Barry Manilow turned 80 in June to much fanfare from his devoted Fanilows. The love and loyalty shared between the singer-songwriter and his audiences is one of the strongest bonds in show business, and Manilow can’t stay away from the stage for long before it pulls him back with irresistible force. His energy spills over into Carnegie Hall and Broadway, but in a few months he’ll observe a career landmark of a personal kind involving a different kind of irresistible force: Elvis Presley.
By Sept. 23, if nothing interferes with his schedule at Westgate Las Vegas, Manilow’s The Hits Come Home residency will have surpassed Presley’s record of 636 performances inside the iconic International Showroom. When Barbra Streisand opened the venue in 1969, the property it was housed in was the International Hotel. Presley became its star performer shortly afterward and remained its resident headliner, with his own dedicated suite that became a home away from home, as The International became The Las Vegas Hilton in 1971.
Manilow, born in Brooklyn three years after the Copacabana opened in New York City, was in his piano-playing adolescence when Presley began appearing on television in 1956. That same year, Dick Clark became host of American Bandstand and grew the Philadelphia-based dance program into a nationally broadcast show viewable by Brooklyn high school students.
As Presley focused on musical movies throughout the ’60s, Manilow became a theatrical composer, music director for TV and jingle writer. He was signed to his first recording contract in 1969, the year of Presley’s debut at the International. Presley had headlined Vegas previously, but this was the gig that would define him as a Vegas performer in the ’70s.
Manilow defined himself on late-night 1970s music programs such as The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert. Songs such as “Could It Be Magic and “It’s a Miracle” received radio airplay boosts from his numerous appearances, accompanied by his Lady Flash trio of backup singers. Before he had that exposure, he was recruited by Bette Midler as a pianist and became her producer in the studio. By the end of 1973, he produced two albums for her and released his self-titled debut album.
As Presley retained a prominent profile in Vegas, Manilow was ever-present on the airwaves and charts with hits such as “Mandy,” “I Write the Songs” and “Can’t Smile without You.” In 1977, he starred in his first television special and wrote lyrics to the American Bandstand theme that wound up being used, bringing his voice into homes every week.
Presley passed away that year, creating a vacancy in the showroom that wasn’t really filled until it became Manilow’s musical home in Vegas. Now, as he celebrates 14 years at Westgate, 50 years as a recording artist and 80 years as a human being, Manilow is set to eclipse Presley as having given the most performances in a space that is sacred to both fans of the King of Rock ’n’ Roll and the Prince of ’70s Pop.
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