Many Americans know the name Barry Manilow. Sweet-voiced ballads in his performance made a real sensation at the time. What was the life and career of the famous singer like? Find out more at the website brooklyn-trend.
MUSIC COMES FROM CHILDHOOD
Barry Manilow’s real name is Barry Alan Pincus. He was born on June 17, 1943 in Brooklyn. A future artist grew up together with his maternal grandparents. He was brought up in Jewish traditions. The parents of the Pincus family emigrated from the Russian Empire. He has Irish roots on his father’s side.
The first musical instrument that Barry mastered was the accordion. Already at the age of seven, he was awarded the first prize at a music competition. Natural talent allowed him to enter without exams the most famous and prestigious school of music, Juilliard Performing Arts School.
While studying at a music school, he switched to the piano. At the age of 13, Barry was given a personal instrument. It became a real fateful gift.
After graduating from high school, he continued to study music at the New York College of Music. Coming from a poor family, Barry had to make money part-time. He worked as a sorter of press and personal correspondence at the CBS Studios.
FIRST STEPS IN CAREER
In the early 1960s, Manilow got his first job in the music industry. He was offered to engage in arrangements. Barry worked on the tracks for “The Drunkard” musical. The work was a great success. Manilow proved himself as a professional.
It was his proficiency that formed the basis for the success of the musical. The Drunkard was on the first stages of Broadway for more than ten years.
But, still, he did not have enough money. Manilow worked wherever he could. But he still tried to follow the musical sphere. So he wrote music for commercials and theme songs for radio stations.
Later, Barry became the music director at the CBS Callback studio. Along with this, he occasionally performed in cabaret and wrote the script for The Ed Sullivan Show.
It was during work in a cabaret that Manilow got acquainted with the singer Bette Midler. Later, he became her impresario (a business agent of celebrity).
Working with Midler helped him constantly hang in musical circles of the highest echelon. In 1973, attention was finally paid to him. The label Arista Records released Barry Manilow’s first album.
From the very beginning, notes of guitar rock could be heard in his songs. Barry Manilow’s songs became a textbook example of American pop music. With the addition of a piano, his songs became similar to the work of Elton John. Manilow’s main audience was housewives. Because of this, he received a lot of criticism from men and ardent rock fans. Rockers did not really recognize him. He was too “sweet” for them.
But this did not upset him and did not stop him. He had no goal to create classic rock and gain a foothold in this industry.
His bet won. It was the piano ballads that made Barry Manilow popular. Its main feature is considered to be the choral accompaniment. This created additional versatility and increased the resonance of his voice.
VOICE IN A MILLION
The second half of the 70s was the peak of Manilow’s popularity. All new albums became platinum. Millions of copies of discs were sold around the world. His ballads were heard in almost every house.
The balance between rock and romantic pop has paid off. What he had been previously criticized for has become a “magic bean”.
Half of the US TOP-40 music chart consists of the songs by Barry Manilow.
At the peak of his popularity, he collected almost all the prestigious music awards. Five of his albums simultaneously entered the main charts of the late 70s.
The most popular album was 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe. Manilow sang jazz for the first time in this album. Despite the change in the musical genre, the manner of performance remained unchanged, specific to his past works.
Barry worked hard not only on creating new music. He worked on radio and television. His fame had no bounds. He performed in dozens of countries around the world. The fan base was diverse. In 2006, his new album broke sales records. After many years, fans did not betray their favorite artist.
Frank Sinatra once said that Barry Manilow was his follower. Bob Dylan called Barry his inspiration.
FEAR OF BECOMING A DISAPPOINTMENT
For a long time, Barry Manilow’s personal life was kept under wraps. He got married right after high school. The young marriage lasted for a year.
Then he was in a secret relationship with his manager. Manilow became aware of his orientation quite early. But it was difficult for him to accept it. He was very afraid of his fans’ reaction. Whatever the case, his songs were popular exactly among women. His coming out could spoil everything. The singer was scared that his fans would turn away from him precisely because of his orientation.
But when he decided to confess, he was accepted unconditionally. For fans, he nevertheless remained a favorite performer.
In 2014, Barry Manilow and Harry Cliff got married, right after same-sex marriages had been legalized in the state of California. Their relationship began back in 1974. The facts of his personal life became known publicly only in 2015.
According to the words of Manilow himself, he is more likely to be bisexual. In an interview in 2017, he stated that he was truly in love with his first wife. Their marriage fell apart because he was not ready to become a family man. The artist assures that his sexuality had nothing to do with it.
