Closet Manilows

Millions love him, but only thousands admit it.

Barry Manilow.

Just the mention of his name evokes a wince among many, who consider his music pabulum and his image the definition of UNCOOL.

Somehow, though, he has sold over 75 million records. This means that a lot of us are lying. There is, unfortunately, a direct link between musical artists we like—and way that other people perceive us. It’s “cool” to like the Beatles (although they are arguably the very first “boy band”), but somehow not so cool to profess admiration for, say….New Kids On The Block (who happen to be middle aged men now, I think)

That we let others define us by our taste in music is fodder for an entire blog, but I digress. Can you even tell where I stand on the Manilow-meter?

Well, not a fan, but I do like some of his music. When “The Old Songs” shows up on shuffle on my iPod, I do look around to see if anyone can see the screen. The truth is that songs by Barry Manilow were HUGE radio hits when I was young, played alongside the Doobie Brothers, the Stones and every other “hip” act you can think of.

As such, they are linked to memories—and therein lies their value.

It was on this date in 1975 that Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” hit #1 on the pop charts—the first of many. Originally a hard rock song, Barry slowed it down to a ballad and the rest is history. Working as a commercial jingle writer and trying to pursue a recording career, he met and joined forces with Bette Midler, eventually becoming her musical director.

He never cared about being cool---and it showed----here’s a clip of him in 1975 performing that first #1 song:





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA3KdznkjpQ

What animal magnetism, no?

He convinced Bette to allow him to perform a short set of songs during her intermission. This led to becoming the opening act on Dionne Warwick’s tour—and it was here that record mogul Clive Davis noticed Barry and took him under his wing at Arista Records.

After “Mandy” came “Looks Like We Made It”, “It’s A Miracle”, “I Write The Songs”, and a total of 21 other Top 40 hits between 1975-1983.

None other than Frank Sinatra said “He's the next big thing”---and Manilow’s stage show was quoted by even non-fans as being spectacular. When I arrived at 94.9 WHOM 20 years ago, Barry Manilow was a core artist. And while his music doesn’t research very well anymore and thus is not played on air, we do occasionally get requests for his tunes.
My personal favorite in “Weekend In New England”.

So, for a guy who never cared about cool—and whose name evokes groans, he is still selling out arenas whenever he performs.

The reason is talent—even if that ability to delight audiences is decidedly un-hip.

If you’d like my blog in your box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com