Manilow - Boston Globe

To him, old songs mean so much" by Sarah Rodman

He's won Tonys, Emmys, Grammys, and been nominated for an Oscar. He's sold 75 million records. He's schooled the kids on "American Idol" twice. He's written familiar jingles and familiar songs of love and special things. He recently produced Bette Midler's best records in years. And he's revealed that at least one popular sitcom character is a diehard "Fanilow." And although Barry Manilow gave up touring a few years back, he decided it was time to take a break from his Las Vegas show, "Music and Passion," to make a quick jaunt east to play the TD Banknorth Garden Sunday in advance of his latest release, "The Greatest Songs of the Seventies."

Out Sept. 18, "Seventies" is the third album that finds Manilow celebrating a decade of popular song, following on the heels of his successful sets devoted to the '50s and '60s. Executive-produced by longtime counselor Clive Davis, the album features Manilow tackling tunes by Elton John, the Carpenters, Carole King, Simon and Garfunkel, and others. We caught up with him by phone from Las Vegas, where "Music and Passion" has been extended at the Hilton until 2008.

Question (Boston Globe): How different will the Garden performance be from the "Music and Passion" show in Las Vegas?
Answer (Barry): It'll be based on the "Music and Passion" show but much, much longer because we can only do 70-something minutes [in Vegas], whereas in a show like what we're going to do with the arena, we'll be able to do two hours.

Q: Of the songs that you have to do every night, is there one you still love every time or one that you'd like to retire? I mean, obviously you love them all, but...
A: I do. I can talk to you about it right now, and when I think about it, I start to say, "Well, geez, can I get the passion up for these songs?" But once I hit the stage and I hear this band and the audience is out there, it never, ever feels old or stale, and the few times that it ever did, I always take them out of the show immediately. I can't do that to myself or to the audience or, frankly, to the song.

Q: Have any of your diehard fans ever told you they'd be just as happy to hear some of your less-famous songs in concert instead of just the hits?
A: I've never, ever gotten a letter like that. I've never gotten a letter or a response that said, "I would be happy if you never sang this again." They may think that, but they've never written to me like that. In the Las Vegas show, I do switch songs around every single night. One night it's "Even Now," the other night it's "Trying to Get the Feeling" because there's just no time, and I do have a big catalog of music. But at the arena, I'm going to try and stick in as many of those hits as I can.

Q: How did you choose the songs for the '70s album?
A: I did it with Clive, of course. And before we even began to talk about which songs, I sent out a little popularity poll of my own. In this popularity poll there must have been about 150 choices of songs that were big hits in the 1970s. And I sent it out to everybody I've ever known, including loads of people on TV and radio, hosts like Jay Leno and Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, Jann Carl, and Mary Hart - everybody I knew and everybody I had just come off of being interviewed by. And I said, "Take these 150 songs and pick your favorite 13 and send them back to me," and everybody did. Not only my friends and business associates, but all those famous people also sent them back to me. And I put this poll together, and Clive and I started with that poll, knowing that all these people wanted to hear those songs and that's how it all began. So these songs are based on those people's requests.

Q: Did anybody have write-in requests or say anything like, "Barry, the Carpenters' 'Close to You' is a great choice, but how about 'Sweet Home Alabama' or something outside your wheelhouse?"
A: Lots of them, and they just didn't fit me, and frankly, the whole concept of this album was the greatest songs of the '70s, greatest songs, big hits like "You've Got a Friend," one of the biggest songs of the '70s, frankly probably one of the greatest pop songs ever written; "Bridge Over Troubled Water," one of the greatest songs of the '70s or maybe one of the greatest songs ever written. We were sticking to those kinds of popular songs.

Q: Are you already thinking about songs for the '80s set?
A: I am not. I'm still in the middle of the '70s. (laughs)

Q: So there probably isn't a current song that you're enjoying that you might consider if you ever got around to doing a 2000s set?
A: No, it's too far in advance.

Q: Had the term "Fanilow" been a name that your fans used for themselves before the "Will and Grace" episode of that title came out a few years back?
A: I had never heard that; I think they must have made it up.

Q: Now people are identifying themselves that way. That must be flattering.
A: I don't particularly like that phrase.

Q: Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that. I thought it was meant to be a term of endearment, like Beatlemaniac.
A: No, I think it dehumanizes these wonderful people who are fans, so I don't like it.

Q: OK. Everyone seemed to enjoy your appearances on "American Idol." Do you have any plans to go back?
A: If they called, sure.

Q: When aspiring musicians ask you for advice, what do you tell them?
A: For musicians, I tell them to make sure that they learn how to read music. If they're talented, well, they'll make it. But if they're going to struggle, then they'll always work if they can read music. They can always be the third trumpet player or the piano player that accompanies people; even if they're not going to be a Dave Brubeck or Bill Evans on the piano, at least they'll be able to work because they can read music.