Mandy Barry Manilow

Mandy

1974

Barry Manilow

Ok, first off, Barry Manilow's first hit single...Mandy...was not a Barry Manilow original, despite what many people think and indeed believe with all of their hearts. It was originally recorded by a British singer named Scott English  in 1971 and reached #12 on the charts in The U.K. The Scott English version wasn't even named 'Mandy'...The song that he charted with in the U. K. was named 'Brandy'. It actually made a brief appearance on the charts in the US, when it slipped across the pond and it made it to # 91 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Scott English's 'Brandy' was released in The U.K. By Columbia...which Epic Records was a subsidiary of. Which means Clive Davis knew about it. And liked it. A lot. And Clive Davis had signed Barry Manilow to his new label, Arista Records. (See where this is goin' don'tcha?). Barry Manilow was a relatively unknown singer at this time, keep in mind, though it's hard to conceive of him ever being 'unknown'. With this thought in mind, Clive Davis set out to make Barry Manilow his next star and suggested a cover of Scott English's hit, Brandy. OF course Looking Glass had hit #1 with their hit, Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), universally shortened to simply 'Brandy', only two years previously and Looking Glass' Brandy was still on the play-lists...constantly. SO the first thing they had to do was change the name...Whatever brainstorming sessions this necessity inspired caused the 'Br' to be changed to an 'M', and the title we all know was born.

Then he recorded it with very similar music, tempo, and beat as Scott English's version, making it an up-tempo pop song...and really hated the way it came out. So a complete rewrite of the music, courtesy of Richard Kerr, and a partial rewrite of the song (The first two lines of the fourth verse were dropped) was performed, and it was rerecorded as a ballad. And this time it sounded just like they wanted it. Barry Manilow wanted to be known for his own music rather than covers anyway, and while the song wasn't his he made it his own very handily.

Mandy was released in November 1974 and made it to #1 on the week of Jan 18th, 1975, staying there for a week. 'Mandy' also introduced us to the Barry Manilow method of making a classic...his songs weren't just songs, they were productions in and of themselves and sadly, he got little respect from critics or listeners. Of course the passage of 40 years or so changes perspectives and attitudes about a lot of things. Manilow and 'Mandy' are staples on Oldies stations. Now when us Seventies Kids hear that piano intro for his first hit single start up, it tends to make a few memories surface. As it should be.

So enjoy!

Mandy, by Barry Manilow. And ya know you at least hummed along with it!

And as a bonus...Scott English's 'Brandy'

And a couple of factoids about 'Mandy'

(1) Before he made it big, Barry Manilow produced jingles for various products...we're talking lots of well known jingles for lots of well known products. McDonald’s 'You Deserve A Break Today' campaign? Yep...that was Barry. He also produced music for television, and began a long running professional association with a lady named Bette Midler in 1971. He was also the opening act for Dionne Warwick at a concert in New York in June of 74...He was signed to Bell Records, which became Arista when Clive Davis took it over and dropped several of Bell's artists. After hearing Barry Manilow open for Dionne Warwick, Davis decided that this Manilow fella just might be able to do something with this singing thing. And the rest, as they say, is history.

(2)The two lines that were excised from the song's fourth verse were when Scott English's 'Brandy' became Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' were:

“Riding on a country bus

No one even noticed us”

(3) There was and is an urban legend that Mandy was actually written about Barry Manilow's dog, who had been put to sleep. Good story...never happened. That story was actually started by an incident involving Scott English. “Brandy', as his original version of the song was titled, was a pretty big hit in The U.K. And the British tabloids make ours over here in The U.S. look like a community newsletter. A tabloid reporter managed to get hold of his phone number and called him early one morning, waking him up, to ask who the song was about. As legend has it (And Scott English confirmed it) he replied 'The song's about my bloody dog!!' (Imagine that being said in a really pissed off English accent and it becomes even funnier) and hung up on the guy. And an Urban Legend was born.

(4)  There was another cover of the song before Barry Manilow retitled it and made it a classic...New Zealnder Bunny Walters, based on Scott English's version and also named 'Brandy' It was a hit in New Zealand, and lots of New Zealanders didn't know about the Scott English version, When Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' was released and became a mega-hit, Bunny Walter's fans were convinced that Bunny wrote the song and that Barry Manilow stole it from him.ANd with that thought in mind...another bonus. 'Brandy, released in New Zealand in 1972 by New Zealander Bunny Walters.