Interviews

PANTAGRAPH - September 1988 (extracts) 


"Here I sit, looking at my suitcase with my underwear strewn around," said the singer in a recent interview.

"The room service is on the table with pats of butter covered by Saran wrap. There is a hard, cold English muffin on it. I've had this for 15 years. It's been my life," he continued. "People tell me, 'You've got a great place in Bel Air", which I do, but that's not a normal life." He pauses, then reiterates, enunciating each word clearly: "It is NOT normal."

But such are the tolls taken when you, as he puts it, "go for the brass ring."

"I suppose if I were one given to regrets, I would regret giving up everything for a career," he said.

"My first marriage failed, I have no kids...You get the accolades from the masses, which is enjoyable, but sometimes I think it's more difficult to accept and deal with success than it is with failure. With failure, you at least know where you have to go: I have to get back on my feet again. But to deal with success is very confusing... lt's a very, very confusing time for me. I think 1978-79 (his most successful year) was the best year and the worst year of my life."
"However," added Manilow, "the music has made it all worthwhile."

His most notable 80s achievments have been a pair of jazz-flavored albums, 1984s "2 a.m. Paradise Cafe" and 1987s "Swing Street", in which he surrounded himself with some of the biggest jazz heavyweights in the business - Gerry Mulligan, Phyllis Hyman, Mel Torme and Stan Getz, among them.

"It was the most emotional musical experience I have ever had in my life," said Manilow, "I came out of 10 years of working hard, then letting it go, and wrapping myself in the talents of people like Gerry Mulligan and Sarah Vaughn. Those days in a small rehearsal working with them were the highlight of my life as a musician - absolute ecstasy."

Suddenly popdom's whitest white-boy pop singer had the critics taking notice. But
not , alas, Top 40 radio.

Surprisingly, Manilow says, he isn't disappointed. "No, no, no. Those two albums
were not made to be played on Top 40. As a matter of fact, I left Top 40 on purpose, although, who knows, maybe I wouldn't have been welcome there. I was done with the pop stuff for awhile. I really wanted to go play in other areas. I think it was probably a good decision because at that point radio switched over to drum machines and dance records. For the last five years, that's what we've been hearing on the radio."

But, declares Manilow, the jazz phase of his career is over for the time being.

"It was just a wonderful. diversion away from the pop stuff of the last five years. I love jazz, but I don't consider myself a jazz artist. I'm a pop singer-writer-arranger. I think I could be very comfortable making records or playing music that was R&B, jazz or classical material, even aggressive rock 'n roll.

But I think as a singer I'm limited. Every time I've tried that kind of stretch I'm not happy because that's not me, it's not really honest, it's not what I’m capable of doing. So my next album will be going back to the style reminiscent of what I did five years ago. I think that there well could be an opening on Top 40 for melody again, a "Weekend in New England"-type romance song."