Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow is well known in the entertainment world as a singer-songwriter, but many of the songs he's most known for, including “I Write the Songs,” were written by someone else. Nevertheless, it doesn't take away from the four decades of songs he's responsible for, whether he wrote them, sung them, or both.

Born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York, to Harold Pincus and Edna Manilow, Manilow's parents divorced when he was very young, and he and his mother moved in with his maternal grandparents. After his bar mitzvah at thirteen, his name was legally changed to his mother's maiden name. It was his new stepfather who gave him a piano that year for his birthday, noting his interest in composers such as Irving Berlin and Leonard Bernstein.

While enrolled in the New York College of Music and Julliard, Manilow began working in the CBS mailroom, and it was this affiliation that introduced him to a director that asked him to write a few songs for The Drunkard. By the time he was finished, he had written an entire score. He also became the music director for a local series, Callback, and performed as a duo with Jeanne Lucas. He married his high school sweetheart, but the marriage didn't last long, and was quickly annulled. Another way he made ends meet during this time was by writing commercial jingles that went on to become very well known, and earned him two Clio awards. He's responsible for the themes of State Fame Insurance and Band-Aid, among others. While he sang “You Deserve a Break Today” for McDonald's, he wasn't responsible for writing it.

Manilow picked up jobs wherever he could, including as the piano player for Bette Midler early in her singing career. Releasing his first album, it didn't produce any hits. However, his next album, Barry Manilow II, produced a major hit for him in “Mandy” during 1974. He continued for the next few years releasing albums that contained huge hits, such as “It's a Miracle,” “I Write the Songs,” “Looks Like We Made It,” and “Copacabana (At the Copa).” Ironically, “I Write the Songs” was not written by Manilow, but by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys, meant as an ode to Brian Wilson. Manilow also broke into television and movies at this point, starring in Emmy winning television variety specials, writing and recording the theme of American Bandstand, Bandstand Boogie, and having his songs featured in the movies Foul Play and Tribute.

Success slowed for Manilow entering into the 1980s. While his first album of the decade, Barry, had mild success, it certainly didn't contain the string of number one hits like his previous albums. He began exploring different genres of music, such as jazz and swing, and also tried his luck with international music and Latin jazz, joining Emilio Estefan Jr., Gloria Estefan's husband, for a duet. Manilow acted in his first film, portraying Tony Starr in the film version of Copacabana, alongisde Annette O'Toole and Joseph Bologna, while his biggest musical success of the decade came overseas in the UK.

New music was discontinued by Manilow completely after this, as he began recording themed covers. He did write the musical scores for a few children's movies, including Thumbelina and The Pebble and the Penguin; however, this music won him a Razzie award. He continued airing TV specials, one of them to promote his new album of covers, Summer of '78, and StarSkates Salute to Barry Manilow, with ice stating stars Kristi Yamaguchi and Elvis Stojko.

As of late, Manilow has revived his career some. He has returned to recording albums that are a mixture of styles and has recorded a live album, 2 Nights Live, as well as continuing his themed cover albums. Manilow has made appearances on Fox's hit show American Idol, helping the finalists choose songs and arrange them, many times as they sing his hit songs. A dedicated group of fans has taken to following him and his music, calling themselves Fanilows.

Despite the fact his music is often played as elevator music, Manilow doesn't see that as a bad thing. He has said he always wanted to create music that would outlive him, and he certainly seems well on his way. Although Manilow had hip surgery in 2006, his doctors have promised him that he would be back, better than ever before.

YUDDY