Barry Manilow

• Barry Alan Pincus

• Born June 17, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York

• His parents divorced when he was very young

• His stepfather introduced him to music• He learned to play the

accordion at the age of 7

• His instrument of choice was the piano

• At the age of 13, he started to sing

• Barry was exposed to different types of music and Broadway productions

• The music of Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra influenced Barry in his love for music

• His stepfather supported Barry and played a big part in nurturing his enthusiasm for music

• Barry played local gigs throughout high school

• He graduated from high school in 1961• After graduation, he attended Julliard

School of Music

• He paid for school by working in the mailroom at CBS

• He married his high school sweetheart in 1964, however they divorced in 1965

• Barry wrote commercial jingles for different products and companies such as:

• Band-Aid

• Stridex

• Bowlene Toilet Cleaner

• State Farm Insurance

• Barry also sang some jingles that he did not write:

• Jack-in-the-Box

• Pepsi

• Dr. Pepper

• McDonalds

• Barry worked with Bette Midler in 1971

• She wanted him to be her accompanist at an upcoming performance

• He continued to work for her for many years as her piano player, conductor, arranger and musical director

• Barry’s big break came when Bette was performing in Carnegie Hall. Between sets, he was able to sing some of his own songs. The crowd loved him, and he received a standing ovation.

• It was his first performance of that magnitude

• After his performance in Carnegie Hall, Barry made a demo tape

• He was signed with Bell Records, which later became Artista Records

• He recorded his first album titled: ‘Barry Manilow I’

• The sales of this album were respectable

‘MANDY’

• Barry’s first single to be released was ‘Mandy’

• He did not write this song, however it was a big hit for him

• The song was originally released in 1971 by Scott English

• In 1974, Clive Davis asked Barry to re-record the song

• The song had originally been released as a pop tune

• Barry decided to sing it as a ballad instead

• The song has a beautiful melody and is soothing to listen to

• The introduction to this song is a piano solo

• The 1st verse starts with the singer telling a story

• He is still accompanied by the piano, in piano volume

• The harmony of the song are chords played on the piano while he sings

• As he is singing the last line of the verse, his voice gets louder (medium piano)

• We can hear cymbals being played to introduce the second verse of the song

• The second verse begins

• The melody plays constantly in this verse

• He tries to make a connection with the listener, telling how he lost the only person he cared for

• As we come to the end of this verse, the tempo stays the same (adagio), but the volume gradually increases until we get to forte as we enter into the chorus

• The song has taken on a new personality

• The piano is still playing, but we also have drums playing giving a more distinct beat to the song

• We can also hear the soft lull of string instruments in the background

• The instruments subtle on their own, but make a bold statement together

• The chorus takes on the tempo of andante

• The volume is mezzo forte

• This is bringing more emotion to the song and brings the listener in to be part of the music

• As we come to the end of the chorus, the singing stops and once again hear the piano playing the melody as it leads us into the third verse

• The third verse continues with the same melody as in the previous verses

• The difference between this verse and the first two verses is the accompaniment

• This verse has piano, percussion, and string instruments

• The instruments help bring a climax to the song

• The chorus once again plays

• The bridge follows

• It brings a new life to the song

• The music is conjuct, the tempo is moderato

• As you listen, you can hear the desperation in his voice

• The chorus is sung two more times• The second time is louder and more

intense• The last two words of the song ‘need you’

are sung differently• ‘need’ is held out for a count of 4 notes,

while ‘you’ is held out for a count of 8 notes

• The song slowly fades out with the piano, strings, horns and percussion playing for the last 15 seconds of the song

• The form of this piece is:• Verse 1 | Verse 2 | Chorus | Verse 3 | Bridge | Chorus | Fadeout

‘COPACABANA (AT THE COPA)’

• Another popular song that Barry sang was ‘Copacabana(At the Copa)’

• This song debuted in May 1978 on the album ‘Even Now’

• Barry wrote the song along with Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman

• The song was written in about 15 minutes

• They were all amazed at this songs success

• ‘Copacabana’ earned Barry his first and only Grammy

• It was also his first gold single for a song he had composed

• It also became his first international hit record

• Since its release, the song has been made into a full-length television musical and a two stage musical in both the US and the UK

• The introduction to the song starts w/vivance tempo

• You can hear the drums and maracas giving us a lively beat

• As the drums play, you can hear the repetitious beat

• The string instruments make their appearance

• A brass instrument comes in for the last 3 notes of the introduction

• Then we hear a rest for a quarter note, then the first verse begins

• Verse 1 is accompanied by a kettle drum, guitar and brass instrument

• The tempo has not changed• This song is telling a story of two

people, and they are introduced in this verse

• The first and third lines of the song are sung a little slower than the second and fourth lines

• In the fifth line, the words are emphasized by the brass instrument being played on the downbeat

• The chorus continues with the same beat

• It is sung in an arch at the tempo of vivance

• You can hear the backup singers echoing the words of the chorus

• Toward the end of the chorus, the music makes a dramatic pause

• The last four words of the song ‘they fell in love’ are sung moderato and in a descending contour

• The backup singers sing the title of the song and lead us into the second verse

• The second verse follows the same pattern as the first

• The story continues with a new person bringing conflict into the song

• One line in the song says ‘he called her over’, then we hear a person whistle. It makes you feel like you are there, makes the song more real

• This verse leaves you wondering what is going to happen in the next verse of the song

• The chorus repeats and is the same pattern as the first time

• At the end of the chorus this time, we hear a woman scream, then the last four words ‘she lost her love’, being sung more slowly than the rest of the chorus

• The bridge is sung in allegro tempo and forte

• The bridge of this song starts with the backup singers repeating the words ‘At the Copa, Copacabana’

• They are singing in harmony, ascending contour

• The only instruments playing are the maracas and brass instruments

• We can hear them start at a low note, and slowly ascend to a higher pitch

• We now hear a repeat of the introduction• My guess is they want to let us know that

many years have passed and we are continuing the story from a different time

• The third verse is sung in the same pattern as in verses 1 and 2

• The story has continued, and we find out what has happened to the woman after all these years

• We are led into the chorus for a last time

• The chorus follows the same pattern as before

• The last four lines of the chorus ‘don’t fall in love’ are sung slowly, and repeated once

• The conclusion of the song is played in forte and conjunct

• The tempo is still vivance• The backup singers repeat the words

‘Copa, Copacabana’ a few times• The kettle drums come in and we hear the

percussion for 12 beats• The song fades out with the drums playing

and the backup singers repeating the same words

• The form of this piece is:• Introduction | Verse 1 | Chorus | Verse 2 | Chorus |

Bridge | Introduction 2 | Verse 3 | Chorus | Conclusion | Fadeout

‘ONE VOICE’

• The song ‘One Voice’ came to Barry in a dream

• He sang it into his recorder in the middle of the night

• The next morning he listened to it and was amazed

• It is an amazing song, but I don’t feel it got the recognition it deserved

• The song was released in November 1979 on the album bearing the same name

• There is no introduction to this song• At this point, the song is sung in mezzo

forte, very solemn• Verse 1 starts out with only the singers

voice, he is singing acapella• Singing acapella makes a bold statement

in the song, it helps to convey what the singer is trying to say in this song

• As you listen to the words, take special note of when the singer is alone, when other voices are brought in, and when instruments are brought in

• The second verse begins, and we hear that other voices have joined in

• The amazing thing about this song is that Barry sings all the backup on this song

• The song makes a bold statement in that one voice started, and now others have joined

• The voices are not singing in unison, but are singing in more of an imitation pattern

• They are also singing in different pitches

• The chorus begins• If you listen closely, you will hear that once

again the singer is being accompanied by backup voices, still no instruments

• The melody has changed slightly• As the chorus comes to an end, the singer

lengthens out the last two notes being sung, while backup voices imitate the words

• Listen to the last two words of the chorus as we hear the words sung at different pitches

• The bridge in this song is once again only Barry using his voice as the instrument

• There is harmonizing while he sings ‘bah, bah’ throughout this part of the song

• The song is now homorhythmic, and the tempo is andante

• At the end of the bridge, we hear the words ‘it takes that one voice’, and then for the first time we hear another instrument (the cymbals and drums)

• We are led into the third verse

• The third verse has Barry singing forte with the background voices being mezzo piano

• We can also hear the beat of a drum in triple single

• The words are sung a little more slowly and he is hanging on to almost every note

• Towards the end of this verse, the notes are held longer, backup voices are a little louder

• The cymbals and a the chimes are playing more distinctly in the background

• The conclusion of this song has Barry stressing each note that he sings, with a brass instrument imitating the note being sung

• The last word of the song ‘sing’ is held for a count of 12 beats

• The song finishes with the backup voices, the drum and brass instruments making a dramatic exit to the song

• The music gradually fades out

• The form of this piece is:• Verse 1 | Verse 2 | Chorus | Bridge | Verse 3 | Conclusion

| Fadeout

• Although Barry is considered the most successful contemporary singers ever, he has never gained much respect from the music world.

• Barry and his music will always be a part of American culture, from the jingles that he has written, to the beautiful music he as written and continues to write.

References and Bibliography

• Classic Bands. September 2010 <http://classicbands.com>.

• Sing 365. September 2010 <http://www.sing365.com>.

• Songfacts. September 2010 <http://www.songfacts.com>.

• The Biography Channel. September 2010 <http://thebiographychannel.co.uk>.

• VH1. September 2010 <http://vh1.com>.