Barry Manilow – Singer And Songwriter Extraordinaire Returns To The Stage

For generations, Barry Manilow has been singing his way into the hearts of millions of people from every corner of the world. His songs are anthems for couples in each time zone, along with his songwriting acumen is mythical. Fans will be thrilled to know that Manilow is coming to the stage in Las Vegas in 2006. Manilow will be playing regular shows in the Las Vegas Hilton, and his look is simply another reason to see the biggest oasis in the world. Below is a look at just how Manilow became”Manilow”.

Early Life

Barry Alan Pincus was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 17, 1943. His father was of Russian and Jewish descent, and his mother was Irish. His parents split up when Barry was only two, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents. He was introduced to music when he was seven, when he started to learn the piano and accordion.

Prior to his Bar Mitzvah at age 13, Barry began to sing. It was at this time he changed his name to match with his mother’s maiden name – Manilow. In a number of ways, 1956 was the year Barry Manilow was”born”.

Budding Career

He continued singing through high school, and upon graduation, he was accepted to the prestigious Julliard School of Music. He paid his tuition by working in the CBS mail room. This proved to be a fortuitous school-time job. Manilow innovative at CBS, and ended up serving as the musical director for the CBS show Callback.

For the upcoming few decades, Manilow produced his way from writing and performing advertising jingles, for instance, now-famous song for State Farm Insurance. His job got him noticed, and in 1971 he was hired by Bette Midler as her pianist and music director. He accompanied her on several tub house performances in New York City until Midler herself gained fame and fortune. His job with Midler helped her rise to the top, and as a result, Manilow landed his first record deal in 1973.

Potential Reached

Though Manilow’s first record, Barry Manilow, was not a massive success, his followup, Barry Manilow II, contained what became his first smash hit, the single, Mandy, that climbed to number one in both the US and UK. From that point, an unbelievable run of commercial success ensued. Manilow’s next six records all reached the Top 10 on the US Album graphs, and a number of the singles that he produced in that time have remained popular to this day, including I Write The Songs in 1975 and Looks Like We Made It in 1977.

In all, Manilow has published over 30 albums, and 13 of these have risen to number one on the US record charts, which can be an unbelievable rate of success. Manilow’s style has transformed through the years as well. His early works were almost exclusively love songs and ballads. However, in the early 1980’s, Manilow began to focus more on jazz and worked with such legends of this genre as Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughan.

Total, however, Manilow is best known for his intimate singing and sometimes crooning manners on point, and his shows have been sold out in nearly every venue for decades. His fans number in the millions and his act is imitated by many.

Manilow has won two Grammy Awards during his career because of his singing performances, and in 2002, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone Magazine called him the very best performer of his generation. His charitable works are too many to list in one volume.

Generally, there are various reasons to take at a Barry Manilow show. We have recorded a few, but a visit to Las Vegas will be well worth your time to view one of the icons of musical performance.