Featured Artist

Barry Manilow

Vegas Community Online is excited to acknowledge Barry Manilow as

VCO's Featured Artist of the Month

We at VCO and of course all of Barry's "Fanilows" are delighted to see Barry's return to

his "Las Vegas Home" the Hilton Hotel & Casino after his successful hip surgery.


			Barry Manilow's unparalleled career encompasses virtually every arena of music, including performing, composing, arranging and producing. A Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Manilow has triumphed in every medium of entertainment. Industry charts rank him the undisputed Number One Adult Contemporary Artist of All Time with record sales exceeding 65 million world-wide. This pop icon has written hundreds of songs and performed around the globe thrilling millions of fans, winning a Grammy, two Emmys, several Tony Awards and an Oscar nomination along the way.

Manilow’s roots are in Brooklyn, New York, where music was an integral part of his life. By the age of seven, he was a budding artist taking accordion lessons and playing on a neighbor’s piano.

Deciding to make music his career, he attended New York College of Music and Julliard still working in the mailroom at CBS to pay his expenses. In 1972, Manilow met Bette Midler and became her music director, arranger and pianist. Later that year, Manilow signed with Bell Records (later Arista Records) to record his debut solo album.

In 1974, the release of Mandy launched an unprecedented career and 25 consecutive Top 40 hits including Even Now, This One’s for You, Weekend in New England, I Write the Songs and Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again. Four years later, five of Manilow’s albums were on the charts simultaneously — a record rivaled only by Frank Sinatra and Johnny Mathis.

Among his albums are such diverse musical styles as The Greatest Songs of the Fifties (2006), Manilow Scores: Songs from Copacabana and Harmony (2004), Manilow Sings Sinatra (1998), Singin' with the Big Bands (1994), Showstoppers (1991), Swing Street (1987), 2:00 A.M. Paradise Café (1984), and many others, including 38 Top 40 Hits. Albums he has produced for other artists, including Bette Midler, Nancy Wilson, and Dionne Warwick have been nominated for Grammy Awards.

On October 31, 2006, the multi-platinum superstar will revisit this golden decade in Anglo-American pop music with the release of his new Arista album, The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties. This much-anticipated disc—the 59th album of his career—is the follow-up to The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties, released January 2006. That recording became Barry Manilow’s first Number One debut and his first Number One album since the triple-platinum double LP Barry Manilow/Live in 1977. Featuring thirteen classics from the most exciting decade in Anglo-American pop history, The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties was produced by Barry Manilow, Clive Davis, and David Benson with Garry C. Kief as executive producer. It’s the second collaboration between Manilow and BMG U.S. Chairman Clive Davis since the singer’s return to the Arista label after a five-year absence (which was distinguished by new albums on Concord and Columbia).

Manilow’s film credits include the Oscar-nominated Ready ToTake A Chance Again (from Foul Play), a featured song in Walt Disney'sOliver and Company and the complete soundtracks for the animated features Thumbelina and The Pebble and the Penguin.

Manilow’s first television success was in March 1977 when ABC-TV presented The Barry Manilow Special to an audience of 37 million. The show won the Emmy Award for “Best Special of the Year.” Since then the singer has made countless television appearances ranging from Emmy-winning network specials to cable concerts, and released such best-selling long-form home videos as Live On Broadway and Because It's Christmas.

His two-hour 1996 A&E special, “Barry Manilow: Live by Request” was the highest rated music show in the network's history. Manilow has also appeared on the highly rated TV series “Murphy Brown,” “Ally McBeal,” and “Will & Grace.” In 2006, Barry received his fifth Emmy nomination and an Emmy win for the PBS special “Manilow: Music and Passion.” The broadcast celebrated Barry Manilow’s 100th performance at the Las Vegas Hilton, where his gala “Music and Passion” show opened in February 2005. Produced by Stiletto Television, the Rhino DVD of the PBS special was soon certified triple platinum.

		Manilow’s theater career ranges from his Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in 1977 to the June 2001 opening of Could It Be Magic? – The Barry Manilow Songbook. The world premiere of his musical, Harmony (with book and lyrics by Bruce Sussman), enjoyed a successful run at the La Jolla Playhouse and is slated to open on Broadway. His collaboration with Sussman also produced Barry Manilow's Copacabana: The Musical. Inspired by his hit single, the elaborate two-act musical spectacular played to packed houses in London's West End for 18 months; a national company toured the U.S. and international productions are on-going.
		Manilow’s 1987 autobiography Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise marked his literary debut.

Barry Manilow has long been a supporter of charitable and humanitarian efforts around the world. In addition to his own foundation, the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope, his altruistic involvement includes The Prince's Trust, United Way, the Starlight Foundation, numerous organizations fighting the battle against AIDS and many others. He is the national spokesperson for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and a member of the National Academy of Jazz Board of Governors and the Music Center of Los Angeles.

Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed Manilow "The Showman of Our Generation." Over his 30 year multi-faceted career, Barry Manilow has proven that he is indeed the performer who most embodies that accolade.

Learn more about Barry at www.manilow.com