Here's mine.
Copacabana (Duh)
by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 17, 2023 3:56 PM |
Studio Musician
by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 17, 2023 3:57 PM |
Are you a Fanilow, OP?
by Anonymous | reply 3 | May 17, 2023 4:22 PM |
Could This Be Magic made me cry as a kid.
But I think this one is perhaps his finest/best crafted. He sings a version that can be found on YouTube, but I love this one.
It reminds me of my mother, of course.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | May 17, 2023 4:59 PM |
Weekend in New England and I Write the Songs.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | May 17, 2023 5:02 PM |
Both "Even Now" and "Ready to Take a Chance Again" can make me cry. Look, if those two songs had been written by anyone other than Barry Manilow, and recorded first by Sinatra, they'd be considered classics.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | May 17, 2023 5:12 PM |
He had a ton of good ones. I'd go with Weekend in New England.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | May 17, 2023 5:12 PM |
Weekend in New England for me as well.
Although, Somewhere in the Night is up there and I'll always have a soft spot for Mandy.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | May 17, 2023 6:59 PM |
Read ‘em ‘n Weep.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | May 17, 2023 7:58 PM |
Still love Could It Be Magic. Have to be in the right sentimental mood, but when I am, damn, I love that song so much.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | May 17, 2023 8:00 PM |
Delish!
by Anonymous | reply 13 | May 18, 2023 4:00 AM |
This one is typically saccharine and reeks of insincere inspiration.
I’ve always loved it.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | May 18, 2023 4:32 AM |
My favorite Barry Manilow song not performed by Barry Manilow.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | May 18, 2023 4:36 AM |
Mandy!🐶
by Anonymous | reply 16 | May 18, 2023 4:45 AM |
“Could It Be Magic”. Masterful. I also loved Donna Summer’s version.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | May 18, 2023 4:45 AM |
In the mid-90s he released a pretty good dance remix of Could It Be Magic on a Greatest Hits album.
It was released alongside a dance version of Really Love To See You Tonight.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | May 18, 2023 5:27 AM |
To think of all the money Barry has spent on hair, makeup, and cosmetic surgery over the years...
Maybe he'd have been better off just playing the piano at the Baths...
by Anonymous | reply 23 | May 18, 2023 10:22 AM |
New York City Rhythm
by Anonymous | reply 24 | May 18, 2023 10:27 AM |
This One's for You...
and would you like to join Mr. Manilow in his room?
by Anonymous | reply 25 | May 18, 2023 10:29 AM |
Is Mandy about a man or woman? Man-dy.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | May 18, 2023 10:40 AM |
Listing off Manilow's hits - it would an interesting list of all of the lyricists and arrangers he worked with over the decades. The pop music industry changed so drastically in the early 1960s that the lyricists took a back seat to the singer.
I be a lot of people think that Barry wrote the words to many of his hits, but that just ain't the case. Not a criticism, just an observation.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | May 18, 2023 10:40 AM |
Interesting background from Wiki about When October Goes: In his last year, as he was dying from brain cancer, Mercer became extremely fond of Manilow, in part because Manilow's first hit record was of a song titled "Mandy", which was also the name of Mercer's daughter.
After Mercer's death, his widow, Ginger Mehan Mercer, arranged to give some unfinished lyrics he had written to Manilow to possibly develop into complete songs. Among these was "When October Goes." Manilow applied his own melody to the lyric and issued it as a single in 1984.[2] The song's first appeared was at Manilow's album 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe.
This is also the title of an album put out by Rounder Records and produced by Christine Lavin, which features the title song and other fall related songs by singer/songwriters.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | May 18, 2023 5:10 PM |
Ships.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | May 18, 2023 5:23 PM |
His catalogue consists mostly of one drippy, soulless ballad after another.
His career highlight was "Copacabana", which I hated at the time, but I've grown to appreciate.
Also the aforementioned "Paradise Cafe" album, which is the one time in his career when he actually followed his muse and came up with something good.
Also the desperate, misguided efforts in the 80's to breathe life into his dying career are unintentionally amusing, such as this one...
by Anonymous | reply 31 | May 18, 2023 5:43 PM |
🎵like a good neighbor...State Farm is there 🎶
by Anonymous | reply 32 | May 18, 2023 5:45 PM |
He was a little too milquetoast for our taste.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | May 18, 2023 6:03 PM |
......
by Anonymous | reply 34 | May 18, 2023 6:22 PM |
Mine is New York City Rhythm. I saw him perform live about a year after 9/11 and the crowd was very appreciative of him dedicating a slowed-down version of this song to the spirit of NYC.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | May 18, 2023 6:41 PM |
Has anyone had him? Nice Jewish boy.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | May 18, 2023 7:48 PM |
Mandy
Copacabana
Weekend in New England
by Anonymous | reply 37 | May 18, 2023 11:07 PM |
Can’t stand that schmalzy son of a bitch
by Anonymous | reply 38 | May 18, 2023 11:17 PM |
When someone asks your for your favorite, why would you list three? Such a faggy thing to do. Or maybe these freaks are the single ones, they can't just be happy with one.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | May 19, 2023 8:41 AM |
^because all three are my favorites. 😳 Shocking, right!?
by Anonymous | reply 41 | May 19, 2023 9:41 AM |
“Trying To Get The Ferling Again” was one of his best.
But Karen did it better.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | May 19, 2023 2:08 PM |
I have two: "It's A Miracle" (the single version, not the album version) and "Could It Be Magic" (the 1993 version).
by Anonymous | reply 43 | May 19, 2023 2:12 PM |
R42, really? The KC version sounds like she sang solo in a tunnel in Central Park and the producers layered it into a pre-recorded instrumental track.
O-U-C-H.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | May 19, 2023 4:33 PM |
Somewhere in the Night, Even Now and Mandy
by Anonymous | reply 45 | May 19, 2023 10:02 PM |
When my niece and nephew were teenagers they loved to laugh at me and my younger brother (their father) for liking and playing loudly Weekend in New England. Their father (and my beloved brother) died a few years ago and these two total hipsters LOVE Manilow straight up, no irony. The sound just brings back their father to them. I will always love Manilow for this.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | May 19, 2023 10:13 PM |
The Last Duet. With Lily Tomlin.
by Anonymous | reply 47 | May 19, 2023 10:28 PM |
It’s difficult for me to choose just one song. I absolutely love Barry’s music and voice. True talent.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | May 19, 2023 10:39 PM |
R31, ugh, that song from the mid 80s was horrendous!
But I like Barry Manilow music from the 70s, with Mandy being a favorite.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | May 19, 2023 10:42 PM |
Those fanilows are a trip. The president of his US fan club was an employee in our Chicago office back in the 80s. Let me just say, she was rather strange.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | May 19, 2023 10:44 PM |
The one where he doesn’t sing
by Anonymous | reply 52 | May 19, 2023 10:53 PM |
Manilow did album of 70s remakes in the mid-90s.
I'd really love to see you tonight got a dance remix:
by Anonymous | reply 53 | May 19, 2023 10:55 PM |
I would have loved to hear Luther Vandross do some of these songs. Imagine him doing Weekend in New England or Trying to Get the Feeling Again.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | May 20, 2023 7:48 AM |
Culturally Jewish--young jewish mother and immigrant grandparents in NYC. But his father was Irish. Not sure his father was in his life much.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | May 24, 2023 10:59 PM |
All of them
by Anonymous | reply 56 | May 24, 2023 11:01 PM |
Anyone with expertise in music or vocals, pls weigh in on Manilow's talent.
I know that his formal education is in composing and arranging and that's what he enjoys doing. It's also what makes his concerts great, he has spent 50 years rearranging these songs over and over, making them bigger and bigger. Even when he does the disco version of COULD IT BE MAGIC in his concerts, he points out its HIS version, meaning he produced and arranged it, its not the Donna Summer version.
Next month, he's at Radio City with a full orchestra. I guarantee he is busy re-arranging those songs and arranging some new ones for that performance. I saw a christmas concert where he was probably the only person excited in the theater about doing My favorite Things song with a bigger horn section than he usually has.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | May 24, 2023 11:08 PM |
All-time fav: I Write the Songs, Even Now
Lesser Known: If I Should Love Again, Read 'Em and Weep, Beautiful Music, Lay Me Down, Ships, Somewhere in the Night, Leaving in the Morning, Where Do I Go From Here, I Don't Want To Walk Without You
Love Barry
by Anonymous | reply 58 | May 24, 2023 11:16 PM |
Oh Margie, you came and you found me a turkey...
by Anonymous | reply 59 | May 24, 2023 11:21 PM |
R57, you're right that composing and arranging are what he learned to do very early and he keeps at it, but he is also a showman. I saw Barry at Radio City Music Hall on New Years' Eve, back in, I think '83. I attended the early show (he did 2 that evening!). It's 40 years since and I still remember how incredible that show/concert/performance was.
We, the audience, "celebrated" new Years', the show ended, we left. He and everyone else on that stage went into dressing rooms and such to wind down so they could wind up again for a second show that would end after midnight!
And in case folks don't know, he did a lot of arranging for Bette when she was recording her tribute albums to R Clooney and other girl singers. His arrangements for/with Bette are delightful.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | May 24, 2023 11:29 PM |
I can’t pick only one so I offer my Top 5-
Somewhere in the Night
The Old Songs
Read ‘em and Weep
Somewhere Down the Road
Tryin’ to the Get the Feeling Again
by Anonymous | reply 61 | May 25, 2023 12:18 AM |
Mandy.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | May 25, 2023 12:38 AM |
I never understand all of the hate Manilow receives. This is a great thread — so many touching posts.
Amongst soooooo many (and most have already been said above better than I could) great songs, I’ll add Keep Each Other Warm.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | May 25, 2023 1:34 AM |
r64 He's unique in the music industry for a lot of reasons. There is nothing cool or edgy about him or his music. He comes across as a goofy, likable music geek. He was nearly 30 when he became a superstar and nearly all massive superstars of music are on the public's radar by late teens/early 20s. And his theatrical leanings in music (plus his music education) probably stopped him from allowing others to take over his albums. Normally, recording artists who stop selling find the biggest producers possible and try anything in a desperate attempt to regain relevance. Manilow didn't need to be desperate-he had so many hits in the 70s (in addition to tons of songs that charted) and is so great on stage that he was always able to tour successfully.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | May 25, 2023 2:59 AM |
I do prefer his “Memory”(from’Cats’), to Streisand’s. I like his wryly corny “I Don’t Want to Walk Without You”.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | May 25, 2023 3:58 AM |
Cloudburst is always fun
by Anonymous | reply 67 | May 25, 2023 5:37 AM |
Looks Like We Made It.
The lyrics and meaning for a love song are so unusual and bittersweet, really beautiful. Barry didn’t write it, but he definitely delivers it.
Looks like we made it Loved each other all the way to another to love
by Anonymous | reply 68 | May 25, 2023 5:39 PM |
I love Barry’s Tryna to Get the Feeling Again
And have to agree R42 I prefer Karen Carpenter version
My partner and I call it the Book Look song because I love her emphasis on Book and Looked. Love the dark tones she brings in. And ‘once again’
by Anonymous | reply 69 | May 25, 2023 5:50 PM |
Bette and Barry Bathhouse Days; She was pissed off when he left
Manilow was her arranger in the early New York days, and he produced her first two albums: "The Divine Miss M," which won her the first Grammy for best new artist in 1973, and "Bette Midler," the platinum follow-up.
"Barry was with me for the whole ride up," Midler says. "We didn't talk about what was happening to us at the time. We just kept doing this date and that date. We never once stopped to say how amazing it all was."
The two perfectionists also gained infamy for their fuel-injected disagreements. Midler smiles and recalls, "Epic battles. Very stressful times. We argued a lot, especially during the live shows.
"There were also some wonderful times, but we ended badly. He sort of stomped off -- really to start his own career -- and I said, 'Ah, let him go,"' she adds, waving her hand. "I was pissed off, and I didn't want to confront what had happened," Midler says. "I figured that if Barry was irreplaceable, I couldn't go on."
Manilow adds, "We're both high-strung and passionate and opinionated." And 30 years later, he remains a man with a clear vision: "I put the 'p' in prepared," he says.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | May 25, 2023 6:02 PM |
Bette always seemed so hard to like. Nothing really appeals to me about her. #TeamBarry
by Anonymous | reply 71 | May 26, 2023 12:40 AM |
Looks Like We Made It is, for me, another example of a song made famous by Barry as a "Manilow" song, but he neither wrote nor composed it. Such a change in the music industry... once upon a time we knew the names of lyricists and composers.
The song is written by Will Jennings - a name I don't know, but a man whose song writing credits and awards are extensive, awards numerous.
And for you Barry fans, Jennings also wrote Somewhere in the Night.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | May 26, 2023 9:26 AM |
The fact he didn't write most of his big hits is besides the point. In almost every case, Manilow arranged and produced a song with his pop / broadway approach and turned it into something much bigger and greater than it started as.
Also the ends of his songs are worth skipping to if anyone is checking out these songs on youtube. If you get lazy or arent into a song, check out the last 60-90 seconds of a track to see why people mention it.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | May 27, 2023 5:35 AM |
As a twink in the 1980s, I LOVED “I’m Your Man.”
by Anonymous | reply 74 | May 27, 2023 5:56 AM |
Sugar Walls
by Anonymous | reply 75 | May 27, 2023 9:57 AM |
Nobody can do a key change better than Barry.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | May 30, 2023 4:27 PM |
He wrote SOMEWHERE IN MY LIFETIME for Phyllis Hyman. Gorgeous song.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | June 1, 2023 11:34 AM |