Barry Manilow talks touring, turning 80, and making first original pop album in years
on one hand, a reminder of the fact that Barry manilow will celebrate his 80th year on the planet this june, will probably make longtime fans of the legendary crooner either shake their heads in disbelief –or feel pretty old themselves.
on the other hand? Well, imagine how he feels about the impending milestone: “I must say, this birthday is really crazy. It’s crazy! I never intended to be this old. But I don’t feel it!” manilow laughs. the singer is on the phone from his home in palm Springs, California, calling to promote his uS tour this month.
“It’s just crazy,” he repeats, adding, “I think of people who are 80... they look older than I do. they’re retired. you know, that ain’t me! So I don’t know. Call me next year. I’ll tell you what it feels like.”
“retirement” almost seems like a dirty word to the man behind ’70s pop classics like “Copacabana (at the Copa)” and “I Write the Songs,” who will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of his self-titled debut album this year.
on course for this year alone, manilow will see the release of his new album, as well as having a hand in two more albums.
add to that this month’s “manilow: hits 2023” arena mini-tour, as well as a further 57 scheduled performances as part of his ongoing residency at the International theater at Westgate, las Vegas and the superstar will be left with very little spare time.
So, tell me a little bit about this tour. What was the thinking behind stepping away from your Vegas residency for this short run of shows?
“Well, my band and my crew, we love each other. and we had the whole month of january off. I said, ‘Book us some dates, Gare (that being Garry Kief, manilow’s manager and husband). nobody wants to take off for a whole month.’ So he booked us on this tour.
“We all love doing these shows. they’re so uplifting. these audiences are still so great to me. they love these songs. I’m one of the lucky guys that can fill up a whole evening of pop songs that people know. I don’t have to go into the album cuts. I don’t have to go to songs that no one’s ever heard of. every song is something that – either you love it or you hate it, but
you know it! It’s a really enjoyable evening for these audiences.”
Is there a different kind of feeling you get from a tour like this, where you’re going into a different arena every night? Is it a different kind of energy for you?
“yeah, it is. It’s even more exciting than the evenings in Vegas.
“the evenings in Vegas – I’ve started to take it for granted, because they’re so exciting. these audiences, you would really think that they’d be a little jaded, and would much rather go back out into the casino or something. But they’ve been great.
“But when we do these tours, they are there to see me and hear this music. It’s not like they happened to walk by the billboard where they see me in Vegas. here, they saved their bucks and put away a Saturday night. So the whole vibe is different. they’re there because they want to be there. Because they’ve been waiting for this show. and I’m very, very lucky and very grateful that they’re still out there for me.”
On the age thing one more time: Do you feel at all like at some point you’re gonna have to slow down?
“I’m just gettin’ started. I’ve always got ‘the next one.’ there’s always ‘the next one’ with me. I’m starting to produce an album for my friend (saxophonist) dave Koz. I’ve never done anything like that. then I’ve got the original cast album for my musical, Harmony (which is set to open on Broadway this year). We’ve finished doing that. Harmony is about to go up in new york, and when that opens up, that album will come out.
“I never really think about this age thing. I don’t feel it. nothing seems to have changed. I look pretty much the same as I always do. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. But so far, so good.”
And the album that you’re doing on your own, is that something that’ll come out this year?
“yeah. It’s gonna either be this summer or for next Christmas. It’s my first original pop album in a long time. usually I either have a concept – like “15 minutes,” or “paradise Café,” or “Singin’ With the Big Bands” – but in the beginning I used to just do pop songs. albums of just pop songs that had nothing to do with each other.
“I’ve been working on this one for a couple of years. I wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea to do something like this, because the music that I make is totally different than the music that’s on the radio these days. But I like this stuff that I wrote. I think the audiences that like what I do will love this – depending on how many people are still out there. So we’ll see. It’s a gamble.
“I’ve never really been good at predicting hit singles. even when I was having them, I was never very good at it. all I know is to make the best record I can make, and I listen back to it, and I say, ‘Well, that stinks,’ or, ‘I really loved it.’ So that’s where I’m at with this.
“It’s 12 new pop songs with something in it that we are missing. and that something is a melody! really, we seem to have lost the melody on the radio. I mean, they’re still making great records. they’re all full of rhythm and loops and stuff. But I miss the melodies. If you go to country stations, you have a chance of getting some nice-sounding melodies, but on pop radio, you gotta search for it.
“So I’ve put together a pop album with beautiful melodies and great lyrics. Isn’t that something? What an interesting concept!”
Would you say that it’s an evolution of your sound, or would you say it’s kind of a throwback, for people who are fans of the music you made in the ’70s and ’80s?
“I played a few of the cuts for a friend of mine, and I said, ‘does this sound old-fashioned?’ She said, ‘no! It’s you!’ Well, that’s what it is. If you like what I did – what I do – I got 12 new ones for ya.”
(the Charlotte observer/tnS)