Barry Manilow was born June 17, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York. Barry would discover his passion for singing and songwriting after graduating high school and would enroll in the New York College of Music, later studying Musical Theater at Juilliard.
Barry's big break would come in 1964 when CBS director, Bro Herrod, asked Barry to help with the music on his melodrama The Drunkard. During this time, Barry was also writing jingles for popular TV commercials including State Farm Insurance, Band-Aid, Pepsi, and McDonald's. In fact, many of his jingles are still used by the brands today!
With experience under his belt, Barry Manilow was ready to begin his rise to fame. In the 1960s and '70s, Barry would produce not only his own hit songs, but write for artists including Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, and Sarah Vaughan.
Throughout his career, Barry has recorded over 13 of his own number one hits including popular tunes "Could It Be Magic", "Copacabana", "Mandy", and "Can't Smile Without You", and has been praised as inspiration by legendary entertainers including Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan.
While Barry Manilow has had his fair share of critics, with over 75 million records sold, Barry continues to be an inspiration today as one of the world's best-selling artists. In addition, the singer has been nominated for a Grammy Award 15 times over the years!
In 2017, Barry officially came out as gay after rumors had been circulating for years and has been legally married to his long-time manager and partner Garry Kief since 2014. Now 80-years-old, Barry isn't showing any signs of slowing down and continues to perform live on tour. He even released a new album in 2020 titled Night Songs II.