Barry Manilow: The Brooklyn Showman

by Marjorie Dorfman | More from this Blogger

Born to a poor Russian-Jewish father and an Irish mother in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn on June 17, 1943, the parents of Barry Alan Pincus divorced shortly after his birth. Both his mother and paternal grandparents, who greatly influenced his early life and thought, raised Barry. He began singing as a boy and shortly before his Bar Mitzvah at the age of 13, he changed his surname to his mother's maiden name of Manilow. He was drawn to music from an early age and with much perseverance, mastered both the accordion and the piano, which would serve him well in his career.

He graduated from Eastern District High School in 1961, and very early in his career he wrote advertising jingles for State Farm Insurance, ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there"), McDonald's, Dr. Pepper soda and Stri-Dex anti-acne medication. He then worked as a pianist, producer and arranger, accompanying Bette Midler among others at the Continental Bathhouse in New York City.

Soon he had his own record label, Arista Records and he became "the showman of the generation" according to Rolling Stone Magazine. The powers that be recorded his age as 29 instead of 32 because they wanted him to appeal to the teen population. He dominated the soft rock scene in the 1970s with a string of top ten hits and multi-platinum albums. His major solo hits included "Mandy" (1974) "Copacabana") (1978) and "I Write The Songs" (1975).

He said of the love of his life: "My passion for music has obliterated everything in its path for my entire life. Whenever there was a choice between music and anything else, music won hands down every time. No one person or material thing could ever come close to the feeling I get when the music is right."

And right it is! Keep on truckin' Barry!

Learn more about Marjorie Dorfman

Marjorie Dorfman is a freelance writer and former teacher originally from Brooklyn, New York.

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