Oh, Brandy?
Fifty years later, i’s onerous to listen to “Mandy” — Barry Manilow’s first No. 1 that topped the charts in January 1975 — another means.
However the lady who got here and gave with out taking was initially named “Brandy.”
That was the title of the 1972 tune by Scott English that Manilow coated in 1974, turning it from a minor hit right into a chart-topping traditional.
To keep away from any confusion with Trying Glass’ 1972 No. 1 single “Brandy (“You’re a Fine Girl),” Manilow solely instructed The Submit, “We changed the name from ‘Brandy’ to ‘Mandy.’ ”
However the story of “Mandy” went via many twists and turns. It began when Arista Information president Clive Davis instructed Manilow, “You need a career-making single.”
“I’ll never forget that’s the words he used,” he recalled.
“Then he calls and he said, ‘I think I found something you might like,’” he continued. “So he sends me a very rock and roll version of a song called ‘Brandy.’ ”
Manilow gave it a shot, staying pretty devoted to the unique.
“I went into the studio, and I recorded that version,” he stated. “And [Davis] came in and he said, ‘Geez, what’s that?’ I said, ‘Well, that’s the one you sent me.’ He said, ’That’s terrible.’ I said, ‘I know it’s terrible.’ ”
Then Manilow turned on his expertise as an arranger, reimagining the tune and making it his personal.
“So I went to the piano, and I played it slowly with my key changes, a very heartfelt version,” he stated.
And in a single take, “I found the love song hiding in that rock and roll song.”
Manilow, 81, nonetheless marvels that Davis heard one thing within the tune that was so radically completely different from his type.
“Don’t ask me how Clive Davis does this,” he stated. “I don’t know what he was thinking … because I would never be able to do something like [the original].”
“He didn’t know that I was an arranger. He didn’t know that I was an orchestrator,” he added.
Those self same expertise have served Manilow properly all through his profession as a hot-ticket reside performer who’s bringing his present to New York’s Radio Metropolis Music Corridor for 5 nights, which began Wednesday and goes via Sunday.
It’s a recurring residency that noticed the Brooklyn-born Manilow set the file for essentially the most lifetime performances at Radio Metropolis in April 2024 with 42 exhibits.
The “I Write the Songs” crooner additionally broke Elvis Presley’s file variety of exhibits together with his Las Vegas residency on the Westgate’s Worldwide Theater, the place Manilow has a lifetime residency.
“I mean, to say my name next to Elvis Presley is pretty crazy,” he stated. “Elvis is the king of music … I thought it was pretty ridiculous.”
Though Manilow is planning on persevering with his residencies, he’s launching a farewell area tour in Could.
“It gets to the point where, you know, there’s too many hotels and too many airplanes,” he stated. “We’re saying goodbye to the places that I’ve played over and over. And you know, these audiences are wonderful. They’ve always been wonderful to me.”
“So we’re going back to those places, and you know, I’ll say goodbye to them. It’ll be emotional, but it’ll be fun too.”
