BARRY MANILOW

Maaaaniloooow!

Yes, I can hear Colbert's anguished bellow even now. First, the man loses his Emmy to TONY BENNETT. Then: BARRY MANILOW. Oh my. The horror.

So yeah, maybe this post is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Mr. Manilow doesn't exactly inspire the same sort of critical or hipster acclaim as, say, NEIL DIAMOND. But it was back in December -- when I was dedicating Sundays to the likes of Diamond, KENNY ROGERS, DOLLY PARTON, CARLY SIMON, and BREAD -- that I slotted Barry in for posting. Then I got cold feet. Perhaps the man was too Velveeta cheesy even for me....

But no, to hell with that. I was 3-8 years old when the songs below were dominating the charts and Manilow was ushering in each New Year with Dick Clark, the dropping ball, and a still-filthy, hookers-and-trenchcoats Times Square. The man not only wrote the songs, he arranged, orchestrated, and sang the hell out of them. He's FRANK SINATRA-meets-MEATLOAF. And surely there's room enough for that monstrosity here on this blog. With no apologies. And few regrets.

[MP3] "Could It Be Magic" [1973]

[MP3] "Mandy" [1974]

[MP3] "Weekend in New England" [1976]

[MP3] "Copacabana (At the Copa)" [1978]

[MP3] "Ready to Take a Chance Again" [1978]