Biografía de

Born Barry Alan Pinkus, 17 June 1946, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Manilow studied music at the Juilliard School and worked as an arranger for CBS-TV. During the '60s, he also became a skilled composer of advertising jingles. In 1972 he became accompanist to Bette Midler, then a cult performer in New York's gay bath-houses. Manilow subsequently arranged Midler's first two albums and gained his own recording contract with Bell. After an unsuccessful debut album, he took the booming ballad "Mandy" to number 1 in America. The song had previously been a UK hit for its co-writer Scott English, as "Brandy." This was the prelude to 10 years of remarkable hit parade success. With his strong, pleasant tenor, well-constructed love songs and ingratiating manner in live shows, Manilow was sneered at by critics but adored by his fans, who were predominantly female. Among the biggest hits were "I Write The Songs" (composed by the Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston, 1976), "Looks Like We Made It" (1977) by Richard Kerr, the upbeat "Copacabana" (1978) and "I Made It Through The Rain" (1981). 2AM PARADISE CAFE and SWING STREET marked a change of direction as Manilow underlined his jazz credentials in collaborations with Gerry Mulligan and Sarah Vaughan. He also appeared on Broadway in two one-man shows, the second of which, 1991's Showstoppers was a schmaltzy tribute to great songwriters of the past. During the '80s, Manilow was invited by the widow of one of those writers, Johnny Mercer, to set to music lyrics unpublished during Mercer's lifetime. A selection of these were recorded by Nancy Wilson on her 1991 album, WITH MY LOVER BESIDE ME.

Fuente: zeppelin61 a través de Musica.com