About 15 years ago, Barry Manilow was concerned about school systems scrimping on music programs. So he started The Manilow Music Project to raise money to get more instruments in schools and spread the gospel of music education.
As part of his stop at State Farm Arena Jan. 19 (tickets still available), he will be rewarding a local teacher $5,000 plus another $5,000 credit to buy instruments for the school. To nominate a teacher through Dec. 28, you can go to barrymanilow.com. The winner also gets VIP tickets to the concert. (UPDATE: The winner was Adam Brooks of North Atlanta High School.)
“Schools are always running out of instruments,” said Manilow, 79, in a recent phone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from Las Vegas, where he has a long-time residency at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. “It breaks my heart. So when we go on the road, I want to do something to show how important music is for children. When schools cut music classes, many kids stop coming to school.”
Manilow will perform his big hits on a brief six-city tour next month and his visit to Atlanta will be his first performance here in more than five years. He said he still hits the road every so often to help out his crew and musicians when he isn’t performing in Vegas.
“They’ve got mortgages and kids,” he said. “My band and my crew are so important to me.”
Credit: Robb D. Cohen/ www.robbsphotos.com
Credit: Robb D. Cohen/ www.robbsphotos.com
Here are some other topics we broached over a 20-minute conversation:
How he keeps his voice in good order: “I don’t know. Every night, I cross my fingers. I don’t consider myself a singer. I never have. I’m a musician. I’m an orchestrator. I’m an arranger. I’m a songwriter. Those are the things I love doing. Performing was a big surprise. I had to learn how do it. I really enjoy doing it. The audiences are just wild. They’ve been on my side from the very beginning. But I pay no attention to the singing part of it. I’ve never had a singing lesson. I just go out and start singing. I cross my fingers and hope something decent comes out of my throat. I don’t warm up. Somehow my voice is there night after night.”
What he feels he can do well: “I can interpret a lyric. I come from that world where lyrics were very important to singers. They were storytellers. I love doing that ― even if it’s a dumb lyric. I can find the story in it. I do that real well. I really like doing that on the stage. Pop stuff it’s difficult to do that. Pop stuff isn’t very poetic. You’re stuck with I love you or miss you. That’s it! But the situations are always different.”
The misinterpretation of his 1977 No. 1 hit “Looks Like We Made It”: “I always wondered why schools use it as their theme song. What are they going to do on that second line [of the chorus]? It’s we ‘left each other on the way to another love.’ That’s always fun to sing. As I interpret the lyric I think the audience understands that this is not a love song. It’s a break up song!”
Credit: Greg Allen/Invision/AP
Credit: Greg Allen/Invision/AP
The surprise success of “Weekend in New England” in 1976: “It’s a waltz. It’s in three-quarter time. It never mentions the title in the song. It sounds like something that comes out of an operator. [Record executive] Clive [Davis], Arista and me were all shocked when that record hit the top 10 because, like I said, nothing in it would tell you radio would be comfortable with it.”
The song fans bring up to him the most: “‘Copacabana.’ That’s odd, too, because Clive didn’t like that song. And when we finished writing it and putting it on the album, Arista didn’t promote it at all. He thought it was just a novelty song that would fit more on the Sonny and Cher show or something. The public and radio stations loved it. They made it a hit, a big hit, a Grammy hit. I think I’ll be remembered for ‘Copa’ among all the other ones. That is the one people bring up all around the world. I’m very proud of it.”
The vagaries of 1976 No. 1 hit “I Write the Songs,” which was actually written by the Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston: “That’s a rough one. I didn’t think the listeners would understand that the song was about the spirit of music. It wasn’t about how I write all songs in the world. I think listeners would understand that but it wasn’t made very clear in the song. That was a problem. But people just liked the song. That was great.”
Jingles he wrote still stick: “They still play Band-Aids [’I’m stuck on Band-Aid’]. In those days I was glad to get it. I was just a struggling musician. It’s so rare for a jingle to last this long!”
The current state of jingles is bleak: “I got a Clio award a few years ago. I sat through the entire awards ceremony. They played the most popular commercials that year. Not one commercial had a jingle. All the music was background music.”
His song “When the Good Times Come,” which charted on the adult contemporary chart in 2020: “That was right in the middle of lockdown. That came from an old album. [His husband and long-time manager] Garry [Kief] found it. We released it. Clive loved the idea. He’s still a part of my life. He called radio stations and said you have to play this record. And they did!”
His 2022 upbeat chart hit “Dancing in the Aisles”: “The young people discovered that on TikTok. They are dancing in the aisles of pharmacies, in the aisles of grocery stores. It’s the silliest, most adorable thing. It’s sensational. They’re giving me a hit record without me even putting a hit record out. I’m putting it on my next album. They discovered this song!”
The future of Manilow’s musical “Harmony” which was tested at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta in 2013: “It’s the love of my life. Bruce Sussman, my collaborator, wrote the book and the lyrics. We’ve worked on it many years. It opened downtown in New York last April and got the most gorgeous reviews. Sold out audiences. We’re just waiting for a theater to open up uptown. ‘Harmony’ will finally make it to Broadway.”
Elton John has worked with Dua Lipa and Britney Spears. Who would Manilow like to collaborate with? “The only one I really love is Gaga. She is so talented. We all spotted that at the beginning with the first couple of songs. Those interviews were so beautiful. She seemed like a kind person, very smart. If the opportunity came along, I’d love to do that.”
EVENT PREVIEW
Barry Manilow
7 p.m. Jan. 19. $19.50-$249.50. State Farm Arena, 1 State Farm Drive, Atlanta. statefarmarena.com.
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