Barry Manilow

An immensely talented singer-musician, Barry Manilow trained at Juilliard before creating several endlessly lucrative jingles for such companies as State Farm and Band-Aid. After accompanying Bette Midler during her famous bathhouse sets, he produced her first two albums, and also began longtime professional friendships with Clive Davis and Dick Clark, gifting the latter with "It's Just another New Year's Eve" and a new version of "Bandstand Boogie." Manilow embarked on his own successful solo career with his 1973 debut album, which included the future Donna Summer single "Could it Be Magic," and he would go on to notch the hit ballads "Mandy," "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again," "Weekend in New England," "Looks Like We Made It," "Can't Smile Without You," "Ready To Take a Chance Again" and his most iconic smash, the upbeat, infectious "Copacabana." Frequently mocked for his middle-of-the-road persona and soft-focus music as well as his ambiguous sexuality, Manilow displayed a refreshing, self-deprecating sense of humor, and embarked on multiple successful international tours. He contributed a song to "Oliver & Company" (1988), co-wrote the scores for the animated films "Thumbelina" (1994) and "The Pebble and the Penguin" (1995), and co-wrote several live-action musicals. An Emmy winner, Manilow topped the Billboard album charts for the first time with 2006's The Greatest Songs of the Fifties and booked long-running stints in Las Vegas and on "American Idol" (Fox, 2002-16). Self-aware of his campy but inescapable appeal, Barry Manilow achieved international fame as a much-loved superstar.