Barry Manilow’s career began when he decided to pursue his passion of working in the entertainment world. He became interested in music after his mother Edna and stepfather Willie Murphy saved up $800 over five years to buy him a piano. Barry went on to have a successful career lasting several decades, so the money was wisely spent.
Barry studied at the City College of New York before entering the New York College of Music. After that, he went to the Juilliard School to study musical theater before starting as a log clerk at CBS.
During that time, he fell in love with Susan Deixler, the girl he had fallen in love with in high school, and they married when he was only 21 years old. The marriage ended after only around two years because he believed he wasn’t ready to settle down yet and was too focused on music. “I simply wasn’t prepared for marriage; every night I was out creating music and planting my wild oats.” “I wasn’t ready to settle down; I was too young,” the singer explained.
Barry spent many years writing commercial songs before making his big break. He had the wonderful fortune of appearing in a Dr. Pepper commercial that, as he described it, “paid the rent for years.”
“The only way you can compete with other songwriters when you’re going for a commercial is to write the catchiest melody you can write in fifteen seconds, and if you don’t write the best one, then another songwriter will get the commercial,” Barry told the radio station WHRB. “That’s how I got lucky into writing commercials.”
And I always make catchy tunes on instinct. It’s simply something I enjoy doing. As a result, I began creating jingles and won numerous awards since my songs were more catchy than the other men’s.
He went on to remark, “But it was really advantageous because pop music is all about catchy melodies, hooks, and choruses, so when I found myself composing pop songs, which I had never considered doing before, it was quite helpful.When I eventually found myself composing pop songs, I was grateful to have learnt how to do it while writing advertisements.
His debut album, Barry Manilow, was released in 1973, but it was not a great hit right away. He did not attain commercial success with his song Daisy until a year later.Then came chart-topping songs such as I Write the Songs, Could It Be Magic, and Copa (At the Copa).
Barry has five albums and ten No. 1 singles on the best-selling charts at the same time, only five years after his debut album. His fan base grew so quickly that he began calling them “Fanilows.”
