Journale 39

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"I Still Can't Believe It!" "When I was a little kid in Brooklyn, I was often asked to play 'a little something' on my accordian or piano by visiting friends and relatives. I couldn't stand it! I was so nervous. I immediately broke out in a cold sweat at the thought of performing in front of an audience-my temples ached, my stomach churned, I felt like throwing uo! Boy, was I ever a wreck! You know, the funny thing is that things have only slightly improved since then!" Can this be our Barry speaking? - Barry Manilow, superstar? It can - and it is! Barry is now, and has always been, a basically shy and quiet guy. In his wildest dreams he never saw himself performing on stage - he always thought he'd be a music arranger. But one thing he knew for sure - music was the love of his life. How he approached it didn't really matter as long as he could be a part of it. Barry was content with this idea-"I love music! The problem was I was petrified to perform. Oh, don't get me wrong - I knew that I'd like to be able to get up on stage and be a smash performer, but also knew that I was a 'Nervous Nellie'. So I grew up with the idea of being the man-behind-the-scenes in someone else's career." After a rather boring year at City College in New York (as a merchandising major), a young Barry Manilow transferred to the New York College of Music and then to the Juilliard School of Music in order to formalize his musical training. He supported himself with a job in the CBS-TV mailroom. As his appreciation of classical, jazz, show and rock music grew, so did the opportunities in his musical career. At CBS he met a director who asked him to arrange some music for one of his productions. Barry was thrilled! As a result of this job, he wound up a vocal coach and even went on to write his own musical show called The Drunkard. Time passed and Barry became music director for the award-winning TV program Callback. He directed several Ed Sullivan specials for television. He became arranger and accompanist for a young singer and toured small clubs around the country for a couple of years. He went on to write, sing, and/or arrange some of the best know commercial jingles around - he sang the original You Deserve A Break Today for MacDonalds. Then, he met Bette Midler! As Bette's music director - conductor - pianist - producer - arranger, Barry received international exposure. He also began opening the secound act of most of Bette's shows! Soon, audiences everywhere realized that the man at the piano was a talent not to be overshadowed - even by a superstar! You know the rest - Mandy, Could It Be Magic, It's A Miracle, I Write The Songs, This Ones For You, and so on. Hit after hit, after hit! And how has that sky kid from Brooklyn held up under the pressure? On opening night of his recent New York show, Barry said, "I still can't believe it! Before every performance I still get nervous - and when one of the stagehands knows at the door for the five minute signal, I wonder what the heck I'm doing here! Can you imagine that! I've worked with some of the greatest talents in the business, I'm just finishing a 98-city tour, and I still can't believe it's me they're all waiting to see! I Love them for it, of course - who wouldn't? But it's still hard to believe! Pinch me, would'ja?!"

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TEEN/JUNE 1975

You Deserve A Break Today Even before his version of "Mandy" raced to the top of the charts, Barry Manilow had one of the best-known voices in the country. How so? Well Barry's the boy who has, over past few years, crooned the message of a stack of TV commercials at us, maybe the most familiar being the one that assures us that we deserve a break today - and promptly tells us where to get it. Bright chap that he is, Barry followed his success with "Mandy" by embarking on a cross-country tour where he dazzled audiences with an act that was beautifully paced and performed with impeccable showmanship. He looked pretty stunning too, as an added bonus-shoulder-length blonde hair, Cheshire-cat-proportioned grin and generally dressed to kill as a knight in white satin. We talked to him after his Hollywood opening which was crammed with celebrities such as Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr and Suzanne Pleshette. How's that for posh? Mr. Manilow, it's neat to note, is as charming offstage as he is wickedly talented on. Talks in a headlong New York rush. Talks about "Mandy." "Originally the song was called "Brandy" and the feel to it didn't seem to me to be quite right. So I worked on the arrangement, changed the title, added the 'I need you' line and it all sort of fell into place. So Here's Barry "When my record company boss Clive Davis said we should release it as a single, I thought he was crazy. I loved the song, but because it's a ballad I didn't think it stood too much of a chance." Background notes: he's a kid from a New York slum street. "Funny thing. Even though it was a rough area and I got beaten up by the other kids, I lived in a nice house and was treated with love by my parents and granparents so I was never aware of being deprived." The family was musical. "No, not musicans, just interested in music. When I was 7 I started to learn, accordion. Played the meanest 'Tico, Tico' in town. Later I moved on to piano-a smart move, right? And got interested in jazz. No, I never thought when I left high school that I could ever earn a living as a musician. I worked in the mail room at CBS for a while and studied music at night just because it was my hobby." The hobby led him, as hobbies are wont to, into wondering if perhaps there might not be a life beyound the mail room, and if that life might not be one in music. So at the grand old age 18 he launched himself on a career as a general musical handyman: writing, arranging, producing and singing radio and TV jingles; writing themes for TV shows; and working as musical director for a TV amateur show. Not bad for the slum kid from the mail room. But still a far cry from the star-attracting performer of "Mandy." How was the gap bridged? Through the "trash with flash" lady herself, Bette Midler. Bette employed Barry as an arranger, had him produce an album for her, and when they toured insisted that he have a solo spot in the middle of her act. "I love that lady," says Barry. "But the first time I did that solo spot I was sick before I went on. From terror. From the conviction that the audience would maul me. Actually, I did okay." And that, as they say fans, is how a star gets born.

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A trekkie? A "Star Trekkie," that is! Yes, even your favorites have favorite shows, and Barry Manilow is a "Star Trek" lover! Everyone knows how much Barry Manilow loves to sing romantic songs - it's his number one occupation! But there's something else Barry loves even more - "Star Trek"! He proudly admits he's a die-hard "trekkie" and has a collection of memorabilia that would make even Mr. Spock jealous! Barry's fascination with the popular science-fiction series started in 1966 when the show first aired (and was a huge success)! After following the voyages of the starship Enterprise and meeting all the wonderful charaters, like Dr. "Bones" McCoy, Mr. Spock, Lt. Uhura, Chekov, Scotty and, of course, Capitain Kirk, Barry was hooked! He knew he was destined to become a trekkie for life! Barry's such a great fan of the show (which he still watches whenever he has time to catch the reruns!), he even displayed part of his tremendous collection of "Star Trek" goodies when he once co-hosted "The Mike Douglas Show"! From a huge sack, he pulled out "Star Trek" comic books, pillows, photographs, magazines and even a pair of plastic pointed Vulcan ears! (No, Barry didn't try them on, although he certainly would have looked adorable)! When Barry decided to make the big move from his New York apartment to his new California home, did his collection make the trip with him? You can bet your tribble on it! He just couldn't leave any of his prized possessions behind! Barry, just like every other trekkie, is anxiously waiting to see the full-length film of the further adventures of "Star Trek" and plans to be the first in line to once again "go where no man has gone before"!

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