Manilow Forever and a Day

August 28, 2009...Submitted by Linda K......From BarryGRAM (Spring, 1984, issue), written by its staff......."WHERE OCTOBER WENT"............If you missed Barry at the Universal Amphitheatre...and if you missed Barry on "The Tonight Show"...well, then you really missed something special.  That something was the last minute addition oof Barry's new song "When October Goes."  Interestingly enough, Barry wrote the music just before Christmas to the lyrics written by the late Johnny Mercer and sent to Barry by his widow, Ginger.  Sooooo many requests have been received for a non-existent tape of the song that we're all hoping it will make it onto the next album.  That album, by the way, is a top priority project for 1984.

(Linda K. note:  I LOVE this-----THANK YOU, BARRY!!!)

 

August 22, 2009...Submitted by Karen P., Arlington, VA (no reprints without permission)...THE FLASHBACKS KEEP COMING!!!...  

1.  From Backstage--September 27, 1972:  The Barry Manilow Quartet provides the backing for Miss Midler.  Manilow inks charts for both the quartet and top-liner, and conducts from the piano.

2.  From Washington Post--September, 1973:  Barry Manilow shares the Divine Miss M's sense of a fastpaced, lively, professional show.  Backing him up are the three charming ladies known as the Harlettes, who also back up Bette Midler.  "However, the only thing Bette Midler have in common is the same music director," says Manilow.

3.  From New Orleans Times Picayune--October 14, 1973:  Barry Manilow is the only solo talent Midler has allowed to share the concert stage with her.  Manilow is surprised that Bette's audiences sit, listen, applaud "and be, well, as nice as they are to me...I figured they'd all head out for orangeade when I walked on."

4.  From CUE--March, 1975:  Barry worked at arranging and playing for singers, and he was able to get a lot of work.  "I was accompanying just about every singer in town, in clubs and for auditions, for 15 bucks an hour," says Manilow.

5.  From Commercial Break--August, 1975:  "Some of these hot shot reviewers put me down for doing commercials, but I know I could fool them.  I could present them with a song called, "I Love You, Too," and use the melody from the song I wrote for STATE FARM INSURANCE, and they'd think it was a very nice song."

****YEA!!!  GO, BARRY!!!!****

 

August 18, 2009...Submitted by Karen P., Arlington, VA (no reprints without permission)...YES, EVEN MORE GREAT FLASHBACKS!!!...

From Sunday Record--May 24, 1970:   Barry Manilow performed for two seasons at the Downstairs at the Upstairs, providing a musical warm-up for comedienne Joan Rivers.

 

August 18, 2009...Submitted by Karen P., Arlington, VA (no reprints without permission)...EVEN MORE GREAT FLASHBACKS....

From Sunday Record--May 24, 1970:   Barry Manilow's most intense inspiration comes from Laura Nyro, the singer-composer.  "Up to three years ago, I was writing nice, pallid, eclectic music," he recalled.  "Then I heard Nyro.  I went into space.  I couldn't compose a note for six months.  Now my music is stuffed with Nyro.  She's a genius."

 

August 18, 2009...Submitted by Karen P., Arlington, VA (no reprint without permission).... MORE GREAT FLASHBACKS.....

  From Variety--December 11, 1968:    Jeanne Lucas and Barry Manilow are nicely appearing and personable youngsters with a legit theatre genesis who are breaking into the supper club business.  With the lad at the piano, the duo seek differentiation through concentration on musical values with excellent harmonies, based on a solid musical background and a feeling that singing can be fun.

 

Submitted by Karen P., Arlington, VA (no reprint without permission).........1983.........

The United Way message is......."Your one voice makes a difference."   Be a United Way Volunteer.

 

Submitted by Karen P., Arlington, VA (no reprint without permission).......Courtesy of Billboard, 05-26-84......."WHAT'S NEW FOR MANILOW?  HEAVY COMPANY"......

It may or may not have something to do with the phenomenal success of Linda Ronstadt's "What's New," but Barry Manilow has bee hard at work on an album of "saloon songs" with an all-star jazz ensemble.......Manilow's album, to be called "2:00 A.M.--Paradise Cafe," differs from Ronstadt's in two key ways.  It features the singer backed by a small combo rather than a large orchestra; and, while "What's New" was a collection of well-known standards, "2:00 A.M." will consist entirely of original material, by Manilow and other writers, in the torch-song vein........The quintet backing Manilow on the album is an impressive one:  Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, Mundell Lowe on guitar, Bill Mays on keyboards, George Duvier on bass, and Shelly Manne on drums.  Even more impressive are Manilow's duet partners on two selections:  Mel Torme joins him on "Big City Blues," and Sarah Vaughan chimes in on "Blue."...

 

Submitted by Karen P., Arlington VA  (no reprint without permission)

My Adventures on the Way to See Barry  at Crown Book Store---Washington, DC---October 15, 1987

Wednesday Evening, Oct. 14:  Pam G. (VA) came by and dropped off some cookies for me to give to Barry from her. Then, my friend, Linda P. (VA) came over to spend the night.

12 Midnight:  I received a long distance phone call from my friend in Conn. She told me all about seeing Barry at B. Dalton in NYC on Oct. 13th. I was on the phone for over an hour.

2:00 am:  Linda and I finally went to bed.

Thursday Morning, Oct. 15th:  We were up between 4:15 and 4:30 am, and got dressed.  After eating breakfast, we left the house about 5:45am to catch the first subway to Foggy Bottom in Washington, DC.

7:00 am:  We arrived at Crown Book Store and found out we were 10th and 11th in line. Then both of us began our long wait, which turned out to be 5 1/2 hours.

Between 9:00 and 10:00 am:  Other people started to arrive, and we all just talked and had a good time meeting  new and old friends.

12:30 pm:  Barry arrived by limo at the Crown Book Store along with Marc Hulett (Barry's assistant), Susan (Barry's publicist), and Lori Glazer (McGraw-Hill). All of us got to see Barry arrive and enter the store. Shortly after Barry got inside, they counted us off to go in.

Between 12:30 and 1:00 pm:  Linda and I made our way to where Barry was sitting at a small table, and we each had our turn with him.  We got our books signed, I delivered Pam's cookies, and before I left Barry, Marc Hulett said "Hi, Karen," so I shook hands with Marc.  Then I stepped aside for Linda.

Around 2:00 pm:  We all lined up on two sides of the sidewalk and watched Barry leave by limo.

Between 2:00 and 2:30 pm:  Kathy W. (PA), Shirley R. (NC), Linda P. (VA), and I went by subway to eat lunch at the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue. After lunch, we got Kathy and Shirley off on the right subway.

5:30 pm:  Linda and I arrived back at Ballston Subway stop and picked up my car to come on home.  It was "Sweet Heaven in '87" all over again, until the "Good Times Come Again."                                                          (Submitted October 21, 2007)

********************

Submitted by Karen P., Arlington, VA 

From People Magazine,  2006   (authors: Chris Strauss, Monica Rizzo in Las Vegas; and, Natasha Stoynoff in New York City)

HIS NAME WAS BARRY, HE WORE A WHITE TUX, 1977:

"I did my first TV special and won an Emmy for it.  'I'm freaking out'  was my acceptance speech.  Don't even bother to thank anybody!  But, it was the last thing I expected.  I hadn't prepared one word. I've never been more humiliated. But, I was very happy I won."   (Submitted October, 2007)

**Note by LK:  Fast-forward to August 27, 2006.  Barry won his second Emmy for Individual Performance for his M&P DVD.  He had just finished a very emotional tribute to his friend, Dick Clark.  Barry didn't hear his name called. His manager, Garry, "pushed me out on stage.I didn't expect to win."  Barry "brought a thank you list this time---just in case!"              (Submitted November 15, 2007)              

*******************

Contributed by Karen P., Arlington, VA  (No reprint without permission)

From RESPONSE MAGAZINE  (Simon Wiesenthal Center,  March, 1983)

"The multi-award winning and multi-faceted recording artist, BARRY MANILOW, has become a founder of the Wiesenthal Center. Barry has been a friend and supported of the Center since its inception; but, it was after seeing the film, "GENOCIDE," that he decided to become more deeply involved in the Center's work.  We are honored now to be able to count him among our major benefactors."   (Submitted November 16, 2007)

******************

Contributed by Karen P., Arlington, VA   (No reprint without permission)

From The New York Post  (October 30, 1984)

BARRY $INGS  UP RADIO CITY RECORD---

Superstar Barry Manilow is writing songs that make people sing--that's why he has just become a "Record-breaker" at Radio City Music Hall.

Barry single-handedly smashed Radio City's 52-year old box office record by racking up $1,886,850 in ticket sales for his sellout series of concerts beginning next Tuesday.

So, Radio City officials insisted Barry come upand face the music, which he did--by accepting an award in honor of the occasion---Radio City's Top Draw Award----at midtown ceremony yesterday.   (submitted November 16, 2007)

*****************

Contributed by Karen P., Arlington, VA       (No reprint without prmission)

From The Washington Post (November 7, 2007)

OK!, MANILOW'S  JACKET NEVER REACHED THE SMITHSONIAN

If you've ever wandered the Smithsonian and thought,"This is great, but...where's the BARRY MANILOW wxhibit?"---well, trust us, the explanation is more complex than you might think.

OK! magazine, in a story echoed across the gossip-blog universe, reported this week that museum officials "recently returned" the kitschy, puffy-sleeved jacket the crooner frequently wore performing his 1978 hit "Copacabana"---apparently, Manilow told the mag, they were offended by his making fun of it. "There's no humor at the Smithsonian," he said. (LK note: Barry said on Craig Ferguson's Late, Late Show a couple of weeks ago he "always knew that jacket would end up in an institution.").

Well, actually Manilow has been telling self-deprecating variations on this story in interviews for years.  In fact, Smithsonian officials say, discussions about the costume ended a decade ago--and the museum never actually took possession of the jacket.    When Manilow's tour was coming through D.C. back in 1997, his reps offered the jacket to curators for the pop-cult collection, which includes Judy Garland's ruby slippers and Mr. Rogers's cardigan. Spokeswoman Valeska Hilbig, says the museum was intrigued and was working to arrange the donation. But then, Manilow gave an interview to The Post joking that the jacket "made me look like Big Bird on acid. It got me in a lot of troublr, and I'm glad to get rid of it."

The Smithsonian's reaction? "We wouldn't want to collect anything he felt uncomfortablewith," Hilbig told us yesterday.  Museum officials called Manilow's people to see if there was something else he'd be more proud to donate. "And we never heard anything else," Hilbig said.  Manilow's reps didn't return a call for comment yesterday.   (submitted November 16, 2007)

******************

Submitted by Karen P.  (Arlington, VA), on January 30, 2008:     ***No reprint without permission***

IMAGES OF KOSOVO COLOR HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE by Julie Ha  (Times Staff Writer---LA Times---April 14, 1999)

It wasn't difficult conveying the relevance of Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, to the hundreds gathered at the Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles on Tuesday.  Many said they need only see the daily news to realize that ethnic hatred lives on. "This day would have been enough to gather and remember the 6 million Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust," said event organizer Gary Schiller. "However, the idea of ethnis purity confronts us every night on TV," he said. "This year, we have a special reason to be here, because we see the same thing is happening again."  Several hundred students from local high schools joined Holocaust survivors and Jewish community groups in commemorating one of history's worst crimes against humanity.  But, participants made a point of connecting that commemoration with ongoing events in Yugoslavia, where half a million ethnis Albanians have been expelled from their homes in Kosovo in the past three weeks alone.....Students of all ethnicities were the target audience of the annual event, said Jewish Federation President John Fishel, because "unless they understand the inhumanity of man to man that occurred in a very thoughtful, calculated way 60 years ago, it will repeat itself."  The lesson was not lost on the young audience.....One high school student said, "....This is what can happen when people believe themselves to be superior.  Once anybody thinks they're better and everyone else is inferior, forget it, it snowballs....look at Kosovo."   After the program, singer BARRY MANILOW presented  a $10,000 check to the Kosovo relief fund of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.  "We have to do something," Manilow said, "because if we've learned anything this century, it's 'Never Again.'"

******************

Submitted by Karen P. (Arlington, VA), on January 30, 2008:      (No reprint without permission)

BARRY IN THE HOSPITAL  by  (Reuters/Variety---Los Angeles---May 24, 1999)

Singer Barry Manilow was released from a hospital Monday after being treated for two days for an infection stemming from dental surgery, his publicist said Monday.  Manilow was hospitalized Saturday morning after developing an infection following the operation, publicist Susan DuBow said.  She described him as being in good condition......His latest album, "Manilow Sings Sinatra," was released last fall, and he is scheduled to start a summer U.S. tour in July.

******************

Submitted by Karen P. (Arlington, VA), on May 2, 2008:   (***No reprint without permission***)

BARRY ROLLS BACK THE CLOUDS by The Scottish Daily Record (08/24/1983):   "Hundreds of fans invaded Heathrow airport last night to catch a glimpse of Barry Manilow.  Flights had been hit by fog, but there were no problems for Barry's Concorde flight from New York.  He's here for a concert at Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of the Duke of Marlborough."

NO HARA-KIRI FOR BARRY by Woman's World (October, 1983--Australia):  "The boy from Brooklyn nipped pver to Japan recently to spread a little Manilow magic, but was very unsure of his reception.  Would it be professional suicide?  In the land of the Samurai, would good old Western schmaltz bring a tear to their inscrutable eyes?  'I didn't expect them to take to the music that well,' admits Barry. 'But they just loved it!  The tour was sold out.  I was warned beforehand that the audience would be very polite and quiet, they wouldn't applaud and probably wouldn't really understand what I was saying.  But instead they seemed to connect immediately and went crazy.  It was just like being in Philadelphia!'"