Sometimes a single song can change the trajectory of an entire career.
For Barry Manilow, that song was “Mandy.”
Released on October 7th, 1974, the sweeping ballad became Manilow’s first No. 1 hit and transformed the struggling singer into one of the biggest pop stars of the decade. Strangely, the song that would become synonymous with Manilow wasn’t actually his. In fact, the original version wasn’t even called “Mandy.”
Written by Scott English and Richard Kerr, “Brandy” was first recorded by English, becoming a modest U.K. hit in the early ’70s. A few years later, Arista president and legendary record executive Clive Davis heard something in the song and brought it to Manilow, whose debut album had been met with a lackluster reception.
It was in Davis’ interest to boost Manilow’s repertoire and confidence. He believed in Manilow’s talent and potential and had retained him as an Arista artist after taking over for Bell Records.
But Manilow was skeptical. A songwriter himself, the Brooklyn-born musician was reluctant to record someone else’s composition.
“‘Don’t give me somebody else’s song,'” was the proud singer’s indignant reaction, as reflected in a 2019 interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “But it was Clive, and, you know, I listened to it, and it was a rock and roll song called ‘Brandy’.”
Even after listening, Manilow was shocked that Davis considered this particular song a proper fit for him.
“He saw my show, he heard my album, and he gives me this?” asked an incredulous Manilow. “He thinks this is the career making song for me?”
But Davis believed the young singer needed a hit and encouraged him to give “Brandy” a chance, and Manilow believed in Davis enough to give it a go.
Manilow and producer Ron Dante went into the studio, initially sticking closely to English’s uptempo original. The results were disappointing. When Davis heard it, he agreed.
“‘What’s that?’ [Davis said] And I said, ‘that’s the thing you just gave me’,” Manilow recalled. “And he said, ‘that’s terrible,’ and I said, ‘I know!'”
However, while learning the song, Manilow had slowed it down, changed some chords and added a key change. Inspired, he played his alternate version for Davis.
“I went up to the piano and played him the ballad version of Brandy with my key changes, and my new chord changes,” said Manilow, “and he said, ‘Do that, just do that…do that.'”
The version that would become the worldwide hit had been established.
There was only one last problem. The song “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” by the band Looking Glass was already a well-known radio hit from 1972.
“So we changed the name of Brandy and I played the slow version of that rock and roll song, which is now called ‘Mandy’, and that was it,” Manilow said.
“We put a small band behind it later on, and then we added ‘Mandy’ to that second album and my life changed and I exploded into a million pieces.”
Manilow’s vocal and piano were recorded in one take, with a band and small orchestra added later. And what happened next was history.
Released on Oct. 7, 1974, “Mandy” became Manilow’s first song to enter the Billboard charts. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 18, 1975, turning an uncertain cover song into the breakthrough hit Manilow desperately needed. It also set the tone for the easy-listening charts for the second half of the 1970’s. The song peaked on the UK Official Charts and Hit No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
From there, the creative valve remained open and a string of hits put Manilow firmly on the map of pop stardom.
“It’s a Miracle” and “Could It Be Magic” immediately followed “Mandy”, while Barry Manilow II became a Top 10 album and million-seller. Manilow was no longer a promising musician trying to break through. He was a bona fide pop star. And “Mandy” had established the blueprint for Manilow’s career as a balladeer.
Songs like “I Write the Songs,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Looks Like We Made It,” and “I Made it Through the Rain,” are just a few of the major hits that have secured Manilow’s place as a pop icon and a modern legend.
But “Mandy” was the song that started it all.
More than five decades later, “Mandy” remains one of the songs most closely associated with Manilow. What began as English’s uptempo “Brandy” found new life as a soaring love song in the hands of Barry Manilow—and became the career-defining hit that moved the world and changed everything.
Related: 1965 Folk Rock Song, With 21-Year-Old Singer From New York City, Became a Major Hit
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