When you think of Barry Manilow and David Cassidy in 1975, very different corners of the pop music world come to mind.
Yet the two superstars will forever be connected by one massive, career-defining song. Long before Manilow turned “I Write the Songs” into a soaring, Grammy-winning signature anthem, Cassidy recorded and released the track first.
The song was first recorded by Captain & Tennille, but not released as a single. Cassidy released his version first in early 1975 on his solo album The Higher They Climb (co-producing the track with Beach Boys member Bruce Johnston) and it became a Top 20 hit in the United Kingdom. Manilow recorded his version of the song later that same year.
When legendary Arista Records chief Clive Davis heard the track, he knew it had mega-hit potential in the States, and insisted that Manilow record it. However, Manilow was initially reluctant, worried listeners would think he was bragging about his own songwriting when he hadn’t written it at all, but Davis’s instinct was spot-on, according to American Songwriter.
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“It was an intriguing song,” Manilow said in his memoir, Sweet Life, as excerpted by American Songwriter “The melody was simple, but the lyric was ambitious.”
He continued, “It gave credit to ‘music’ for having written every song. I am music, and I write the songs, the lyrics went. I liked that.”
Manilow concluded, “Many times, I had felt that another force was helping me to create the music I made. The problem with the song was that if you didn’t listen carefully to the lyrics, you would think that the singer was singing about himself. It could be misinterpreted as a monumental ego trip.”
When performing the track live in front of packed concert halls later in his career, Cassidy would pause to share a quick story with fans. He stated, “This is a very special song. It went to No. 3, and it was platinum all over the world except in my country, America.”
“That’s because, after it was a hit all over the world, the genius who was running the record company said the song was too soft for the market,” Cassidy continued. “I don’t think it’s ever going to be a hit here.”
“Two weeks later, it became Barry Manilow’s theme song. So here is my rendition of the very first recording of the song that no one in America has any idea I ever sang, ‘I Write the Songs,'” he concluded.
Looking back, the wild journey of “I Write the Songs” only adds to its timelessness. It took a Beach Boys member’s genius, David Cassidy’s vocal passion, and Barry Manilow’s flair for the dramatic to bring one of pop music’s most enduring anthems to life. Whether you prefer Cassidy’s understated original or Manilow’s grand chart-topper, there’s no denying this 1975 classic still has the power to make the whole world sing along.
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