Top 10 Barry Manilow Songs

Photo: Photo: Harry Wad, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list presents ten of the best Barry Manilow songs the legendary songwriter and performer has released throughout his marvelous career. After watching the Anderson Cooper interview with Barry Manilow on the phone this evening as the NYC Concert was being rained out, we decided that we had to publish a list of some classic Barry Manilow songs. We have been fans of Barry Manilow since the 70s even as we went to see Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen and everyone else, we were also still digging Barry Manilow songs like “Copacabana,” “Mandy,” and a whole lot more. Barry Manilow has really been around almost as long as all those great rockers. Barry Manilow released his first album entitled Barry Manilow back in 1973. However, it was in 1974 when the single “Mandy,” broke big time that Barry Manilow instantly became a household name, From that moment on, the floodgates of hits just poured on out.

Barry Manilow has had a very long career. He has released thirty one studio albums and close to sixty singles. Songs like “Copacabana,” “I Write The Songs,” “This One’s for You,” “Weekend In New England,” and so many more was massive hits that millions of music fans fell in love with. However, his albums were also filled with songs of substance and beauty that were not always released as singles. Barry Manilow is a great musician and great musicians want to work with other great musicians. Some of the greatest players in the world appeared on Barry Manilow’s albums. Players like Steve Gadd and Lee Ritenour who played on all the great Steely Dan albums recorded with Manilow, as well as musicians like Will Lee and Paul Shaffer. The album’s arrangements, songwriting and performances were all of the highest caliber. And of course there was Barry Manilow the performer. If we had to choose the top 10 musical performers of all time, the ones that knew how to put on a show and give the fans their money worth, Barry Manilow would be right up there with artist like Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley, Wayne Newton, Barbra Streisand and a handful of others.

With an artist like Barry Manilow who has released so many singles and has had such a large amount of hits, it’s tough to pick just ten songs. Additionally, there are so many great album tracks that we also want to present. So this is pretty tough to do. In the end we decided to mix it up. Our top 10 Barry Manilow songs list showcases a mix of the big hits, minor hits and some deep album tracks. It would be easy to just pick the hits, but we didn’t want to do that, we wanted to dig deeper into some of the lost gems. Of course we did include some of the songs that were turning points in his career. We left out some big ones on purpose, “Mandy, Could It Be Magic, This One’s For You, and “I Write The songs,” were massive hits, but everyone knows them. Like Barry says, “I have two many hits.” Well, yes we agree. Thank you so much for that problem Barry. Here’s ten of our favorites and we kind of feel that they are the favorites of some hardcore Barry Manilow fans too.

# 10 – Seven More Years

We open up our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list with the deep album track entitled “Seven More Years.” This excellent song was released on Barry Manilow’s debut album entitled Barry Manilow. It was the first single released from the album. The album was released in 1973. The album would be issued two years later with a new cover in 1975 after “Mandy,” had become a big hit. The album’s big time hit song would be the wonderful “Could It Be Magic,” complete with the Chopin prelude at the song’s start.

“Seven More Years,” story line focused on a conversation between two prison inmates in which one was asking the the prisoner who was just being released to find the woman of the inmate who was staying in prison and ask if she could hold on and wait for him for another seven more years. The song’s chord changes from verse to chorus were just spectacular. This was such a musically well written song and Barry Manilow sells it perfectly. The song was written by Barry Manilow and Marty Panzer.

# 9 – Getting Over Losing You

Continuing with our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list we take a listen to the great song entitled “Getting Over Losing You.” The song was released on the album entitled Here Comes the Night. The album was released in 1982. This is probably the most rare Barry Manilow album ever released as it was never released on CD except in Japan. Barry Manilow’s remake of “Memory,” was the big hit from the album. However, our favorite song on the record was always “Getting Over Losing You.” It’s such a powerful performance that spoke to the heart of Barry Manilow’s favorite topic of lost love. This one was written by Martin Briley and Brock Walsh.

# 8 – TIE – One Voice / Ships

In the number eight spot on our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list we present the song entitled “One Voice.” This grand, acapella recording was released on the album also titled One Voice. This wonderful piece of music composed by Barry Manilow still gives us chills everytime we listen to it. It was the opening track on the One Voice album. A record that also featured the great Ian Hunter song “Ships,” which Barry Manilow released as a single and is also one of our favorites.

# 7 – I Made It Through the Rain

In the number seven position on our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list is the song entitled “I Made It Through The Rain.” Yes, this is the song that Barry Manilow was just starting when the concert was canceled in New York City last night because of lightning. It would have been wonderful to hear Barry Manilow sing the song in the rain. However, he phoned into the Anderson Cooper show and sung it on the phone live from his trailer on CNN as Anderson Cooper listened with a big smile on his face. We love you too Anderson! That’s Entertainment!

# 6 – If I Should Love Again

Landing in the number six spot on our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list we present the song “If I Should Love Again.” This was easily one of the most heartbreaking and passionate songs Barry Manilow has ever recorded. To us, it’s simply a masterpiece. The classical musical interlude in the middle of the song is stunning. The arrangement is mesmerising. The song was released on the album entitled If I Should Love Again. The album was released in 1981. The song was written by Barry Manilow. He was in a zone when he wrote this one. It’s just brilliant. It should have been a monster hit, but music was changing at the time and this one sort of got lost.

# 5 – Trying To Get The Feeling Again

At the halfway point on our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list is the legendary song entitled “Trying To Get The Feeling Again.” Who could ever forget that piano introduction. This is classic Barry Manilow. The song was also the title track to one of his biggest selling albums of all time titled Trying To Get The Feeling Again. The album was released in 1975. The song was composed by David Pomeranz. I have been up, I have been down, and I will always love this song. The song hit number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs Charts.

# 4 – Even Now

At the number four spot on our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs list we present the song entitled “Even Now.” Talk about a heart crushing song about the one that got away. For many people this one really is hard to listen to. It is just so genuine and heartbreaking. Barry really nailed some of the most tender human emotions with this one. The song was released on the album entitled Even Now. This was the greatest Barry Manilow studio album ever released. This was the peak of his career where he was on top of the world and his singing, performing and songwriting were all off the charts. Every Manilow album was getting better and then he got to Even Now which was just a stunning record in which every song was gold. The album was released in 1978.

# 3 – Weekend In New England

Another one of our favorite Barry Manilow albums was his third record called This One’s For You. There were so many great songs released on the album including the beautiful title track. However, we think most Barry Manilow fans would agree that the albums finest song was the magnificent single release entitled “Weekend In New England.” This just may be the most romantic song Barry Manilow ever released. When he hits this one in concert, the crowds go nuts.

# 2 – Copacabana (At The Copa)

Just of the top spot on our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs songs list we celebrate the jubilant legendary song entitled “Copacabana.(At The Copa).” If Barry Manilow had to pick one song of his that would become a musical standard that no one actually would want to cover because his version was just too good to ever be challenged by anyone else, it would be “Copacabana.” The song was released on the album entitled Even Now. The album was released in 1978. It was the third single released from the album. “Copacabana,” was composed by Barry Manilow, Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman. The song was written about New York’s legendary club The Copacabana. My father John Kachejian worked there in the 1950s when Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were regulars. The stories he had were amazing. In the 70s and 80s the club became a Latin dance club. The club was also featured in the movie Goodfellas.

The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number eight. The song also broke onto the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts peaking at number six. Additionally, the energetic song broke onto the US Billboard Dance Charts peaking at number fifteen. The song was also a top 10 hit in Canada, Belgium, France and Germany. In the end, we don’t care how the song charted because this was one of the greatest pop records ever released in the 1970s.

# 1 – And When October Goes

We close out our top 10 Barry Manilow Songs songs list with the breathtaking song entitled “And When October Goes.” This was the jazz standard that Barry Manilow had always wanted to write. And he did it in his own style that worked so beautifully. The song was released on his standards album entitled 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe. The music to the song was written by Barry Manilow while the lyrics were written by the legendary songwriter Johnny Mercer who had written so many standards including “Autumn Leaves.” Johnny Mercer never heard the song because he had passed away. The lyrics were given to Manilow by Johnny Mercer’s wife. Barry Manilow had written and recorded so many unbelievable songs in his career. However, we believe that this recording was his ultimate release as a musician and songwriter.