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For generations, Barry Manilow has been singing his way into the hearts of millions of people from every corner of the globe. His songs are anthems for couples in every time zone, and his songwriting acumen is legendary. Fans will be thrilled to know that Manilow is returning to the stage in Las Vegas in 2006. Manilow will be playing regular shows at the Las Vegas Hilton, and his appearance is just another reason to visit the biggest oasis in the world. Below is a look at how Manilow became “Manilow”.

Early Life

Barry Alan Pincus was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 17, 1943. His father was of Russian and Jewish descent, and his mother was Irish. His parents split up when Barry was only two, and he was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents. He was introduced to music when he was seven, when he began to learn the piano and accordion.

Prior to his Bar Mitzvah at age 13, Barry began to sing. It was also at this time that he changed his name to match that of his mother’s maiden name – Manilow. In several ways, 1956 was the year Barry Manilow was “born”.

Budding Career

He continued singing through high school, and upon graduation, he was accepted to the prestigious Julliard School of Music. He paid his tuition by working in the CBS mail room. This proved to be a fortuitous school-time job. Manilow advanced at CBS, and wound up serving as the musical director for the CBS show Callback.

For the next few years, Manilow made his way by writing and performing advertising jingles, including the now-famous song for State Farm Insurance. His work got him noticed, and in 1971 he was hired by Bette Midler as her pianist and music director. He accompanied her on several bath house performances in New York City before Midler herself gained fame and fortune. His work with Midler helped her rise to the top, and as a result, Manilow landed his first record deal in 1973.

Potential Reached

Although Manilow’s first album, Barry Manilow, was not a huge success, his follow-up, Barry Manilow II, contained what became his first smash hit, the single, Mandy, which climbed to number one in both the US and UK. From there, an incredible run of commercial success ensued. Manilow’s next six albums all reached the Top 10 on the US Album charts, and some of the singles he produced during this time have remained popular to this day, including I Write The Songs in 1975 and Looks Like We Made It in 1977.

In all, Manilow has released over 30 albums, and 13 of them have risen to number one on the US Album charts, which is an unbelievable rate of success. Manilow’s style has transformed over the years as well. His early works were almost exclusively love songs and ballads. However, in the early 1980’s, Manilow began to focus more on smooth jazz and worked with such legends of the genre as Mel Torme and Sarah Vaughan.

Overall, though, Manilow is best known for his romantic singing and sometimes crooning ways on stage, and his shows have been sold out in nearly every venue for decades. His fans number in the millions and his act is imitated by many.

Manilow has won two Grammy Awards during his career for his singing performances, and in 2002, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone Magazine called him the best performer of his generation. His charitable works are too numerous to list in one volume.

Generally, there are many reasons to take in a Barry Manilow show. We’ve listed a few, but a trip to Las Vegas would be well worth your time to see one of the true icons of musical performance.

The main ingredient that distinguishes a perfectly respectable “album cut” from a hit song is the presence of a killer hook. But if hooks like that were so easy to create, we’d all be millionaires! How can you enhance the impact of your songs’ hooks to appeal to both audiences and the People Behind Desks? Read on!

To make this article more useful, gather up your 3 strongest or most recent titles, hooks or choruses, so that you can apply what we’re discussing to the “real world” of your material.

Tap Into Your Personal Experiences For “Nuggets of Truth”

It’s my firm belief that the old adage, “write what you know” is applicable to songwriting as well as prose. Although some of us prefer to believe we can write about anyone and anything, our most meaningful and successful songs usually spring from “real life” experiences, and our responses to, and interpretations of, those experiences. Each day we spend on the planet, observed through the prism of songwriting, offers innumerable creative possibilities. The seeds of brilliant songs often lie just beneath the surface, but the writer must be willing to nurture their growth.

Let’s say you’re starting with a blank slate: germ of an idea brewing, recording device turned on, and instrument, voice or blank page ready and waiting. How do you go about extracting the proverbial Killer Hook from your precious “nuggets of truth”:

• First, ask: what is true, real, intensely felt RIGHT NOW in your life? Be attentive to those flickers of realization, your “aha! moments.”

• What experiences do you have a burning yearning to share?

• What contribution do you want to make to the world?

• What makes your angle on life unique, compelling, interesting?

• In the movie “Walk The Line,” Sam Phillips asks Johnny Cash what song he’d sing if he was dying in a ditch on the side of the road and only had 3 minutes left. What hook would you sing in that situation?

• How can you arrange words and/or musical notes to get your “soul” down in song?

• Get crazy, be bold, bare your deepest truth or your silliest notion.

• Your job as a songwriter is to express what others can’t express. Go overboard!

Now take a few minutes and blurt out what comes up for you. Really dig in there and fearlessly sing, write or play something, anything, as long as it rings true. This is a great exercise to try any time you have 10 minutes to spare.

Next, start to put that spark of inspiration into song form. Stay connected with the essence of your personal experience as you begin to experiment with lyrics and music.

Ways to Enhance the Impact of Your Song’s Hook(s)

In the Verse/Chorus song form — the most common form these days — the chorus, and especially the hook, is where you “deliver the goods.” It’s the equivalent to the summation to the jury, the punch line of the joke, the revelation on the mountaintop. Every verse, every pre-chorus, every bridge, every line and every note leads up to this ultimate payoff. A great hook (and chorus) is packed full of meaning, fun, passionate intensity… or all three! It can’t be overemphasized that your hook has to really Rock Their World. But first, it has to rock YOURS. It has to ring true to you.

• Boil your Big Idea down into the smallest possible expression of its essence: your hook.

• Stay simple-yet-elegant. Less is usually more.

• Don’t pussyfoot around. Be bold and risky. Always take a strong point of view!

• A great line bears repetition. If it’s worth saying, it’s usually worth saying again.

• Make your song move rhythmically. People want to be SWAYED in more than one way by your song.

• Think of it this way: your hook is the hub of the wheel, and the other song elements are the spokes.

• Marry your melody to your lyric so that each intensifies and deepens the other.

• If you are thrilled by your hook, “they” probably will be too. And if you’re holding back, they probably will too!

• Show off your “money” note, your slammin’-est groove, your cleverest line, your most unusual concept in your hook. Aim for the bleachers, emotionally and creatively.

Give Your Hooks Mass Appeal

Singles are distinguished from album cuts by their catchiness, accessibility and freshness. And the hook is the key to that mass appeal. Most listeners and People Behind Desks couldn’t sing all of a song’s verses back to you if they tried. But most CAN remember a killer hook or chorus. For those of you who are driven by thoughts of financial gain, singles are also where the money is. (But remember: selling doesn’t mean selling out!) When you get to your main hook, hit us with fresh language, chords and melodic movement to wake us up physically, emotionally and spiritually. The might mean:

• An impassioned title or lyrical line: a twist of phrase, an unforgettable image, or an emotional outpouring that rings true

• A peak moment for the vocalist. This could be a high note, a long note, a rhythmically cool pulse or movement, a fresh interval, a repeated pattern or melodic sequence, etc.

• A catchy-as-hell instrumental riff or chordal pattern

• An underlying rhythm or groove that sweeps up all in its path

• Enough repetition to be catchy without becoming boring

• A striking contrast to whatever comes before and after (verses, pre-choruses, bridge), so that your hook stands out in an obvious way

Remember, more Hooks-Per-Square-Inch is better! In this day and age of sensory overload, listeners thrive on intense songs that cut through the clutter. We WANT to be moved on all levels. We’re hungry for depth, for truth, for emotion, for humor. Strive to discover the universal within the personal, the specifics of real life. Make your song paint a picture or create an environment people can live in.

By following these guidelines, and learning from songs that are hits in your chosen genres, you can make your songs more accessible, satisfying and commercially viable.

Happy songwriting!