 |
INSPIRATIONS | |
|---|
|
Before there were millions of Barry fans, there was legendary record mogul/executive and president of Arista, Clive Davis. Clive has been instrumental in Barry's career from the beginning when the #1 smash "Mandy" was still "Brandy" (written by Scott English/Richard Kerr), to the #1 anthem "I Write The Songs" (Bruce Johnston), to yet another #1 smash "Looks Like We Made It" (Richard Kerr/Will Jennings), to the multi-platinum successes of "Barry Manilow Live" and "Even Now," to the unstoppable dance classic "Copacabana," to the critically-acclaimed 80's projects "2:00 AM Paradise Cafe" and "Swing Street," to the genre concept albums of the 90's and today: "Showstoppers," "Singin' With The Big Bands," "Summer Of '78," "Manilow Sings Sinatra," "The Greatest Songs of the Fifties," "The Greatest Songs of the Sixties," and "The Greatest Songs of the Seventies." Over three decades together. Clive Davis and Barry Manilow. Incredible!
Barry had previously covered the Hollies' "The Air That I Breathe" on a 1996 album, which featured other remakes of songs you might have heard on the radio during the Summer of '78 by artists such as Paul Davis ("I Go Crazy"), Little River Band ("Reminiscing"), Michael Johnson ("Bluer Than Blue"), England Dan & John Ford Coley ("I'd Really Love to See You Tonight"), Firefall ("Just Remember I Love You"), Dan Hill ("Sometimes When We Touch"), Leo Sayer ("When I Need You"), and more.
Barry performed the Sinatra classic "That's Life" in various concerts, as featured on the VHS/DVD video "Manilow Live!" (taped in Nashville, February 2000) and on the 2005 double-CD, "2Nights Live!" (from the One Night Live! One Last Time! Tour). Barry also included Frank Sinatra's "Young At Heart" on The Greatest Songs of the Fifties. Not only has Barry performed many years on the very stage at the Las Vegas Hilton that was once home to Elvis Presley, he has recorded/performed songs made famous by The King: "If I Can Dream" (Barry Manilow Live on Broadway), "Are You Lonesome Tonight" (The Greatest Songs of the Fifties), "Can't Help Falling In Love" (The Greatest Songs of the Sixties). Speaking of the GREAT ones, Barry has covered the Beatles with "Yesterday" and "And I Love Her" (from The Greatest Songs of the Sixties), as well as "The Long And Winding Road" (from The Greatest Songs of the Seventies). Barry has crossed paths with Frankie Valli over the years -- "Let's Hang On" (1981, If I Should Love Again), "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (2006, The Greatest Songs of the Sixties) and "My Eyes Adored You" (2007, The Greatest Songs of the Seventies) -- And the incredible Righteous Brothers -- "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" (2006, The Greatest Songs of the Sixties) and "Unchained Melody" (2006, The Greatest Songs of the Fifties, former #1 by Les Baxter, His Chorus & Orchestra in 1955). Take That may have inspired both the 1993 version and 1993 remix of Barry's "Could It Be Magic", but Donna Summer fans recall it was she who had the original uptempo version about 17 years earlier. Of course, the real inspiration behind "Could It Be Magic" was Frederic Chopin's "Prelude in C Minor (Opus 28, No. 20)". Donna Summer also joined Barry on stage at the Mandalay Bay Resort (June 5, 2004), performing the uptempo version of "Could it Be Magic." In 1992, David Foster produced Barry's version of "The Best of Me" (written by Foster, Jeremy Lubbock, Richard Marx). Before "Him" (Him! (Him!!)) and "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" (and No, contrary to popular belief, that was NOT one of Barry's songs), Rupert Holmes wrote a little known song about a "Studio Musician", but Barry discovered this gem and included it on his 1977 quadruple platinum "Live" album. Barry Manilow's "Weekend In New England" (written by Randy Edelman) is no doubt one of the greatest vocal performances ever!
In early 1993, Barry released his pop version of the Garth Brooks/Kent Blazy tune, "If Tomorrow Never Comes". Barry was inspired by the music of Stephen Sondheim, enough to record Sondheim compositions "All I Need Is The Girl", "Old Friends", "Marry Me A Little" and even a piece of "Send In The Clowns"! What do you get when you combine Barry Manilow and the talented songwriting team of Cy Coleman and Betty Comden / Adolph Green? A real Showstopper: "Never Met A Man I Didn't Like" (from The Will Rogers Follies). Speaking of "Rogers" -- a different Rogers -- Barry recorded the ballad "We've Got Tonite" for his Summer of '78 album. The song previously charted for Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton (1983), and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1978). Eddie Arkin arranged Antonin Dvorak's Symphony #9 Introduction for Barry Manilow's "A Little Travelling Music, Please." Barry recorded the 1971 Joni Mitchell song, "River," on "A Christmas Gift Of Love" released at the end of 2002. Barry co-wrote and recorded a number of John Bettis songs, among them "Don't Fall In Love With Me", "Fools Get Lucky", "Heart Of Steel", "Here Comes The Night", "Let's Take All Night (To Say Goodbye)", and "You're My Only Girl (Jenny)" (B. Manilow/M. Masser/J. Bettis). John Bettis also co-wrote (with Richard Kerr) "Life Will Go On" and "Where Are They Now". To find out more about the songwriters, visit The BarryNet > His Music > Who Writes The Songs > Songwriting Footnotes! |
Star Performances | Inspirations | Other Associations