Barry Manilow will receive the President’s Award for Special Lifetime Contributions to Advertising from the American Advertsting Federation on on April 23, 2026.
The Man Who Hooked You From the Very First Note
He Said Yes to Everything: Barry Manilow walked into the ad jingle business with no experience and an open mind and let the work teach him everything. Two and a half years alongside the best musicians and engineers in New York became the most important creative education of his life. You Must Grab Them Right at the Beginning: What Barry learned writing commercials changed how he approached pop music forever. You cannot wait for the listener. Get them from the very first note, and the rest will follow. The Melody That Lasted 50 Years: Barry wrote the Band-Aid jingle in 30 seconds for 500 dollars and had no idea it would still be playing half a century later. Sometimes the simplest ideas become the most timeless. I am Cousin Barry to the World: Barry Manilow does not just have fans. He has family. People approach him as if they have known him their entire lives, and after decades of music woven into the world's most meaningful moments, that connection could not be more real. For Them to Even Recognize Me Is Amazing: Being inducted into the AAF 75th Hall of Fame moved Barry in a way he did not expect. After all these years, being welcomed back into the advertising community he helped shape has been a deeply profound experience.
Barry Manilow speaks about writing commercial jingles and being a “melody guy” ahead of being awarded the 2026 Presidents Award by the American Advertising Federation.
Speaking with Smooth Radio’s Paul Phear ahead of his return to the UK for his Last Last Concert Tour, Barry revealed all about how his six-decade-long singing career came to be. “I know it sounds weird,” Barry said. “But I don’t consider myself a singer... I consider myself a musician. That’s what I wanted to do with my life... [be] an arranger, a songwriter, anything – but singing? On a stage? For an audience? That was crazy!” he added. But early on in his career, after writing an album-worth of songs that he really liked, Barry realised that to promote his creation, he would have to be the one to go out on stage and sing his songs. “I stunk,” he claims amusedly. “I was so awful, but the audiences didn’t think so. They were telling me: 'Keep going. We like this, we like what you’re doing,’ and that’s how [my career] began.” Considering his six decades of success, it seems ridiculous that Barry would still have any doubts about his career today. But the multi-AMA award-winner insists: “To this day I honestly don’t understand why they’re applauding so much, but I’m so happy that they’re still with me.” He's much prouder of his singing, however, and along with delighting fans, it is what keeps him coming back to perform to audiences across the world. In 2024, Barry performed what he planned to be his final shows in the UK at the London Palladium. But next June, he will be back to perform in arenas across the UK. “I was convinced that [2024's Palladium residency] was going to be the end,” Barry told Paul. “But when I got home, I realised that if I’m going to say goodbye, then I should say goodbye to each of these cities that I’ve loved. That will be the last time,” he stressed, but then joked: “But don’t listen to me, everything changes with me!” Throughout his career, Barry never considered retiring from music-making or performing. This December, he will release his 32nd album, What a Time. Its first single, 'Once Before I Go', was released in late September. But, the 82-year-old joked, now at “100 years old” he feels like he has to recognise at some point his career will come to an end. “The night I can’t hit the high F natural at the end of ‘Even Now’, that’ll be the night that I say goodbye,” Barry shared. “But so far I can still hit that high F natural, so we’ll see what happens!”
Tune in Sunday to The Dave Koz Lounge on SiriusXM Watercolors (Ch. 66)! On this upcoming edition of the show, Grammy nominated artist Dave Koz dives into the recording of Barry Manilow’s timeless single "Once Before I Go," written by the legendary Peter Allen and Dean Pitchford. Listen here: https://on.barrymanilow.com/trk/dkl
This Page Created March 3, 1996 (Last Updated April 23, 2026)
