talking on it. Just music from the very beginning. Music that has never been released. Munich, Germany: Have you ever tried your hand at jazz or blues? If you were to compose and record an album with someone like Sting, what musical direction do you think it would take?
BM: I've recorded lots of jazz and blues: Paradise Cafe, Swing Street, Singin' With the Big Bands and lots of jazz and blues songs sprinkled throughout my career. I think with Sting it would be standards. Vancouver, WA: Out of curiousity, do you read your fan mail?
BM: Yes, I do. My company sends me e-mails that the fans send me. Q.: What do you like to do in your spare time?
BM: Read. Go to movies, have dinner with friends, play with the dogs, make music. Chelmsford, MA: I love your Vegas show. I've flown cross country to see it then come right home three times now. Do you think the new video Music and Passion was able to capture that magic? I cant wait to see it on PBS tonight! BM: Thank you for flying all the way to Las Vegas three times. The Music and Passion show on PBS Thursday night is one of my proudest achievements but what's even better is the DVD which captures much more that what they were able to air on PBS. They ran out of time. But they're selling the DVD of the whole thing with outtakes and bloopers, the making of the show, the making of the TV show, it's a fantastic DVD. Oakdale, MN: Mr. Manilow, I've never heard a performer who could convey yearning as well as you do in your songs. Why do you think you are able to relate emotion so successfully?
BM: I'm glad you feel that way. I try my best to tell the truth in every song I sing. If I succeed, that's real emotion. Hallandale, FL: Would you ever consider doing an album on classical music with you on the piano?
BM: It's a beautiful idea and I've actually begun one and you never know. Washington, DC: Barry, what is your favorite "slow" song of yours?
BM: Somewhere Down the Road. Then there's one from the new album, Are You Lonesome Tonight. St. Louis, MO: Where did you find the members of your fantastic band and background singers/dancers? They are all so talented.
BM: The band and the singers come from all over. Some I knew personally, some were recommended and some I auditioned. They are the best band I've ever had. Los Angesles, CA: You have been such inspiration and I hope you're singing for the next 50 years. When you finally put the microphone down, how would you like your performing career to be remembered?
BM: I would like to be remembered as someone who made you feel. Fairfax, VA: My videotapes of your decades-old television specials are wearing thin. I hardly ever watch them as I would hate for something to happen and they get destroyed. With all the new digital media available, will you ever consider releasing your previously recorded TV specials or concerts? We treasure the moments of you singing with Ray Charles, John Denver, and dancing with Ann Miller -- and would love to see them again in Hi Def!
BM: Warner Bros. is just about the put out every single television special I've ever done so you'll get a chance to see them all in Hi Def on the DVDs that are released. Washington, DC: What do you think is the best song of yours to play at a wedding?
BM: Play a song called I Am Your Child. It's from my very first album, followed by Copacabana. The crowd will go wild. Moon Township, PA: Do you think Music and Passion will run well into 2007?BM: Maybe even longer. Leesburg, OH: You recorded quite a few albums in other languages back in the 1980's... do you have a count of how many foreign languages you have sung?
BM: I think four: Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Italian. Manhattan, NY: I know how you make the fans feel (the emotions run the gamut, but love is at the top of the list) - how do we make you feel?
BM: Grateful. BM: Thanks for all your questions. Don't forget to watch the PBS special and send me your e-mails for the "BarryGRAM" (fan club newsletter). |
| March 6 (issue), 2006 | People Magazine | Looks Like He Made It: Topping the charts again with an album of '50s hits |
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| After 32 years, it's gotten a lot easier to persuade Barry Manilow to make a hit record. In 1974 when his label head Clive Davis presented him to record what would be his breakthrough single, "Mandy," the singer recalls telling Davis, "I've been in this business a year and a half. This is NOT a hit song!" Now more than three decades in, Barry says he knows a good project when Davis, BMG North America's chairman and CEO, suggests it. The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, Manilow's album of covers, recently debuted at the top of the Billboard chart. "I Don't think you'll ever hear lyric-writing like this again: 'Love is a many splendored thing,'" he says. "These days you hear, "My humps, my lumps, my bumps'!" He may not be as current as the Black Eyed Peas, but that doesn't matter to Manilow's diverse fan base, which consists, he says, of "little children to grandmothers." After years on the road, the singer has settled into his headlining role at the Las Vegas Hilton, where audiences know every word, from "I Write The Songs" [to] "the one they come for," as he calls it... "On my tombstone it will say, 'Barry Manilow - Copacabana.'" To this day, he still marvels at his fans. "The most flattering of all is when the trash collectors yell, 'Barry! Barry!' hanging off their trucks. You know you've made it when they do that." |
| February 28, 2006 | United Press International | Barry Manilow 'vindicated' album's success |
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| LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Barry Manilow feels "vindicated" by the success of his latest album, "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties." The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and is still lodged at No. 3. Manilow says it's given him some ammunition to fire back at his many critics. "I feel vindicated after all of the horrible reviews and put downs," he says of his first chart-topping album in 29 years. "I feel like I wasn't crazy all these years for continuing to stand up for the kind of music I believe in. When I see my name up there, I say 'Of course there's an audience out there that wants to hear this.'" "Greatest Songs Of The Fifties" includes Manilow's versions of hits such as the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," the Everly Brothers' "All I Have To Do Is Dream," Tony Bennett's "Rags To Riches," and Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight." Manilow is in the midst of a long-term engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton that is booked so far into mid-December. A documentary DVD about the show, "Manilow: Music And Passion," comes out on March 28. |
| February 25, 2006 | The Vancouver Sun | Manilow gives peers a run for their money: Album debuts at No. 1 on the pop chart, giving the crooner some long-overdue respect" by Kerry Gold |
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| Ladies and gentlemen, Brooklyn's own Barry Pincus is back. Better known as Barry Manilow, the world's most unappreciated pop singer is riding high right now. He's sitting with the first album of his career that debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's pop chart. Simply entitled The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, Manilow warbles his way through classics such as "Unchained Melody" and "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes." And having a bit of insight into his struggle, I can't help but be happy for Manilow. [About] four years ago I interviewed [Barry], and at that point, his comeback was only a glimmer of light on the horizon ... he was sitting with a critically respected studio album called "Here At the Mayflower," which had reached No. 6 -- on the indie chart, of all things ... Shortly after we spoke, his greatest hits record "Ultimate Manilow," went to No. 3 on the chart. "There came a point where there was a blockade against the kind of music that I did," he told me from his California digs. "For some reason they've softened up. Maybe they've just given in. Now they say, 'All right, already. He's been around for so long, let's give him a break.'" Currently his new album is at No. 3, beating out Mary J. Blige, James Blunt and Jamie Foxx, and giving the kids a run for their money. Talk about a turnaround. Manilow is a commercial pop artist to the bone, which is one of the reasons that he's been an affront to so many serious music fans. But Manilow has endured unfair slagging for his commercial output, which means, as is often the case with commercial artists, that his talents are overlooked. On this record, his most listenable yet, Manilow sings like it's a matter of life. He throws himself into hitting every note, every nuance, and it sounds as if he worked hard to maintain the integrity of these quality songs. To his credit, he doesn't resort to gussying them up with any kind of contemporary schlock or fancy production, everything is sparse and clean and mostly unadorned. He was a man who'd suffered a lot of indignities over the years, despite having 38 top-40 hits throughout the '70s and '80s, including "I Write the Songs," "Mandy" and "Copacabana" ... Manilow was rewarded with a splendid career, for a time, anyway. While wealth came easily, respect as an artist has eluded Manilow, and it was with no small amount of irritation, and some humour, that he'd endured the mocking. "If you ever read those reviews, you would think that I had hurt their family or something," Manilow told me. "I think, maybe, I was annoyingly popular," he said, stretching out the words for emphasis. His comeback is also a testament to the genius that is Clive Davis, the music industry legend and Arista president ... On the back of the album Manilow thanks Davis for welcoming him home. After all, the duo have more than 25 years collaborating together under their belts. And together they came up with the savvy idea of putting out a record to follow in the successful wake of Rod Stewart's "American Songbook" releases. Manilow has said in interviews that he had a hunch it would [succeed], but nothing like this. As for the record itself, Manilow, who co-arranged the songs, is definitely in his comfort zone. The violins work themselves into a whirlwind of passion; the ivories are endlessly tickled; the horns are cheekily squealing; and the lyrics are clever as they were back in those days, filled with puns and sexual innuendo and rhyming couplets. These songs were written for singers, artists who could hold a tune and radiate charisma, and whose phrasing was impeccable. Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Roy Orbison, Ronnie Spector, Bobby Darin, Dionne Warwick, [Roberta] Flack, all are great stylish singers who found songs that perfectly showcased their vocals. Once they perfected a song, they owned it. A few could cross into rock 'n' roll territory, but it's the ballad form where they truly excelled, as singers often do. It's hard to hide behind the [vulnerable] ballad. Vancouver's young Michael Buble has that kind of talent, which, surprisingly in this age of the digitally enhanced vocal, has made him into a throwback celebrity. As we know, Rod Stewart has attempted the American pop standard territory, but Stewart's rock 'n' roll gravel-in-a-blender vocals have never been a match for the standards ... Manilow, on the other hand, embodies the stuff. |
| February 24, 2006 | DESERET Morning News (Salt Lake City) | Stunned Manilow back at No. 1: In new album, he performs 13 big hits from the 1950s" by Scott Iwasaki |
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| Barry Manilow is No. 1. At least his new album is. "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart last week. That's right. Manilow is up there with Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, Yellowcard and Il Divo. The last time he had a No. 1 album was "Barry Manilow Live" in 1977. "I am stunned, grateful that something could happen after all these years," Manilow said during a teleconference from Los Angeles. "I think the only other two singers that had this happen to them is Elvis and Ray Charles. But in their situation, their last No. 1 albums happened after they had passed away. So, you don't know how grateful I am to be here today." In his new album, Barry Manilow gives a Manilow take on No. 1 hits from the 1950s. So how did Manilow, whose debut hit "Mandy" landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 100 back in 1974, come to record 13 well-known No. 1 songs from the 1950s? "Clive [Davis] had this idea," said Manilow. "The words he said to me were, 'This is a hit album if you do it right.' Those are the exact same words he wrote to me when he came up with the idea of me recording 'Mandy,' which was originally called 'Brandy.' And since Clive is the greatest A&R man in the world, I had to look at this project and see what I could do. At first I was skeptical, but then one day I slapped my head and said, 'Of course!'" Manilow knew it would be a challenge remaking songs that have had special meaning to people throughout the years. "I needed to figure out how to make those songs my own. We came up with a list of 70 or so songs. We went back and forth and whittled it down. It was daunting. There were 30 years worth of songs I was sifting through. I knew that I had to figure out a version of each song that would make them mine. I had to be truthful. The songs had to ring true to the listener or it wouldn't work." That meant Manilow had to bring in his style to these pop-music classics. "You know, all truth be told, I was too young to remember these songs when they first were released. I mean, I was there and I heard them, but I didn't pay that much attention to them. I was too young. As I listened to them over the years as I grew older, they became familiar to me. That was the problem. These songs, the originals, mean a lot to people. So I made it a point not to cover 'Beyond the Sea' as Barry Manilow doing Bobby Darin. I had to make it Barry Manilow doing 'Beyond the Sea.' I had to make sure the songs I did were true versions to me." Manilow's first single is a cover of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," a song he premiered on TV's "Dancing With the Stars." "The original is the most beautiful song I've heard. And I had to do it justice." |
| February 22, 2006 | Associated Press | "Manilow Tries Another Blast From the Past: Barry Manilow's Blast From the Past Returns Him to Hipness, Again" by Nekesa Mumbi Moody;
"Manilow Tries Another Blast From the Past" by Nekesa Mumbi Moody;
"Oh Mandy! Barry Manilow is back, baby: Singer-songwriter's blast from past returns him to hipness � again" |
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| The first time Barry Manilow immersed himself in pop radio, he was an unknown singer-songwriter looking for his first hit with a song called "Mandy" a tune he wasn't too thrilled about. So he decided to check out what the competition had to offer. "I turned the radio on and I heard 'Kung Fu Fighting' and 'Disco Duck,'" said Manilow, laughing. "I said, 'These people need me!' And that was my first entrance into pop music." Now, some three decades later, Manilow, still disenchanted with pop radio, finds himself needed again. But instead of coming to the rescue of listeners with the sentimental, semi-schmaltzy ballads that made him famous, this time he has returned with "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties," an Arista Records collection of classic romantic tunes, including revered songs like Elvis Presley's "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and the album's first single, "Unchained Melody." "I think if 'Unchained Melody' does what I think it can do, I think there is an audience out there that would heave a sigh of relief that finally, there is a melody, and orchestration, production, and a vocalist that is giving them a song that they can just listen to � and not be annoyed by the vocal acrobatics that vocalists seem to think is impressive," said Manilow, with a hint of frustration in his voice. So far, fans are demonstrating their relief not by sighing, but by racing to buy up his album. It debuted at the top of the charts after its Jan. 31 release and has hovered near the top spot since, outselling albums from the likes of Jamie Foxx, Carrie Underwood and Mary J. Blige. "For him to do the great songs of the '50s and for the public to respond in that way, it's just phenomenal," said record mogul Clive Davis, Manilow's former mentor and a producer of his latest album. "The stores have just been running out of it." Manilow's success with retro pop tunes might be compared to another aging blond pop star who has breathed new life into his career by reaching into the past Rod Stewart, who also teamed with Davis for his "The Great American Songbook," series, which gave him his best-selling albums in years. But Manilow, who has previously done albums featuring the music of Frank Sinatra and big bands, and who recently produced Bette Midler's tribute albums to Rosemary Clooney and Peggy Lee, sternly denies being inspired by the spate of singers warbling pop standards from the '40s and '50s. In fact, without singling out anyone in particular, Manilow seems to have as much disdain for modern interpretations of those classics as he does contemporary pop radio. "There's one part of me that is very grateful for these singers who continue to introduce these brilliant songs to a younger generation that might not know them," said Manilow. "And of course there's another part of me that is appalled by the dreadful versions of them. I have been in the music business for too long and I've heard the best, and I know what the best is, and when I hear people attempting to do it and they don't know what they're doing, it just ruins my day." Initially, Manilow didn't set out to show others how it should be done. In fact, Manilow wasn't all that interested in the idea of crooning '50s classics when Davis broached the subject during a backstage visit in Las Vegas, where Manilow performs his own classics in his "Music and Passion" show. "I hadn't really thought about the '50s; The '50s kind of passed me by when I was growing up," said the 59-year-old Manilow, dressed in black and sitting in his palatial penthouse hotel suite. "When I began to get into music and actually find myself connecting to music, it wasn't those songs. It wasn't the '50s. It was the generation before the '50s, the Ella Fitzgeralds and the Sinatras and the writers like Johnny Mercer." But he decided to give the idea consideration simply because Davis suggested it. After all, it was Davis who first made Manilow a star, signing him to his new Arista label 31 years ago and pushing him to record the No. 1 hit song "Mandy" even though Manilow thought it wouldn't connect with audiences. "Being the obnoxious, ambitious young man that I was, I turned it down, and he insisted, and I said, 'Oh, alright'," he recalled. "And our collaboration began then, and continued for 15 years, and it was one after the next. It was hair raising. Every five months it was another hit." Manilow had his greatest successes with Davis at Arista, but left a few years ago when it became clear the pop albums that he wanted to do were not a priority. "It is difficult for an artist of my age to do an original album, you ask anybody my age, the original albums come from the younger people," he said. "We people over the age of 35, 40, 50, it's got to be an event, some kind of concept, some kind of hook." And Manilow didn't want to do that kind of event album at that point of his career. So he went to Concord Records, best known for jazz albums and its release of Ray Charles' posthumous, Grammy-winning best seller, "Genius Loves Company." There, he released two albums that had been his dream "Here at the Mayflower," a concept album about tenants in an apartment building, and "Scores: Songs from Copacabana and Harmony," his two musicals. "Concord was just fantastic to me. They said, 'Whatever you want to do, if it turns you on, it turns us on'," he said. "And then Clive came with this interesting idea, totally on the other spectrum of what I had been doing." So he took Davis' suggestion and his list of about 80 songs and started researching the music of the era that passed him by. And he found himself enchanted. "What I found was that they were good," he said. "They were well-written, they were innocent." And they remain timeless, resonating with listeners some 50 years after they were originally recorded. Manilow has been so inspired by the success of that project, he is open to exploring the music of other eras as well. "I wonder if they would enjoy a tribute to the songs of the '60s, in this style not Herman's Hermits. Not me trying to do 'She Loves You'," he said. "And if that works, maybe there's a 'Songs of the '70s and '80s'" which leaves the possibility that Manilow could be recording his own classics down the line. |
| February 19, 2006 | Palm Beach Post | "Back on the band stand: The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties - Barry Manilow" by Leslie Gray Streeter |
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| The earnest, simple title and the CD cover's air-brushy photo of Mr. Copacabana mugging in a teal suit jacket give brief panic that this is going to be some treacly, tepid karaoke trip down pre-rock 'n' roll's memory lane. So it's delightfully shocking how affecting and beautiful it is. Manilow's talents as a piano player and as an arranger (he refers to the arrangements as "vocal layouts") are certainly evident � catch the dreamy, dramatic Beyond The Sea as it ventures beyond wistfully swingin' Bobby Darin territory into realms intoxicating and yearning, or the simple, delicate piano strokes introducing the familiar notes of Unchained Melody, but with an understatement that's a thoughtful bookend to Bobby Hatfield's gorgeously bombastic pleading on the Righteous Brothers' version. But it's Manilow's long taken-for-granted vocal gift that's front and center, because whatever you think of his '70s schmaltz, there are few singers who can match his clarity and enunciation, his emotionally charged range, or the simple way he wraps his voice around the most fanciful declarations of love. He just makes you believe him, whether he's sagely commenting on love's complexities (It's All In The Game), flirting with the still-saucy Phyllis McGuire (Sincerely/Teach Me Tonight) or bringing unexpected gravity and maturity to what once seemed like teen melodrama (All I Have To Do Is Dream, Venus). More than a nostalgia-fest, Greatest Songs ought to be enlisted as a slow-dance classic, not in the sexy Luther Vandross sense, but in the truly sweet and sway-inducing sense. |
| February 19, 2006 | Courier Post (South Jersey) | "In defense of Barry Manilow" by Chuck Darrow |
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| The smart-alecks and and hipper-than-thou types are wrong. I looked it up in the Book of Revelation: Barry Manilow having the No. 1-selling CD in the country is NOT a sign of the Apocalypse. But such mockery isn't surprising: Manilow long has been a popular whipping boy for the trendsetters and taste-makers among us. I, for one, am thrilled Manilow's recently released CD, The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, has come out of nowhere and given him his first chart-topping album since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. We all have our crosses to bear in life, and one of mine is that I am a Barry Manilow fan. Well, maybe "fan" is too strong a word. I have never, ever, sat down and listened to a Manilow disc in its entirety ... But I do have a lot of respect and admiration for the Brooklyn-born singer-composer and current Las Vegas headliner (he has a multi-year deal at the Las Vegas Hilton). Mostly, I think highly of him because I am, first-and-foremost, a melody guy. To me a song's tune is its most important element (which is probably the main reason I have never been fond of hip-hop). And, love him or hate him, it's tough to deny Manilow has written some memorable melodies. Nor do I particularly favor the kind of treacly sentimentality that always has been Manilow's stock-in-trade. But I've believed that when it comes to middle-of-the-road pop balladry, nobody does it better than Barry. His best-loved tunes may be Hallmark Card pap, but for my money, it's the finest Hallmark Card pap available. Having seen Manilow in concert many time during the past 25 years or so, I can say with confidence there are few entertainers more engaging or solicitous of their audience than is Manilow. So stop chuckling. The guy deserves it, whether you like it or not! |
| February 16, 2006 | Canada.com | Barry Manilow vient d'atteindre le sommet du palmar�s am�ricain |
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| NEW YORK (AP) - Barry Manilow vient d'atteindre le sommet du palmar�s aux Etats-Unis pour la premi�re fois en 29 ans avec "The Greatest Song of the Fifties" paru r�cemment. L'album a d�but� � la premi�re place dans le Billboard 200, suivi de "The Breakthrough" de Mary J. Blige et "Amore" d'Andrea Bocelli. Le disque, qui comprend 13 chansons telles que "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" et "Unchained Melody", s'est vendu � plus de 156 000 exemplaires aux Etats-Unis depuis sa mise en vente le 31 janvier. C'est en 1977 que Manilow avait pr�c�demment d�but� en t�te de classement avec l'enregistrement d'un concert, "Live". Son dernier album, "Scores: Songs From Copacabana and Harmony", avait faiblement d�but� en 2004, pointant � la 47e place. |
| February 15, 2006 | Rocky Mountain News | "Topping the pop ; Manilow is back at the head of the charts with a set of '50s hits he makes his own" by Mark Brown |
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| The charts may belong to the likes of Mariah Carey and 50 Cent and Carrie Underwood, but not this week. Barry Manilow topped the charts again for the first time in 30 years when his new album, Greatest Songs of the Fifties, sold more than 155,000 copies and made its debut at No. 1. It was Manilow's first time topping the album chart since 1977. "After all the horrible reviews and jokes and putdowns, ... I just feel like I wasn't crazy all these years for continuing to stand up for the kind of music I believe in," Manilow tells reporters by phone from Los Angeles. "I see my name up there and I say, 'Of course there's an audience out there who wants to hear this.'" Only two other artists, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, had No. 1 albums this far apart, Manilow notes, but both had to die to achieve it. "I'm feeling very good," he quips. "I don't think we've ever had anything like this happen while the artist is still working and very young like I am." Manilow claims to be as surprised as anyone, however, that the disc has had this much impact. "This is probably the most unromantic time in the history of music. Every song and artist is singing about anger and frustration and revenge. No one will even admit to having feelings," he says. "The people with the most hostility ... have taken control of the music industry. I think the album has proved that somewhere in the human race the human heart is still beating and breaking and celebrating love." The new album follows the formula that Manilow has used successfully in recent years. His pal Clive Davis ("the greatest A&R man who ever lived"), with whom he has collaborated from Day One, helps him kick around concepts for theme albums. They've worked in the past. One focused on Broadway, one on big bands, another on the year 1978. "I come up with an idea and he turns it down. Then he comes up with an idea and I turn it down," Manilow says. "It goes on and on and on until one of us comes up with something ... that could explode into something the public could connect to. The big-band album, for instance, was an idea that both of us had or I had or he had for many years before we actually did it." This time was no different. "He handed me a piece of paper and said I think this is a hit album if you do it right. Those are the exact words he said with Mandy.... 'If you do it right, this is a hit record for you,'" Manilow says. On that paper were 70 song titles, each of which had been a No. 1 hit in the '50s. Manilow was skeptical, but "I always am," he says. "He hears the final product. I don't. I just hear the first pass at it and I don't get it until I crawl into the idea. That takes a couple of months till I figure out what he's hearing. When I finally get it, I slap my forehead and say: 'That's what he's hearing. He's absolutely right.'" Once they have a concept, it's up to Manilow to put a twist on it to make it his own. With the big-band album, "I tracked down all the famous big bands that are still on the road, ... and I sang with the Tommy Dorsey band, I sang with the Glenn Miller band and I sang with the Duke Ellington band." Still, the new project was daunting, he says. "When I looked at the titles, I kept saying: 'How on Earth am I possibly going to compete with these great renditions? How am I possibly going to compete with the greatest rendition of 'Unchained Melody,' done by the Righteous Brothers?'" he says. He tested "Venus," "Unchained Melody" and "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" at shows in Las Vegas, and the response was overwhelming, he says. For the most part, Manilow avoided the hit version of each song and went back to the original recording, which is why his "Beyond the Sea" is done as a ballad, as written in the '30s, as opposed to an upbeat version a la Bobby Darin. In Manilow's other collaborations with Davis, sometimes the timing is just off. "I did an album that he passed on. It was an album I wanted to do called 'Romance'. It was about 10 years ago. Frankly, it had a lot of songs on it that are on this album and a lot of the songs that Rod Stewart and all of the guys who are doing standards are doing now. I did it about 10 years ago. He turned it down. He said, 'It won't sell.' And he's probably right. Ten years ago, all those standards like 'I've Got a Crush on You' probably wouldn't have sold.... Suddenly three years ago, all those songs made sense to him. He suggested it to Rod and they sold big." It doesn't matter, he says. "I consider myself a communicator. That's all I ever wanted to do. I want to communicate with strangers. I will never say my renditions of these songs are any better than the originals. The only thing I can do is do my own rendition and hope I'm telling the truth in each song. (When singing) I turn into an actor. I act the song the way a character would act it. I find the truth in it. I study it like an actor would. I break down every lyric the way you would a script. I know exactly who the character is when I'm singing 'All I Need Is the Girl' on my Showstoppers album or 'Sincerely' on this new one." Manilow doesn't hold out much hope for the future of music. "I've given up. I look at the Grammys, then I switched back to American Idol," he says. "I just couldn't handle it." As for his chart success, he doesn't look at changing things to try to be more current. "You can't try to copy or even consider what's popular. I have never looked up. I've never listened to pop radio. I don't look at the charts. I go to the piano or, these days, my keyboard at the computer and write what feels good. It works for me. Makes me feel good. I'm proud of the stuff that I do. Now and then you get to hear it." |
| February 15, 2006 | Billboard.com | "Manilow Inks DVD Deal For Live Performances" by Thomas K. Arnold, The Hollywood Reporter |
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| Rhino Entertainment is getting the songs that make the whole world sing. The DVD supplier has cut a deal with Barry Manilow and Stiletto New Media to distribute 10 Manilow performances on DVD over the next four years. The first title under the deal, "Manilow: Music and Passion," will hit stores March 28. The DVD chronicles the 100th performance of Manilow's hit stage show at the Las Vegas Hilton and was filmed in high definition by PBS. "Music and Passion" will also include two behind-the-scenes featurettes with outtakes and interviews. Manilow is riding high off the recent No. 1 debut of his new Arista album, "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties," which has already sold 300,000 copies in the United States in its first two weeks, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As previously reported, Manilow and BMG North America chairman Clive Davis are already conceptualizing a follow-up of songs from the 1960s. |
| February 14, 2006 | Press Release
(Source: Rhino Entertainment) | #1 Album Recording Artist Barry Manilow and STILETTO New Media Announce Exclusive Distribution Agreement With Rhino Entertainment: Deal to Cover 10 Manilow Shows Over the Next 4 Years |
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| BURBANK, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Feb 14, 2006 -- Superstar Barry Manilow, currently holding the #1 album position on the charts, and STILETTO New Media have signed a multi-year agreement with Rhino Entertainment, an industry leader in marketing and distribution of music and television on DVD, to distribute Manilow's original performances on DVD. The first title released under the new deal will be "MANILOW: MUSIC AND PASSION" and has a street date of March 28. This two-disc set is priced at $24.99. "We're very excited to be involved with Barry Manilow and STILETTO New Media," stated Sig Sigworth, VP of Video for Rhino Entertainment. "Barry is an artist with a wealth of talent, and his fan base will be thrilled with the products that STILETTO is developing." "This agreement truly reflects the best of all worlds," said Troy P. Queen, a principal of STILETTO New Media. "It combines an extraordinary content creator in Barry with a terrific production team and the excellent marketing and distribution strengths of Rhino Entertainment." Garry C. Kief, Mark C. Grove and Troy P. Queen serve as executive producers of "MANILOW: MUSIC AND PASSION" on behalf of STILETTO. Legendary songwriter and performer Barry Manilow celebrated the 100th performance of his hit show, "MANILOW: MUSIC AND PASSION," at the Las Vegas Hilton, and PBS was there to capture all the excitement on stage and behind the scenes. Barry gives his audience the show of a lifetime, delivering favorites such as "Mandy," "Copacabana" and "I Write The Songs" in a high-energy party -- Vegas style! Plus, Barry sings songs from his new No. # 1 album "The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties" such as "Unchained Melody" and "Venus," as well as songs that have never been captured on film: "If I Can Dream," "The Best Seat In The House," "See The Show Again," "Do You Know Who's Livin' Next Door?," "Come Monday" and "Here's To Las Vegas." Shot in high-definition, "MANILOW: MUSIC AND PASSION" is an exciting, multi-faceted production that features contemporary hi-tech music and effects mixed with the classic entertainment values of Las Vegas legends such as Sinatra, Presley, Davis and Martin. "MANILOW: MUSIC AND PASSION" is the latest masterpiece from the Showman of our Generation that has people from every generation on their feet, dancing and clapping along, as only he can do. Special features include exclusive, never-before-seen interviews with Barry. The cameras never stopped rolling. They followed Barry everywhere -- before the show and after the show. This intimate look at Barry's work has been compiled into two compelling featurettes that not only give the fans an inside look at what goes into producing his live Vegas show and the PBS Special, but also the outtakes during the shoot -- like when Barry lost his voice singing "Unchained Melody" and didn't know if he could go on with the show! His loyal fans will be able to add yet another gem to their collection of Barry Manilow music beginning March 28th with the "MANILOW: MUSIC AND PASSION" two-disc DVD. Barry Manilow is the #1 Adult Contemporary Artist of all time. He has sold 75 million albums, has performed over 3000 concerts and has had 28 Platinum records. Barry is a Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award Winner, as well as an Academy Award nominee. BARRY MANILOW: MUSIC AND PASSION
Street Date: March 28, 2006
Pre-Book: February 28, 2006
DVD Catalog Number: R2 971624
Price: $24.99 (2 discs)
DISC ONE:
Opening
It's A Miracle
OPENING MEDLEY:
Daybreak
Somewhere In The Night
This One's For You
Mandy/Could It Be Magic?
I Made It Through The Rain
Here's To Las Vegas (Intro)
See The Show Again
Can't Smile Without You
FIFTIES MEDLEY:
Bandstand Boogie
Venus
Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
Unchained Melody
MAYFLOWER MEDLEY:
Brooklyn Blues
Do You Know Who's Livin' Next Door?
Come Monday
They Dance!
-- Boogie Wonderland
-- Hot Stuff
-- Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours
Brooklyn Blues (Reprise)
Weekend In New England
If I Can Dream
Somewhere Down The Road
Here's To Las Vegas
I Write The Songs
Copacabana (At The Copa)
It's A Miracle (Reprise)
ENCORE
One Voice
DISC TWO:
"Inside Manilow: Music and Passion" -- A documentary-style, behind-the-scenes look at the rehearsals, the build out of the stage, the costume design and the lighting and choreography for Barry's Las Vegas show. Barry shares his feelings about his music and his passion in an exclusive interview. "Making the PBS Special" -- This video diary puts you at the Las Vegas Hilton during the television shoot on December 12, 2005, and features Barry's narration of what goes into making a television special. It also has the bonus song, "The Best Seat In The House," as well as never-before-seen bloopers and outtakes. Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again
Even Now - Performed on December 17, 2005
Unchained Melody - Music Video
Photo Gallery 
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| February 12, 2006 | CBS News | Manilow: From Mailroom To Marquee |
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| What Valentine's gift is beyond the most romantic fantasy of any Barry Manilow fan? How about Barry serenading the fan with "I Made It through the Rain"? Thirty years later, the song is as beautiful as ever. Or how about "I Write the Songs"? Talk about longevity. [CBS News'] Rita Braver caught up with Barry and asked him if he ever thought his life would be this good? "No," he answered emphatically. "I never wanted to be a performer ever. Ever." Really? "I wanted to be in the background doing arrangements, doing production, doing maybe even songwriting if I were lucky. The performing was for those crazy people who needed the applause. And I never cared for that." Barry Manilow may not care but music lovers sure do. He's one of the most popular singers ever! Starting with "Mandy" in 1974, he had 12 number one songs in nine years, a whopping 25 consecutive top 40 hits in 10. He's sold over 70 million albums worldwide. At one point, he had five albums on the charts simultaneously, a record broken only by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis. His live concerts have set records. Braver made a list of some of his songs. "Mandy," "Somewhere in the Night," "Looks Like We Made It." The list just goes on and on. Did he realize what he was doing? "I honestly don't know how to make a hit record," he said. "I don't know what to do. I just know what feels good to me. And that's all I can do." He began not by singing but arranging songs, and accompanying an aspiring singer named Bette Midler. The year was 1973. The act broke boundaries, beginning at a gay club called Continental Baths. "It certainly was one of the big moments of my life," he said. "Bette and I got together because at that point I was playing piano for all of the singers of New York, because I'm a really good accompanist. And I played for her there and she floated. And I knew that she was the most talented woman I had ever seen in my life. I was six feet away from this unbelievable talent. And she didn't have any money. I didn't have any money. I didn't care. I knew she needed me. And I had to stay with her." He stayed, writing songs and then singing himself. And he was discovered by legendary record producer Clive Davis. "He viewed himself as Irving Berlin, as the writer, and of course, he's a very talented writer," recalled Davis. "I saw him as a great performer in the Sinatra tradition, who could interpret other people's songs." The first song Davis found for Barry had been lying around without much success. He asked Barry to rewrite it. It was "Brandy." "The guy who wrote it had a really gruff voice, and I said to Clive, 'You want me to do that?' I mean Clive Davis. So I did that. And I said, 'Well, let me give you another rendition of 'Mandy.' And I played it slowly. I played it like a romantic ballad. And he said, 'That's it. That's what I mean.'" "Our first record of 'Mandy' went straight to number one," said Davis. "A great way to usher in a relationship. And over the years we've had about 13 number ones." "It happened so quickly that it made my head spin," said Barry. "It was explosive. And I tell you something, it can knock you off your feet. It can really knock you off your feet." And his hits kept on coming. And Of course, who can forget "Copacabana"? "You know none of us believed in it," said Barry. "And even Clive didn't think of it as a hit record. And he just passed it by. Everybody passed it by. Except for you the public." Barry credits his co-writers for "Copa's" success. "We discussed writing a song called 'Copacabana.' And they read it to me. Her name was Lola, ugh. She was a show girl, ugh. I said, 'Well, you got to be a moron to be able to write a melody.' "I couldn't write any melody to that. It was their brilliance that put that one on the map." On Barry's journey to success he was accompanied by brutal barbs from music critics. He was deemed "uncool" in the era of rock and roll, his music was called "processed cheese," his manner was "barely man-enough". But to his fans -- he calls them his family -- he's a cult hero. Women about his age around the world proclaim their devotion as "Man'iacs" and "Manaloonies". Even for men, Barry can be a guilty pleasure. But too much adoration early on was nearly Barry's ruin. "I became a jerk, arrogant, unpleasant, ungrateful, totally terrified of the world I had found myself in. I just didn't know how to behave. There's no school to go to become a famous singer. Sometimes I think it's easier to handle failure than it is to handle success." He said he helped change his ways by remembering his roots. Born Barry Alan Pincus in Brooklyn in the forties, he grew up poor, skinny, and lonesome. His old apartment is both part of his act and his sorrow, as Braver learned when she asked him to revisit his neighborhood. "I know that you want to go back to Brooklyn. I don't want to go back to Brooklyn. I really do not. There's nothing that I like about going back to my old neighborhood. I didn't have one happy moment there." Not one? "All I remember are my drunken parents and the people beating me up and... I don't want to go back there." Where he did want to go back to was a place where he started working days at the time he was going to music school at night. Now get this: It's not only where he worked for three years, it's the world headquarters of CBS News in New York. He was in his twenties and he started in the mailroom. "It's funny because I got a job at CBS because my stepfather had a friend and they told me, 'Don't say anything about you wanting to go into music at all because they won't hire you.'" They wanted him to be a career mail boy? "Right. Because at CBS they promote from within. So I said, 'I just wanted to be an executive. And they hired me. And when I got to the mail room, everybody there wanted to be an actress or people were singing." And wouldn't you know it, he was promoted upstairs. His job was logging commercials. But while he was working there he was constantly thinking about how he was going to leave. "The music was coming out of my ears," he recalled. "It wasn't that I wasn't happy at CBS. It's just that it didn't have anything to do with music." He found he could do music by sneaking away to the CBS basement, where he found a baby grand piano. That piano became the instrument on which he wrote many commercial jingles. "I had dozens and dozens of them. The audience loves it. Sometimes I throw them in." Barry has no regrets about his commercials, no remorse about his career, and no plans to retire. He's performing full-time at the Las Vegas Hilton, and last week released his latest album, "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties." So for Valentine's Day does he like the idea that maybe a lot of people are listening to his music? "I do. And I think it works." |
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