Pop · Soft Rock · Ballads
The showman of soft rock — a Brooklyn piano man who turned heartbreak into hit parades.
The jingle writer who became a headliner
Born Barry Alan Pincus in Brooklyn in 1943, Barry Manilow studied at Juilliard and paid his way writing some of the most famous advertising jingles of the era — including melodies for State Farm and Band-Aid that millions could hum without knowing his name. His break came as pianist, arranger, and musical director for Bette Midler’s early-seventies club act, where he learned how to build a show around a personality. His self-titled debut album arrived in 1973, but it was the 1974 single “Mandy” — a renamed cover of Scott English’s “Brandy” — that made him a star overnight, giving him his first number one.
What followed was one of the great hit runs of the seventies. “I Write the Songs” (1975) topped the charts and became his signature, even though he didn’t write it. “Looks Like We Made It” (1977) gave him another number one, and “Can’t Smile Without You” (1978) and the disco-flavoured “Copacabana (At the Copa)” (1978) kept him on radio through the decade’s end. Manilow’s records were defined by sweeping orchestrations, key changes that lifted choruses into the rafters, and a sincerity that critics mocked and audiences adored — his devoted fans called themselves Fanilows.
The eighties brought new challenges and new stages: the “Copacabana” television specials, a celebrated run of standards albums, and a Las Vegas residency long before residencies were fashionable. Through changing fashions, Manilow never changed his approach — big emotions, meticulously arranged, delivered with total commitment.
The five stories here trace his seventies peak, from the breakthrough balladry of “Mandy” to the nightclub fantasia of “Copacabana.” Listen for the arranger’s ear in every one: Manilow may have sung the hits, but he built them like the jingle writer he once was — to be unforgettable on first hearing.