Barry Alan Pincus, known by his stage name Barry Manilow, was born 79 years ago in New York City, USA, and was married twice. He sings, writes and produces songs.
As a teenager, he attended the College of Music and later studied at a performing arts school. Then in 1964, his music career took off. He was asked to adapt songs for a musical and also worked as a producer, arranger and pianist. In addition, he also wrote and sang jingles for TV commercials of famous companies like Pepsi, McDonald’s, Dr Pepper etc. This went on till the end of the 1960s.
Barry’s first album, was released in 1973, followed by a second one a year later. This included the famous number one hit ‘Mandy’. A string of hits came soon after, reaching the beginning of the 1980s, including ‘I Write the Songs’, ‘Could it be Magic’, ‘Copacabana’ and ‘Somewhere down the road’, amongst others.
Barry also collaborated with various famous artists like Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick and Sara Vaughan as well as wrote songs for movies. He made appearances in several TV shows and films and went on more than 25 tours in various countries around the world. In addition, he also held some concerts for charity.
During his ±60-year career, Manilow released 57 singles, plus 59 albums, spread among compilation, studio, live and soundtrack. His albums sold over 85 million copies globally and he also received several awards for his works.