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Barry Manilow: Barry Manilow Special
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Dubbed "The Showman of Our Generation" by Rolling Stone Magazine, Barry Manilow has sold more than 75 million records since his debut more than 30 years ago. The Brooklyn-born artist was already a chart-topping singer and songwriter when he launched a series of television specials in 1977. Audiences loved the hour-long variety programs and tuned in by the millions. Rhino, in association with STILETTO New Media, gathers five of those specials for a DVD boxed set containing shows that originally aired between 1977 and 1988.
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Manilow's breakthrough in Britain came with the release of Manilow Magic - The Best Of Barry Manilow... known as Greatest Hits. On its initial release, the was accompanied by a large television advertising campaign, but the album was only available by mail order on the "Teledisc" label. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, ABC aired four variety television specials starring and executive produced by Manilow. The Barry Manilow Special with Penny Marshall as his guest premiered on March 2, 1977 to an audience of 37 million. The breakthrough special was nominated for four Emmys and won in the category of "Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Special".[17] The Second Barry Manilow Special in 1978, with Ray Charles as his guest, was also nominated for four Emmys.[18]
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Following his first album, 1973's Barry Manilow, one successful recording followed another, adding up to an impressive total of 28 Top 40 hits. Manilow’s Copacabana won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance and The Barry Manilow Special earned an Emmy for Manilow. Other awards followed for songwriting, ticket sales, singles and multi-platinum album sales. Manilow ... won an honorary Tony for his record-breaking, sell-out performances at New York's Uris Theater. Manilow's amazing career shows no sign of stopping. Dubbed "The Showman of Our Generation" by Rolling Stone, he earned two Grammy nominations for 1998’s Manilow Sings Sinatra.
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During February of 2000, Barry ventured to Nashville, Tennessee for the taping of two Manilow television specials. many with a unique "country" twist. The special was TNN's first high definition broadcast and became one of TNN's highest rated concert specials.
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During his midlife years, Manilow began to expand his repertoire by exploring his own musical interests. The result was his 1984 collection of original barroom tunes 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe, a jazz/blues album that was recorded in one live take in the studio. In 1984, Showtime aired a documentary of Manilow recording the album with a number of jazz legends, such as Sarah Vaughn and Mel Tormé. In 1984 and 1985, England aired two one-hour concert specials from his National Exhibition Centre (NEC) concerts. In 1985, Manilow left Arista Records for RCA Records. There he released the pop album Manilow, and began a phase of international music, as he performed songs and duets in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese, among other languages.
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On March 2, 1977, ABC-TV presented Barry's first network special, "The Barry Manilow Special," to an audience of 37 million. The show won the Emmy Award for "Best Special of the Year" and was followed a year later by his HBO special. In a dramatic departure in 1984, Barry fulfilled a lifelong dream of recording an original collection of "saloon tunes" with a classic all-star jazz ensemble, including Sarah Vaughan and Mel Torme. The "2:00 A.M. Paradise Café" album was universally heralded as his most important body of work.
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Barry Manilow Special