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| October 28, 2014 | Wall Street Journal | Barry Manilow Reflects on 'Magic' of Judy Garland |
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| Barry Manilow isn’t the first to record a song featuring vocals from a departed performer, but he’s the only one to make a whole album of posthumous duets. Manilow’s “My Dream Duets” features him singing alongside the likes of John Denver, Marilyn Monroe, Whitney Houston, Sammy Davis Jr., Dusty Springfield and Judy Garland. Speakeasy today has an exclusive video of Manilow reflecting on Garland’s music. “There’s just something that is special about her voice, and about her,” Manilow says in the clip. He chose Garland’s “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” which she recorded for the 1938 film “Listen, Darling,” which he says in the clip is “the most exciting song on the album.” Manilow been a fan of Garland’s since he was a child, listening as his parents played her “Live at Carnegie Hall” album around the house. “Her voice, her interpretations, her honest delivery and her musical arrangements were tremendously exciting,” Manilow says by email. Later, he had the opportunity to see her perform live when she was taping a special during his stint working in the mailroom at CBS in the early '60s. “That night changed my life,” he says. “As a young, budding musician, listening to that huge, powerful orchestra playing only 10 feet away from me made my head spin. And watching her perform, again, only a few feet away, was like being hit with machine gun bullets. To this day, I’ve never seen or felt anything like it.” The idea for the album came when an executive at Manilow’s label suggested he record an album of duets. Though many of the singer’s ideal duet partners were dead, the label arranged for him to have access to the vocal tracks of the songs on the album. Manilow came up with new musical accompaniments, and recorded himself singing with the respective performers’ original vocals, adjusting his own approach to suit a singer’s particular style. “For example, Marilyn Monroe whispered when she sang. I needed to adjust my voice to hers in order to make the duet work,” Manilow says. “With the glorious voice of Whitney, I needed to find a way to sing with her when she used her church/gospel lines as the song built.” That wasn’t the only challenge: he was working with iconic songs by beloved performers, which made him reluctant to tinker too much with the way the songs sounded. “I felt the listener would be disappointed if they didn’t hear the familiar accompaniments,” he says. “But I didn’t want to copy the original background either. So I found myself treading a fine line as I tried to make each song my own.” “My Dream Duets” came out this week on Verve, and is available here. |
| October 27, 2014 | WCBS-FM | Barry Manilow: Williamsburg Was A Dump, Music Saved Me From Getting Beat Up |
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| Before rapid gentrification turned the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg into an epicenter for hip, trendsetting free spirits - and proceeding to become a hilarious parody of itself - obsessing over artisanal cheeses, it was, for lack of a gentler term, a dump. The area was cluttered with abandoned warehouses and, like many areas lacking a fair share of public funding, not a desirable or safe place to live. That’s not just history talking. This comes from a person who called the neighborhood home many years ago: Barry Manilow. "When I grew up there it was a dump," recalls the Brooklyn-born singer. "All I remember is running home from school so I wouldn’t get beat up." Manilow attended and graduated from Eastern District High School in 1961 before enrolling in The Juilliard School. The high school ceased operations after 100 years in 1995. "I had the worst time going to school there," says Manilow, one of the high school’s famous alumni along with NBA Hall of Fame coach and general manager Red Auerbach and comedic writer and director Mel Brooks. "The only thing that saved me... was the music. I joined the band... and I realized that’s where my life is going to go," added Manilow, saying the only thing he chooses to remember from high school is his experience in band. 
[ BARRY MANILOW ON THE STAR PHONE! ]Manilow’s new record, My Dream Duets, is available for purchase today, a week after debuting on QVC; it includes duets with Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, John Denver, Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong, and others. |
| October 22, 2014 | Huffington Post | "My Dream Duets: Chatting with Barry Manilow" by Mike Ragogna |
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| A Conversation with Barry Manilow Mike Ragogna: First off, thanks for the interview and it's a true blue spectacle that I landed it, Barry!
Barry Manilow: [laughs] Sure, sure. MR: The concept for the album is pretty unique. I don't think anyone's done a whole album of posthumous duet tributes.
BM: Well, Verve, the record company that I'm on this month are great people and one of the guys I'm working with is a wonderful guy named Jay Landers who's a Senior Vice President there said, "What about you doing a duets album?" Of course, everybody's doing duet albums and some of them are pretty good, too, so I said, "Yeah, let me think about it." I said, "How am I going to make my duets album any different from all of these other duets albums that we're hearing constantly?" So I made a list of who I would like to sing with and as I started making my list I realized many of these people are gone. I would love to have sung with Judy and with John Denver who was a friend of mine and with Louis Armstrong and Sammy Davis Jr.. It would be my dream to have been in the music business when they were at their peaks. I said that to Jay and I said, "I know this is impossible," but he said, "It's not impossible." Music technology has gone pretty far and there's this company that David Foster worked with who can actually remove the orchestra from these old records and just give me the vocals by themselves, which sounded amazing. It took them a long time to do eleven songs. They gave me eleven vocals by themselves. I'm pretty good at my music technology and I sat for two months creating eleven duets out of songs that never were duets. I rearranged the songs, I re-orchestrated the accompaniment and I made them into duets. I changed keys where I wanted to, I made bigger endings than they originally had, you can see that it's a different angle for every song. I've tried to stick pretty close to their original arrangments but I was able to play around with them and make them into duets. This album was a miracle. It took a lot of people to put this together with me. Now that it's all done, I'm very proud of it. MR: On "I Believe In You And Me" with Whitney Houston, it's clear you love the original vocal, and you're not dominating the track. Actually, that's true for all of these duets. You have a lot of respect for them.
BM: I do. It was one of my goals to try and show the audience why these people were such legends. I didn't want to get in their way. Singing the duet with Whitney was the most challenging because her style is so far away from what I do. Her church vocal approach is so far away from my pop singing it took me days to figure out where I should sing, how I should do it, when do I harmonize with her, when do I leave her alone. I had to do this with all of them, but Whitney was the most challenging. MR: You said they pulled the vocals out of the records, but did you pull at least some lead vocals from original sixteen or twenty-four track tapes?
BM: I'd have to go back to David, my co-producer, but I would say maybe one or two were actually doing multi-track recording. The rest of them came out of the old scratchy records. I'm telling you, this is a miracle how these men made this record sound like I'm singing with them yesterday. They all sound beautiful. Their vocals sound like I was in the same room with them. Mike, I'm telling you, I ran for the tissues a lot on this project. MR: How did you get through a recording process this intense?
BM: I'm telling you, it was a very emotional experience. I would put my headset on, they'd sing to me and I would get lost in it and then realize they're not there! This is when they were young and beautiful and in their prime, all of them. Andy Williams and Judy, this was at their peak. And then to think that they really weren't standing next to me when they may as well have been! MR: Another interesting thing about this project is that there are songs on here that seemed like they were yours to cover already. For instance, "Sunshine On My Shoulders" seems like a perfect song for you. And there's the Andy Williams track...
BM: When I sang with Andy Williams, I was surprised to hear that I sounded so close to his voice. Now and again I would forget, "Which one is me and which one is him?" MR: Are you happy that as you're maturing, you're taking on the soul and the depth of a lot of these classic artists who also matured into the artists they became?
BM: Please, it was an honor to do this. It's an honor to even hear you say that, but it was an honor to do this. Listening back to this whole album is just an amazing project for me. MR: Does this make you want to do something like this again in the future?
BM: As I finished it up, I was talking with friends and I heard, "Why didn't you do one with George Harrison? Why didn't you do one with Marvin Gaye?" Why didn't I? I didn't think about it. I went through the big list but there are more. If this thing becomes popular, it would be great to do another one. MR: As a producer, arranger and talent-discoveror it seems like you have to be in constant motion. Are you that guy?
BM: Listen, I keep coming up with ideas. The well hasn't run dry yet. I'm waiting to get bored, but an album like this for a performer it starts my motor going at a hundred miles an hour. If I can keep coming up with ideas like this I'll keep going. I've always got the next one. There's always "the next project" with me. Like I say, the well hasn't run dry yet. I'm ninety-five years old and I'm still promoting albums for God's sake. MR: [laughs] No, no, not quite ninety-five. Hey, you were a wonderful mentor on American Idol. That experience must have been very fulfilling for you.
BM: It was surprising. These young people just don't know about the songs that I grew up with. They don't know anything from Irving Berlin or George Gershwin or Jule Styne or Stephen Sondheim, they don't know any of it and they don't get the opportunity to sing great lyric, they don't get the opportunity to sing a great melody anymore. In my catalog, there are good lyrics and there are good melodies, so when they sang "I Made It Through The Rain" and they started to do their doodling and their vocal acrobatics I would say, "Wait a minute. Why are you singing this song? Who are you singing it to? What does this word mean?" I would have to go through it line by line and I do think they did really well on that week. MR: I'm sure you helped a lot of them because they'll think of that advice in the future. I'm often baffled by why a syllable needs that many notes.
BM: I think you're right. Whitney was one of the inventors of that kind of singing, but when I was listening to her do that song she sang the melody and the lyric in the beginning of the song. She didn't start doing those vocal acrobatics in the beginning. She sang the song the way the composer wrote it and told us what the story of the song was. Then as the song built, she dropped in the church. By the time she got to the last verse and chorus, she had earned the right to do whatever she wanted to do with this melody, but she had already told us what the song was about and then she started to drop in this fantastic way of singing. I'm telling you, she was the inventor of that kind of singing. But these days these singers start there and after a while how many notes can you sing in one bar? There's no emotion anymore, it's just, "Listen to how many notes I can do!" MR: And yeah, when Whitney dropped the gospel into it, you heard the soul behind the notes, not just a lot of notes.
BM: Yes, you're absolutely right! It wasn't just singing notes for Whitney. Like I say, she had earned it. She was telling the story the way she wanted to, but not right at the beginning. MR: Beautiful. Since we're kind of on the subject, what advice do you have for new artists?
BM: It all depends on who the aritst is. My overall advice for young musicians and young artists would be to learn how to read music. I know it sounds dumb, but I'm telling you, man... Young musicians and young singers, learn how to read music. If you can read music, you'll always be able to work. If you can't, maybe you will become Whitney Houston, but that's a rarity. If you can read music, you can always work because you can do studio jobs, you can do commercials, you can do whatever you want and actually have a career and if you are really talented then great. But if you don't happen to luck into something like a hit single, then you can always work. MR: That's really good advice. By the way, earlier, I wanted to add that your "What A Wonderful World"/"What A Wonderful Life" duet with Louis Armstrong was pretty clever.
BM: Yeah, it was kind of a challenge to write a brand new song that fit over "What A Wonderful World," but I think it came out okay. MR: Were there any moments on the album where you discovered something about your duetist that you'd never known before?
BM: All of them. These people are not legends because of luck. Every single one of them had this little extra something that made them stars. The sound of Judy Garland's voice, there's something in her vocal chords that is just so appealing. She's one of the greatest acting singers of all time. The same thing with all of them. There's something special about all of them. I always knew it but having my headset on and them singing to me in the headset, it was really a very moving experience. MR: And of course, with you being a writer, "The Song's Gotta Come From The Heart."
BM: [laughs] It does. Don't ask me where I found that one, but it was a ball to do that one. MR: I know this isn't exactly what an artist with as extensive a career as you have wants to hear, but your first hit, "Mandy," was the first recording I ever heard by you and it played on New York's WNEW-FM. Loved it, and it still pops into my head from time to time.
BM: Thank you, Michael. It's the big one for me, too. It's the most moving one for me, too. Now it has become more than a song for me, it has become the memories of this young kid, I didn't know what I was doing really. I wasn't supposed to be a singer, I was supposed to be a musician. What was I doing behind the microphone and singing? When I think back on it, it's just an amazing moment for me. |
| October 21, 2014 | WBAL NewsRadio 1090 (Baltimore) | Barry Manilow Releases New Duet Album |
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| 71-year-old Barry Manilow is releasing a new album of duets, where he performs alongside the likes of Whitney Houston, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, and Louis Armstrong. They were his "dream duets" as he calls them. In fact, the album is called "My Dream Duets," and there are 11 duets with artists that aren't with us anymore. "I picked my favorite songs that great, great legendary singers did," he tells WBAL NewsRadio 1090's Bryan Nehman. "This album is a miracle. When you hear it, it sounds like we recorded it yesterday." |
| October 20, 2014 | USA Today | "Premiere: Barry Manilow duets with Louis Armstrong" by Brian Mansfield |
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| Barry Manilow usually doesn't like to listen to his albums once he's done with them, but for My Dream Duets, he makes an exception. "After working on albums for so long - it takes months and months of mixing - the last thing you want to do is listen to them," he says. "But this one is different." On My Dream Duets, out Oct. 27, Manilow, 71, gets to hear himself singing with some of the great voices of pop music, including Judy Garland, Dusty Springfield and John Denver. Manilow's duet with the late jazz great Louis Armstrong, "What a Wonderful World/What a Wonderful Life," premieres at USA TODAY. It will be available as an instant download for those pre-ordering My Dream Duets on iTunes beginning Tuesday. When Verve Music asked Manilow to record an album of duets, he began to compile a wish list of other singers, only to realize that they had all died. He and Verve then went to a company that can strip away the instrumentation from recordings, and it provided him with vocal tracks from the likes of Whitney Houston and Andy Williams. | | "I was given Andy Williams' vocal by itself, without any echo, without any EQ," he says. "When I played Whitney Houston's voice, and it came at me, I had to back away from the keyboard. It was like she was standing right there. I was able to redo their songs, re-orchestrate the backgrounds, take the vocals and make them into duets. Sometimes I'd change keys, sometimes I added stuff at the end. I redid the original songs into brand-new renditions." Like many people, Manilow became familiar with Armstrong's recording of "What a Wonderful World" through its use in the 1987 Robin Williams film Good Morning Vietnam. For this track, he and songwriting partner Bruce Sussman came up with a new song that complemented "What a Wonderful World," which was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. "It's a totally separate song," Manilow says, "but the melody fits over the melody of 'What a Wonderful World.'" Here's the track listing for My Dream Duets:
1.The Song's Gotta Come From the Heart with Jimmy Durante
2.Goody Goody with Frankie Lymon
3.Dream a Little Dream of Me with Mama Cass
4.I Believe in You and Me with Whitney Houston
5.Sunshine on My Shoulders with John Denver
6.Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart with Judy Garland
7.Moon River with Andy Williams
8.The Look of Love with Dusty Springfield
9.The Candy Man with Sammy Davis, Jr.
10.I Wanna Be Loved by You with Marilyn Monroe
11.What a Wonderful World/What a Wonderful Life with Louis Armstrong
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| October 20, 2014 | The Desert Sun | "Barry Manilow album could be a sleeper hit" by Bruce Fessier |
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| Barry Manilow's new LP, "My Dream Duets," isn't mentioned in Pop Matters' preview of albums being released next week. But don't be surprised if it debuts in the top five of Billboard's Hot 200 Albums chart. Manilow introduced his fans' long-awaited "commercial" project on the QVC Channel Friday and it pre-sold more than 20,000 albums in an hour - 24,000 by the time they stopped answering the phones, according to his friend, Lorna Luft. That means they're one-quarter of the way to a total that would make it No. 1 on some weeks. The fan club members alone could push this album past the 75,000 units mark. But "My Dream Duets" could top that - without benefit of the critical press - because of his duet with Whitney Houston on "I Believe In You and Me." The 71-year-old Jewish Brooklyn boy finds some gospel roots from a past life for a musical conversation that is lovely and authentic. "My Dream Duets" is a compilation of 11 songs featuring Manilow and his favorite vocal partners of all time. Interestingly, when he made up his list of "dream" partners, they were all dead. So he found a company that could remove the orchestra from old album tracks and let him play around with just the vocals in his Palm Springs home studio. He then re-orchestrated the backgrounds and added his voice to create a very modern-sounding final product. "It was the most challenging and complicated album I've ever made," he said on the QVC special. "It took months." Manilow's duet partners on the Verve album include Jimmy Durante, opening the LP with "The Song's Gotta Come From The Heart"; Mama Cass, singing her cover of a 1920s tune, "Dream A Little Dream Of Me," and "Moon River" with Manilow's vocal influence, Andy Williams. Judy Garland may be Manilow's favorite female singer, so he chose her classic, "Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart," and gave it a new intro. Garland, who was born Frances Ethel Gumm, changed her name to Judy after hearing Hoagy Carmichael's song of that name. So Manilow opened his duet by singing the beginning of "Judy" and then adding a swinging Billy May-type big band arrangement to lead into Garland's vocals on "Zing!" He ran it past Luft - Garland's Rancho Mirage-based daughter - and she loved it. Manilow took a similar approach to his duet with Louis Armstrong on "What A Wonderful World." He and his favorite lyricist, Bruce Sussman, wrote a song titled "A Wonderful Life" that could fit inlaid into the Armstrong hit. Manilow starts singing his song before going into Satchmo's warm and fuzzy ballad and he finishes it with the two vocalists singing their songs together. The overlapping technique isn't used as much as it was in the Great American Songbook era, but Manilow shows it's still effective and not gimmicky. But the best song I heard on the QVC special was "I Believe In You and Me," which Houston sang on the soundtrack to her 1996 film, "The Preacher's Wife," after it was written for the Four Tops. There's a moment when Barry sings, as if ad libbing, caught up in the spirit, "Now you're free" before they sing, "'cuz I believe in you and me." Houston's February 2012 death still sounds fresh in Manilow's heart. But he said he had to hold back the tears on more than just that song on the album. "I was singing duets with these legends," he said. "That shouldn't have been an emotional experience, but it sounds like it is. It is an emotional album." Manilow has no plans to tour for a while because he said he'd like to stay home with his dogs and actually watch a little "Judge Judy" on TV. So, when he gets done promoting this album, you might see him around town at some of his favorite Palm Springs restaurants. |
| October 20, 2014 | Broadway World | Barry Manilow Duets with Louis Armstrong on 'Wonderful World' |
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| "What A Wonderful World/What A Wonderful Life" with Louis Armstrong is available on Barry Manilow's new album, MY DREAM DUETS in stores October 27th. Pre-order the album today at: Amazon: http://smarturl.it/MyDreamDuetsCD and get a first listen below! For his Verve Music debut MY DREAM DUETS, Manilow demonstrates that he is a fan celebrating his own musical heroes who have inspired him through the years. From cherished idols like Judy Garland and Louis Armstrong to contemporary icons like Whitney Houston and John Denver. Barry has joined together with them in his recording studio, emerging with a collection of remarkable duet classics. Although the extraordinary guest artists on MY DREAM DUETS are no longer with us, Manilow's mission is to ensure their immortal voices live on to excite and entertain all generations of music lovers." Manilow made his return to The Great White Way for the first time in more than two decades with Manilow on Broadway in 2013 at the St. James Theater. iTunes: http://smarturl.it/MyDreamDuets
Google Play: http://smarturl.it/MyDreamDuetsGP |
| October 16, 2014 | Classic Hits and Oldies | Barry Manilow to Perform Live on QVC on Friday |
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| Starting at 6 p.m. ET, Barry Manilow: Q Sessions Live will feature the singer performing songs from the new record, as well as from Live in London, a bonus CD that includes four never-released live tracks. The CD has been compiled especially for QVC, and viewers will be able to order it, along with the regular album, a week before it arrives. My Dream Duets features Barry singing, through the magic of technology, with stars who are no longer with us, like Whitney Houston, Judy Garland, John Denver, Dusty Springfield and Sammy Davis Jr. The Live in London CD was recorded at London’s O2 arena in May of 2011, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It includes a version of Manilow’s classic “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again.” On the QVC website, you also can watch an interview with Barry in which he explains why he decided to go this route with the album. He says his record company asked him to do a duets project, so he made a list of all the artists he’d really want to sing with, and realized that all of them were no longer with us. He figured that the project was impossible, but his record company was determined to make it happen. My Dream Duets arrives on October 27. |
| October 16, 2014 | ArtistDirect | Barry Manilow to Release "My Dream Duets" on October 27 |
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| Barry Manilow is gettin' his duets on in a modern, digitally manipulated way! He is dueting with lots of singers who have passed away already. How is he doing that? Well, modern technology has afforded pop legend Manilow the opportunity to record his "dream" duets with his own musical heroes on his latest album My Dream Duets. From cherished idols like Judy Garland and Louis Armstrong to contemporary icons like Whitney Houston and John Denver, they have all joined Barry in his "virtual recording studio." The album is set for release on October 27. Through the miracle of modern technology, the original vocal tracks for each guest artist on My Dream Duets have been extracted from their original source recordings, allowing Manilow to re-orchestrate the arrangements, record new musical tracks and then transport the guest vocals into vibrant new settings. In this way, he not only pays homage to his duet partners but, he also brings them into the modern era by transforming them into recordings that are instantly familiar yet refreshingly new. What's old is new. Manilow, Barry is making it new! Huzzah! "The songs have all new arrangements and sound as if they were recorded yesterday," said Manilow. "The album is a miracle. It's been a huge undertaking, musically and technically." Manilow's joy standing shoulder-to-shoulder next to these musical giants is evident on each track. Manilow added, "Having the opportunity to record these legendary standards with artists whom I admire so much was really a dream come true." |
| October 15, 2014 | Press Release
[SOURCE: VERVE MUSIC GROUP] | Music Legend Barry Manilow To Debut His Latest Album On QVC: MY DREAM DUETS Features Duets with Iconic Artists Including Whitney Houston, John Denver, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong and More |
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| NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- GRAMMY®, TONY®, and EMMY® Award-winning musician and pop legend Barry Manilow is scheduled to appear on QVC® during the "Barry Manilow: Q Sessions Live®" broadcast Friday, October 17 at 6 PM (ET) to debut his latest album, MY DREAM DUETS. During the live audience show, Manilow is scheduled to perform songs from MY DREAM DUETS as well as songs from LIVE IN LONDON, a bonus CD featuring four never-released live tracks compiled especially for QVC. Viewers will be given the opportunity to order the two-CD set more than a week before its release date. During an illustrious four-decade career with 50 Top 40 hits, music has been Barry Manilow's passion, and he's achieved unprecedented success as a singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, producer, musician and performer. On MY DREAM DUETS, he merges the miracles of modern technology with his brilliance as an arranger to pay tribute to eleven late artists who were some of his musical idols. He's taken original solo performances of each guest artist, re-orchestrated the songs with updated arrangements, and added his own vocals into the mix to create all-new musical tracks. The result is a remarkable artistic triumph featuring fresh interpretations of signature songs from some of the greatest performers of all time, including Whitney Houston, John Denver, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Louis Armstrong and more. Plus, you'll also receive a bonus CD with four never-released live tracks compiled especially for QVC(R) customers from Barry's hit album Live in London. The chart-topping Live in London was recorded at the O2 Arena May 4-11, 2011 with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.Plus, you'll also receive a bonus CD with four never-released live tracks compiled especially for QVC(R) customers from Barry's hit album Live in London. The chart-topping Live in London was recorded at the O2 Arena May 4-11, 2011 with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.Plus, you'll also receive a bonus CD with four never-released live tracks compiled especially for QVC(R) customers from Barry's hit album Live in London. The chart-topping Live in London was recorded at the O2 Arena May 4-11, 2011 with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.The two-CD set containing MY DREAM DUETS and LIVE IN LONDON (Bonus CD) is available, while supplies last, through QVC.com, the QVC apps, or by calling 800.345.1515. Track Listing for MY DREAM DUETS: - The Song's Gotta Come From The Heart with Jimmy Durante
- Goody Goody with Frankie Lymon
- Dream A Little Dream Of Me with Mama Cass
- I Believe In You And Me with Whitney Houston
- Sunshine On My Shoulders with John Denver
- Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart with Judy Garland
- Moon River with Andy Williams
- The Look Of Love with Dusty Springfield
- The Candy Man with Sammy Davis, Jr.
- I Wanna Be Loved By You with Marilyn Monroe
- What A Wonderful World/What A Wonderful Life with Louis Armstrong
Track Listing for LIVE IN LONDON (Bonus CD): - Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again
- Sandra (Duet with Keely Vasquez)
- Sweet Heaven (I'm In Love Again)
- Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed
For more information on Barry Manilow please visit:
www.manilow.com
www.facebook.com/barrymanilow
www.twitter.com/barrymanilow
http://qvc.co/Dreamduets QVC, Q, and the Q Ribbon Logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. |
| October 2, 2014 | Broadway World | Barry Manilow Talks About Creation of New Album 'My Dream Duets' |
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| In the video below, Barry Manilow candidly talks about the creation of his new album, MY DREAM DUETS. available now at: http://amzn.com/B00MIA0MHQ Modern technology has given GRAMMY, TONY, and EMMY Award-winning musician and pop legend Barry Manilow the opportunity to record his "dream" duets with his own musical heroes on his latest album, MY DREAM DUETS. From cherished idols like Judy Garland and Louis Armstrong to contemporary icons like Whitney Houston and John Denver, they have all joined Barry in his "virtual recording studio." MY DREAM DUETS is set for release on October 27, 2014. Through the miracle of modern technology, the original vocal tracks for each guest artist on MY DREAM DUETS have been extracted from their original source recordings, allowing Manilow to re-orchestrate the arrangements, record new musical tracks, and then transport the guest vocals into vibrant new settings. In this way, he not only pays homage to his duet partners but, he also brings them into the modern era by transforming them into recordings that are instantlyfamiliar yet refreshingly new. The Grammy Award-winner returned to the Broadway stage for the first time in more than two decades in January of 2013 at the St. James Theater for a limited sold-out run. Track Listing for MY DREAM DUETS: 1. The Song's Gotta Come From The Heart with Jimmy Durante
2. Goody Goody with Frankie Lymon
3. Dream A Little Dream Of Me with Mama Cass
4. I Believe In You And Me with Whitney Houston
5. Sunshine On My Shoulders with John Denver
6. Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart with Judy Garland
7. Moon River with Andy Williams
8. The Look Of Love with Dusty Springfield
9. The Candyman with Sammy Davis, Jr.
10. I Wanna Be Loved By You with Marilyn Monroe
11. What A Wonderful World/What A Wonderful Life with Louis Armstrong
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| October 2, 2014 | Broadway World | Barry Manilow's COPACABANA Kicks Off New UK Tour Today |
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The full-fledged, full-scale stage musical adaptation of Barry Manilow's classic COPACABANA kicks off a UK tour today (THURSDAY 2 - SATURDAY 4 OCTOBER 2014; HARLOW PLAYHOUSE; Press Night: Friday 3 October, 7.30pm; Box Office 01279 431945 | www.playhouseharlow.com). The official description of the new UK tour of Barry Manilow's COPACABANA is as follows:Dancing Fool Theatrical Ltd in association with Harlow Playhouse presents...
Barry Manilow's COPACABANA The Hit Musical
TOURING THE UK IN A BRAND NEW PRODUCTION
STARRING JON LEE as 'TONY STARR'
AND RICHARD GRIEVE as 'SAM SILVER'
Barry Manilow's hit musical, Copacabana, will return to the UK and tour in a new production starting in October. The musical, written by Manilow and his longtime collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman, has not been seen in the UK for ten years and will be opening at Harlow Playhouse on Thursday 2 October 2014 (press night Friday 3 October at 7.30pm). Packed with original songs, dazzling costumes and dynamic choreography, this new production will reimagine the original stage version of Copacabana, which was first performed in the US in 1991 and has never before been seen in the UK. Featuring Manilow hits including Dancin' Fool, Who Needs to Dream, Welcome to Havana and of course, the Grammy Award-winning Copacabana (At The Copa), this production will have audience members dancing in the aisles. Critics and audience members agree that Copacabana "explodes with memorable songs and dances." The story of Copacabana has captivated millions of spectators around the globe. This tale of romance and stardom features aspiring songwriter Tony working as a pianist in a bar when he meets the gorgeous Lola, who is determined to make it in showbiz. Quickly falling for Lola, Tony does everything he can to assist her attempts to find stardom. At Manhattan's Copacabana Lounge both start to find fame, before fate steps in and Lola is swept away to Havana to work in a splashy night club. But Lola's new mentor and boss Rico may demand a price for putting her name in lights. Barry Manilow said today: "I'm honored that Copacabana will return to the UK Stage and send my wishes for success to Jon, Richard, and the entire company." Jon Lee will star as 'Tony Starr' and Richard Grieve will star as 'Sam Silver.' This production introduces Jennifer Harding as the iconic 'Lola.' Copacabana is based on the song of the same title, which was released in 1978 and earned Barry Manilow a Grammy Award. In 1985, Manilow and his collaborators Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman expanded the song into a full length, made-for-television musical starring Manilow, writing many additional songs and expanding the plot. The film version was then further expanded into a full-length stage musical that ran at the West End's Prince of Wales Theatre for two years prior to a lengthy UK Tour. Over 200 productions of the show have since been mounted worldwide. Copacabana has Music by Barry Manilow, Lyrics by Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman and Book by Barry Manilow, Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman. It is Directed by Thom Southerland (Titanic, Southwark Playhouse) with Choreography by Tim Jackson (Merrily We Roll Along, Menier Chocolate Factory/West End), Musical Direction by Lee Freeman, Musical Supervision by Andy Rumble, Lighting Design by Tom Boucher and Wig Design by Sam Cox. It is produced by Antony Stuart-Hicks and Paul Leno for Dancing Fool Theatrical Ltd in association with Harlow Playhouse. |
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