Ranked as the number one Adult Contemporary Artist by Radio and Records, Barry Manilow is an American musician, arranger, singer-songwriter, producer and a great performer. With five albums that were hits and super hits, he has been appreciated just as much as legends like Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis. Now after nearly two decades off theater, he brings the Manilow on Broadway tour to the much delight of his fans. His concerts stint also continues, so you will have all the more chances to watch this great artist in the coming few months.
Early Years
Born in New York in the early 1940’s, Manilow leant to play quite a few instruments at an early age. After attending music schools in New York, he managed to become the musical director of television show Callback for the CBS network. Soon after that, he began being part of ventures that involved theater and writing jingles for commercials. One of his very famous jingles is that of the famous fast food chain McDonalds; You Deserve a Break Today.
Music Career
Barry Manilow’s career started to rise once he stepped into the pop music scene. Initially helping Bette Midler to produce and assemble her award winning debut album, Manilow’s own success only knocked his doors after his second album Barry Manilow 2 was released. The album contained many hit numbers out of which Mandy acted as the foundation to his mansion of fame. Other outstanding songs include Could it be Magic, Copacabana and Looks Like We Made It.
After a long run of success, Barry Manilow diverted his path in 1984 where he started to record a new kind of album called 2:a.m. Paradise Café. Having a jazzy style and swinger feel inspired from the 1930’s and 1940’s, the album had songs by great artists like Gerry Mulligan, Shelly Manne, Sarah Vaughan and Mel Torne. With hints of traditional pop, the same jazzy style was followed with endeavors such as Swing Street, Manilow Sings Sinatra, Singin’ with the Big Bands and Showstoppers.
To follow this, Barry Manilow also began to come up with musicals starting with Barry Manilow’s Copacabana: The Musical in the year 1994 followed by Harmony in the year 1999.
Other Career Dimensions
Manilow has also written a book about how he has struggled as an artist and about some of his ventures that followed. He has also worked as a composer for Disney animated movie songs; Rapunzel and Thumbelina.
The new millennium brought great luck for the artist. It began with projects including the airing of DirectTV’s Manilow Live which was a two hour concert special. Manilow also came up with his Here at the Mayflower album which also had an interesting mix of tunes most of which were composed by the singer himself. In 2002, his greatest hits album called Ultimate Manilow was released. The same year, the artsist took Ultimate Manilow to CBS making it his second special there after his previous one back in 1988.
In 2004, the release of two albums meant double the fun with 2 Nights Live and Scores: Songs from Copacabana and Harmony. The following years till date mark constant activity by Manilow either in the form of albums like The Greatest Love Songs of All Time and 15 Minutes or grand live performances at events such as the Nobel Peace Prize Concert.
The Manilow Concert Experience:
Fans who have attended a Barry Manilow concert keep saying he still has the same magic in his performances that he had thirty years ago. Fans crave Barry Manilow tickets since he makes his acts very innovative. The audiences particularly enjoy how he uses his age to his advantage; young Manilow and current Manilow perform Mandy duet with the earlier one performing on the big screen behind. Medleys of his greatest hits and some friendly interaction with the crowd make the his concerts very memorable.