Columnist Joe Delaney: Manilow’s musical rise is well documented

Joe Delaney

Friday, Dec. 14, 2001 | 9:02 a.m.

Joe Delaney's column appears on Thursdays and Fridays. Reach him at 259-4066 or joe@lasvegassun.com

"Barry Manilow has become formidable, extremely large, a legend even, in the show-business sense ... he is a giant among entertainers. There is always a new album, there is always a world tour. Most probably, he is the showman of our generation. He lives for production values, for rich staging, catchy hooks and big finishes ... Sinatra, it is said, once jabbed a finger at Manilow and portentously announced, 'He's next.' " (Rolling Stone magazine).

Manilow fans will have the pleasure of seeing the man who both writes and sings the songs in an intimate theater setting, the Storm Theatre at Mandalay Bay, today and Saturday. ... Usually he appears in Las Vegas in an arena setting, such as Mandalay Bay Events Center, with triple the capacity or more.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 17, 1946, Manilow's parents were Harry Kelliher and Rose Manilow ... Raised by his mother and her parents, he was given his first musical instrument, an accordion, at age 7 ... At 11, his mother gifted him with a tape recorder ... He was in Hebrew school when, at age 12, he wrote his first song, "Ain't Got A Nickel, Ain't Got A Dime."

At 13, his name was legally changed to Barry Manilow. His mother married William Murphy, who had an extensive record collection that he shared with his new stepson ... Manilow developed an appreciation for jazz, as well as popular music ... In high school he knew that music would be his calling ... He soon switched from accordion to piano.

His show-business start was in the CBS mailroom ... While there he composed a musical score for an old melodrama, "The Drunkard," which ran as an off-Broadway hit for eight years ... He also opened for Joan Rivers back then in Manhattan's Downstairs at the Upstairs ... He was 24 in 1970 when he met Bette Midler at the Continental Baths.

Midler and Manilow worked together for three years ... They made their Las Vegas debut in the early-1970s, opening for Johnny Carson in the Sahara Congo Room ... My Sun review was favorable, but I said that Midler's comments could use some judicious pruning ... Tony Orlando, who appears at The Orleans next week, was Manilow's first producer at Bell Records.

It was for Clive Davis at Arista Records that Manilow made his first big score, "Mandy," which started an unprecedented string of 25 consecutive top-40 hits ... The Manilow story has been well-chronicled; the industry awards have been plentiful with no sign of let up ... He has been successful as a producer, director, composer, arranger, singer, musician, recording and performing artist.

In his own words: "I am a musician. My passion for music has obliterated everything in its path for my entire life. Whenever there has been a choice between music and anything else, music won hands down every time. No one person or material thing could ever come close to the feeling I get when the music is right. I am totally committed to my music and my fans."

Weekend wrap-up

Recently received two books written by two friends who have been great artistic achievers, albeit in different show business fields ... "Men, Women, and Girl Singers" deals with the life of author John Levy as musician-turned-talent manager ... We go back to his early George Shearing days ... Levy is still going strong in his 89th year.

The second book, "Vision in the Desert," by choreographer-dancer Vassili Sulich, is subtitled "A Dancer's Life" ... Sulich founded Nevada Dance Theatre (now the Nevada Ballet Theatre) at the start of the 1970s ... My KLAV radio talk show was his media starting point ... I shall read Sulich's book first, just as soon as the Christmas cards are mailed this weekend.

Tuesday morning we said our final farewell to Ted Farrell, a staunch friend, an outstanding human being, who did much for local Americans of Irish descent at the helm of the local Sons of Erin ... Rest well, Ted, you will be missed ... Life goes on ... See you next Thursday.