Barry Manilow has no business being this energetic. “I’m a million years old and I just don’t stop,” he says cheerfully, rattling off plans for a new pop record and a new Christmas LP like he’s still chasing his first hit. “I’m waiting to get old and I don’t seem to be doing that yet. Thank goodness.”
The pop icon called in to chat about, well, everything — a Broadway musical 25 years in the making, the 50th anniversary of his debut album, his secret love of Berlin house producers, and his ongoing mission to rescue public school music programs one donation at a time.
“I give them some money, meet them backstage, and introduce them from the audience,” he says of his teacher-focused tour charity work. “It’s just great to watch these music teachers — who are usually ignored — become heroes for the whole evening.”
Manilow, as it turns out, is a melody maximalist in a rhythmic world. “I stopped listening [to new music]. I couldn’t bear it,” he admits. “You gotta give the producers credit, they make wonderful sounding records — but it’s not based on melody. It doesn’t move me at all.” He still digs electronica, citing Underworld, Groove Armada, and Claptone as faves, but only the acts who manage to sneak in a “hook.” “That’s the trick,” he says. “It’s always been the trick.”
That love of melody is what made him one of the most successful jingle writers of the 20th century. “They used to say the key to a hit was a catchy melody. They called it the hook. I’ve never stopped chasing that.”
His upcoming pop album promises more of the same — “It probably will sound like something from Mars to today’s kids,” he says, cackling — and he’s already plotting his next seasonal takeover: “We may release a couple cuts from the Christmas album. I just don’t stop.”
That same restlessness extends to his live show. “I never do them the way I did the records,” he says. “I’ve upgraded the arrangements every five to ten years. They don’t sound like an oldies show — they just sound more contemporary than they would’ve if I hadn’t been listening to everything I love.”
And then there’s Harmony, his long-suffering musical about the Comedian Harmonists, a German vocal group that rose to fame in the ‘20s and was wiped from history by the Nazis. “They were like a mix of the Manhattan Transfer and the Marx Brothers,” he explains. “They made 13 movies. Millions of records. And no one knows who they are. The story of why is the story of Harmony.”
After decades of near-misses, the show is finally making its Broadway debut. “They just sent me the big newspaper ad,” Manilow beams. “It’s gorgeous. I keep asking my collaborator, ‘Is this really happening?’”
He’s got a sense of humor about his early years, too — especially the fact that his debut LP turns 50 this year. “Thanks a lot for reminding me,” he deadpans. That album, originally a commercial non-starter, quietly paved the way for his breakthrough. “I made a demo, Bell Records liked it, gave me a deal — but only if I agreed to tour. I had never performed live before. I called Bette Midler and said, ‘I think I just got a record deal.’ And she said, ‘Doing what?’”
Even then, it was clear what drove him. “I didn’t want to be a singer. I was going to be an arranger. A conductor. Someone in the background. But they were looking for their James Taylor, their Carole King. I fit the bill.”
And when Clive Davis handed him “Brandy” and told him it would be a hit, Manilow rewrote it into “Mandy” — and into history.
So what’s next? Aside from the new pop album and Christmas songs, he’s itching to make more piano-vocal records like Night Songs II, his moody 2020 collection of standards. “I’d do a million of them if I could,” he says. “It’s just me and a piano. And maybe a little synth bass. That’s heaven.”
Barry Manilow: still chasing the hook, still allergic to slowing down, and still — somehow — just getting started.
Listen to the interview above and then check out the video below.
