I WRITE THE SONGS ~ BARRY MANILOW

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Grammy Song Of the Year 1977
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"I Write the Songs" is a popular song written by Bruce Johnston in 1975 and made famous by Barry Manilow. Manilow's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976 after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. The song won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977 and became one of Manilow's signature songs. Manilow was initially reluctant to record the song, stating in his autobiography Sweet Life: "The problem with the song was that if you didn't listen carefully to the lyric, you would think that the singer was singing about himself. It could be misinterpreted as a monumental ego trip." After persuasion by Clive Davis, then president of Arista Records, Manilow relented and recorded the song, and his version of "I Write the Songs" was the first single taken from the album Tryin' to Get the Feeling. It first charted on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 15, 1975, reaching the top of the chart nine weeks later, on January 17, 1976.

I WRITE THE SONGS ~ BARRY MANILOW

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Bluedreamer's Choice No 2

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Write the Songs" is a popular song by Barry Manilow from 1975 written by Bruce Johnston. Manilow's version reached #1 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart in early 1976 after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977 and became one of Manilow's signature songs. Manilow was initially reluctant to record the song, stating in his autobiography Sweet Life: "The problem with the song was that if you didn't listen carefully to the lyric, you would think that the singer was singing about himself. It could be misinterpreted as a monumental ego trip." After persuasion by Clive Davis, then president of Arista Records, Manilow relented and recorded the song, and his version of "I Write the Songs" was the first single taken from the albumTryin' to Get the Feeling. It first charted on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 15, 1975, reaching the top of the chart nine weeks later, on January 17, 1976. The song is also recorded by David Cassidy

SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT ~ BARRY MANILOW

Barry Manilow recorded "Somewhere in the Night" for his 1978 album Even Now from which it was issued as the fourth single charting in December that year. His version went on to reach a #9 peak in early-1979. "Somewhere in the Night" is a popular ballad written by Richard Kerr and Will Jennings. Introduced in 1975 on Kim Carnes' eponymous album and covered on the Yvonne Elliman album Rising Sun, "Somewhere in the Night" charted for Batdorf & Rodney at #69 (#24 A/C) in the autumn of 1975 before being issued as the second single from Helen Reddy's No Way to Treat a Lady album and as such reaching #19 (#2 A/C) in February of 1976; Reddy's version also reached #27 in New Zealand the same month.



Lyrics | Barry Manilow lyrics - Somewhere In The Night lyrics

EVEN NOW ~ BARRY MANILOW

"Even Now" is a 1978 song by American adult contemporary and pop music singer Barry Manilow. It is the title track from his 1978 album, and Manilow wrote the music and co-produced the track with Ron Dante. The words were written by Marty Panzer.Released as the second single from the aforementioned album, "Even Now" became a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1978, peaking at #19. It also became Manilow's ninth song to reach #1 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart, spending three weeks atop the chart beginning May 27, 1978.In his autobiography Sweet Life, Manilow said that the song was "one of my personal favorites, which never fails to move me. It reminded me of the great times I had collaborating with" Marty Panzer, with whom the singer had worked previously



Lyrics | Barry Manilow lyrics - Even Now lyrics

READY TO TAKE A CHANCE AGAIN ~ BARRY MANILOW

Manilow's "Ready To Take a Chance Again" originated in the film Foul Play, which also featured "Copacabana", from his 4th studio album "Even Now." "Ready To Take A Chance Again" was nominated that year for the "Best Original Song" Oscar. This is one of my favorite songs from Barry Manilow

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

WEEKEND IN NEW ENGLAND ~ BARRY MANILOW

"Weekend in New England" is a song written by Randy Edelman, and released by Barry Manilow on his 1976 album This One's For You. The song was released as a single in 1976, reaching the #1 spot on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart and #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It is a classic example of Manilow's popular style of big ballad, including a romantic theme, swelling orchestration and a dramatic finish. Manilow's version is quite unique for 1970s radio singles as the exact title is never mentioned in the song. The only reference to the title is the line, "Time in New England took me away...", and the word "weekend" is never mentioned at all.

The Reba McEntire song, "Whoever's in New England," is seen by many as an answer song to "Weekend In New England", as sung by the wife of a philandering husband who has an ongoing affair with someone in New England.

This song was also recorded by John Barrowman on his 2007 album Another Side.

COPACABANA ~ BARRY MANILOW

"Copacabana" is a 1978 song, sung by Barry Manilow and written by Jack Feldman, Barry Manilow, and Bruce Sussman. It is also known as "Copacabana (At the Copa)". It debuted on Billboard magazine's Top 40 chart on July 7, 1978, and peaked at #8. It peaked at #42 in the UK the same year. A remixed version of the song peaked at #22 in 1993. The record earned for Manilow his first (and only, to date) Grammy Award in February 1979 and his first gold single for a song he composed. The song's title refers to the famous New York City night club, the Copacabana, and tells the story of Lola, a showgirl, and her lover Tony, a bartender at the club. Shirley Bassey also covered the song in 1979, on the double A-side single "This Is My Life". This song is played as a cassette tape by the penguins in the movie Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.



Lyrics | Barry Manilow lyrics - Copacabana lyrics

CAN'T SMILE WITHOUT YOU ~ BARRY MANILOW

"Can't Smile Without You" is a song written by Christian Arnold, David Martin, and Geoff Morrow, best known in its rendition by Barry Manilow. Can't Smile Without You" was the first single to be released from Manilow's album Even Now in 1978. The song was released as a single in 1978 where it reached the number one spot on Billboard's AC chart, and the number three spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Previously, the song was recorded by The Carpenters on their album A Kind of Hush in 1976, and was featured as the B-side of their hit "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" the following year. On behalf of the songwriters, publishing company Dick James Music sued George Michael for plagiarism in the mid-'80s, claiming that the 1984 Wham! single "Last Christmas" lifted its melody from "Can't Smile Without You." The case was settled out of court. The song was used as well for the popular movie Hellboy II.


Lyrics | Barry Manilow lyrics - Can't Smile Without You lyrics

SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD ~ BARRY MANILOW

"Somewhere Down the Road" is a popular song written by Cynthia Weil and Tom Snow and most famously recorded in 1981 by Barry Manilow. Weil wrote the song's lyrics and Snow wrote the melody. The song was chosen for Barry Manilow by Arista Records' then-president, Clive Davis, and recorded by Manilow on his album If I Should Love Again. Released as the follow-up to the top-20 hit "The Old Songs", "Somewhere Down the Road" did moderately well as a single in early 1982, reaching #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. On February 20, 1982, the record reached #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and stayed there for two weeks. The song was introduced to new audiences when it was prominently featured in an episode of the popular TV show Ally McBeal in 2001. In the episode "Reach Out and Touch" (which guest-starred Manilow as the subject of the title character's hallucinations), the song was performed by Manilow and singer/series regular Vonda Shepard.

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

I WRITE THE SONGS ~ BARRY MANILOW

"I Write the Songs" is a popular song by Barry Manilow from 1975 written by Bruce Johnston. Manilow's version reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1976 after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977 and became one of Manilow's signature songs. Manilow was initially reluctant to record the song, stating in his autobiography Sweet Life: "The problem with the song was that if you didn't listen carefully to the lyric, you would think that the singer was singing about himself. It could be misinterpreted as a monumental ego trip." After persuasion by Clive Davis, then president of Arista Records, Manilow relented and recorded the song, and his version of "I Write the Songs" was the first single taken from the album Tryin' to Get the Feeling. It first charted on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 15, 1975, reaching the top of the chart nine weeks later, on January 17, 1976. The song is also recorded by David Cassidy

Lyrics | Barry Manilow lyrics - I Write The Songs lyrics

Mandy ~ Barry Manilow

The original title of the song is Brandy. "Brandy" is a 1971 hit for songwriters Scott English and Richard Kerr. It reached number 12 in the UK Singles Charts, but the fast-tempo version was a flop in the United States. In 1974, recorded by Barry Manilow as "Mandy", the song was Manilow's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and his first gold single.The suggestion that Scott English wrote the song about a favorite dog is apparently an urban legend. English has said that a reporter called him early one morning asking who "Brandy" was, and an irritated English made up the "dog" story to get the reporter off his back.In the three years between English's 1971 recording and Manilow's, Looking Glass had a hit song with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" in 1972. Therefore, to avoid confusion, when Manilow decided to make his record, he changed the title to "Mandy". It was Clive Davis who suggested that Manilow record the song. Manilow originally recorded it as an up-tempo bubblegum pop tune similar to English's original, but he and the producer reportedly hated the way it turned out; thus, he sang it as a ballad and was much more pleased with the results. It was Manilow's first hit single and the first song on Clive Davis' Arista Records label (formerly Bell Records) to hit the Billboard Hot 100.

Lyrics | Barry Manilow lyrics - Mandy lyrics

MANDY ~ BARRY MANILOW

The original title of the song is Brandy. "Brandy" is a 1971 hit for songwriters Scott English and Richard Kerr. It reached number 12 in the UK Singles Charts, but the fast-tempo version was a flop in the United States. In 1974, recorded by Barry Manilow as "Mandy", the song was Manilow's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts, and his first gold single.The suggestion that Scott English wrote the song about a favorite dog is apparently an urban legend. English has said that a reporter called him early one morning asking who "Brandy" was, and an irritated English made up the "dog" story to get the reporter off his back.In the three years between English's 1971 recording and Manilow's, Looking Glass had a hit song with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" in 1972. Therefore, to avoid confusion, when Manilow decided to make his record, he changed the title to "Mandy". It was Clive Davis who suggested that Manilow record the song. Manilow originally recorded it as an up-tempo bubblegum pop tune similar to English's original, but he and the producer reportedly hated the way it turned out; thus, he sang it as a ballad and was much more pleased with the results. It was Manilow's first hit single and the first song on Clive Davis' Arista Records label (formerly Bell Records) to hit the Billboard Hot 100.

Lyrics | Barry Manilow lyrics - Mandy lyrics

CLASSIC FRIDAY

MY CLASSIC MUSIC FRIDAY
PRESENTS...


BARRY MANILOW


Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer and conductor, best known for such recordings as "I Write the Songs", "Mandy", "Weekend in New England" and "Copacabana".
Manilow's achievements include sales of more than 76 million records worldwide. In 1978, five of his albums were on the best-selling charts simultaneously, a feat equalled only by Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Johnny Mathis. He has recorded a string of Billboard hit singles and multi-platinum albums that have resulted in his being named Radio & Records number one Adult Contemporary artist and winning three straight American Music Awards for Favourite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Several well-known entertainers have given Manilow their "stamp of approval," including Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s regarding Manilow, "He's next." In 1988, Bob Dylan stopped Manilow at a party, hugged him and said, "Don't stop what you're doing, man. We're all inspired by you." Arsenio Hall cited Manilow as a favourite guest on The Arsenio Hall Show and admonished his audience to respect him for his work

AWARDS:

• 1977 Emmy Award for Outstanding Special - Comedy, Variety or Music - The Barry Manilow Special

• 1977 Special Tony Award - Barry Manilow on Broadway

• 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program - Barry Manilow: Music And Passion

HERE'S ONE OF HIS BIGGEST HIT

"I WRITE THE SONGS"

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