tavis: good evening from los angeles. i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with barry manilow. next week he is out with his first album of original music in a decade. later on, a special performance from the new project and some great music >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all lived better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. nationwide insurance is proud to join have this in working to improve financial literacy and working to remove obstacles one at a time.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> what an honor to have barry manilow and his piano on the set to night. it is hard to believe we have not seen a project of new music in 10 years, but that is about to change. it is an honor to have you in this program. >> i have been looking forward to doing tavis:: 20 years i have been in the broadcast business,

and i have never had the honor of sitting with an artist for an entire conversation at the piano. first time ever. >> i know you were talking about this yamaha thing. my first piano nybot after i did the mcdonald's jindal -- the first piano i purchased after i did the mcdonald's and jindal, i insisted i would get a sign way piano when i finally got some money. i was in a studio apartment now. it was so huge, the piano. i slept on a couch, and i slept under the piano. when i rolled out of bed, it went under the piano. i was very happy every night sleeping under the piano. >> you must really like music. >> i would have to.

tavis: you have had so many jingles over your career. >> they come to you and say here is the product. how does that work? >> they give you the lyrics and the melody, and you have to write duquette she is melete and now in 15 second -- to write the

catchiest melete -- melody and 15 seconds, and if they like the rest of it, they buy it. for melodic commercials, these days they do not do it. >> what ever happened to melodies in music? >> the drum machine. the drum machines took over. they are making great-sounding records with great grooves, but the song writing took a back seat. >> what are marine -- what are we missing out on with the absence of the melody? >> the melodies seem to have gone to country music country music seems to still have melodies, but pop music you have

to really listen hard to find somebody with a good melody. i wish there was a little more of a classic writing. what makes a great song? >> you would think i would say a great melody, but i always answer good lyrics. as a performer, i have to crawl into the story of the lyric, and if i get a turkey, i'd do it, but i cannot do it as well if the lyrics are really written as well, and the same thing as a composer. if it is beautiful lyrics, i can

write a great song. if it is kind of simple and badly rhymed, i am in trouble. >> have you figured out what makes for a great match between an the song stylings of very manilow? -- of very manilow? is there a process for this -- for knowing if this song will work for you? >> for the most part, i want to ride them. i have recorded a lot of songs i did not like, and i have to work it. 0 mandy, you came and you gave without taking ♪ that is not what they showed us.

they gave it with different chords, and i went, is that for me? i studied the music, and it was a beautiful song hiding it in the middle of those guitars, and i made its more beautiful than the demo, and i think the public liked that. tavis: understatement. it made it one of the biggest hits ever. what do you make when you hear yourself on radio these days, or do not hear very manilow -- barry manilow these days? >> i hear a lot of people say, i wish i would go do this. sure i have moments where i wish i could fix it. i think they are pretty great.

song, hit -- it is on that it was a hit. it never mentions the title, but i think we made a good pop record, and it fit perfectly on the radio. >> you mentioned on the radio, and i still love talking to you. one thing i want to reprise is the statement about how much i appreciate your musical years company specifically as a kid growing up in indiana. this is cole porter. this is indiana. i have a great appreciation for barry manilow, and the songs i appreciate are the songs that inspire people.

talk to me about the songs that are all about inspiring, motivating. >> that is my favorite thing, my favorite word. i will find songs that will make you feel better, and you cannot believe the letters i get. sure, cokie? is great, but letters i get are all -- copacabana is great, but the letters i get are all about inspirational once. it makes me feel better. i turn the radio up, and those are the songs i like writing and listening to. "forget your troubles, get

happy." tavis: why 10 years before a new project? >> i had a really good run with these albums. now it was collaboration's, and i really love doing it. i love to producing it. i thought that was going to be great. it just kept going until last year, when we did one of the greatest love songs of all time, but i did miss writing songs. i love doing these songs. i love doing gershwin, but i miss the right thing. . >> you cannot go 15 minutes without mentioning in the warhol. about fame and what could happen to people once

they become famous, and i took the title from an andy warhol quote where everyone gets 15 minutes of fame, and i think he is right these days with reality shows, and regular people become household names in weeks, and i say, how are they handling it? mandy threw me for a loop as an adult. how are these young people handling it? i thought it might be interesting. tavis: one of these shows called you in for a cameo -- "american idol." a whole new generation got exposed. >> i work with kids, and i did another where i got to talk to about 90 of them that were just going on the air. i really loved it. they were like sponges. once i worked with that were going on the air it in my songs, and i asked him a lot of

questions they have never been asked before, and i think it helped. they really are looking for someone to give them a hand. they have not paid their dues. they have not worked in the theater. they just sing well, and suddenly they are on error singing a song, and they are good if they win, because they really work hard. >> a lot of people were not privy with the artists in a private setting. when people do get a chance to barry manilow, what are you sharing with them that might help them as they advance through their careers? >> i say, who are using it sioux, and she said, the audience, and i said, who in

your mind argues singing this song, because i will arrange the songs differently. if you are singing it to your friend, i will give you -- kept my protected ♪ that is a little arrangement. if you are singing to your grandmother, i would do more emotional. if you are singing to god, i would give you an and then make arrangements, and she said, i am singing to god, so i gave her an arrangement, and she began to sing differently. she performed it beautifully. those are the kinds of questions a singer has to ask themselves, and those are the kinds of

things nobody does. >> where does this stuff come from? and when i see, we survived, keeping people warm, kept them from the storm -- where does this come from? >> i work with a great lyricist. i wrote a batch of songs by myself, but most of the time i collaborate with great lyricists. before we do anything, we collaborate. that is the hardest thing about writing songs. that is where everyone struggles. once we get the idea that we are going to write a song, it is easy to write, but a hard thing is what are you going to write? >> back to the sea, and now the cover says 15 minutes of fame hryvna -- how can you take it?

how have you handled it? >> i think i did pretty well. there was this one time four years after mandy hit, i did not like myself, and i was in florida in a rocking chair looking at the stars, and i realized everyone in the house was there -- the driver, the coke, my assistant, my manager, my agent, and i said, where do i go. where do my friends go common -- where do my friends go, and no one had been in touch with me, and i had to make a decision. do i want this life with a bunch of strangers telling me how great i am, or to our want to be geithner i started out as? if i were to advise anyone, i

would say, make sure you are surrounded by family and old friends. but was really important to me. from then on in, if you ask people who work with the, i do not think they are working with a mega sex god. tavis: you raise the question -- how do you not let this kind of fame that you have experienced go to your head? >> i stay glued to my piano when i worked. i write, i produce, i do my job. i do not look up, and i try to be kind to people. >> tell me about the music on

"15 minutes." >> it goes back to the type of music i did in the beginning. it has got a lot of energy to it, but it is a little more energetic than anything i have ever done. i imagine this 15-minute story being about a young geithner -- guy who wanted to get his music out there. i wrote a batch of songs that would have the rhythm, but the problem is i do not play guitar, so i wrote it on a piano and thought i was being true to what a guitar player would play, so i went into the studio, and it took a long time. >> every album is not been a concept. >> this is one of the few.

i wanted to write more than 12 lovely songs. i do not think the public would be interested in that. i needed to go a little further, so i made up all little story. -- a little story. tavis: no matter how much success one achieves, it does level off. >> it is a roller coaster. tavis: i like that better, so how those barry manilow handle this part of the roller coaster ride? >> sometimes it sticks to the wall. sometimes it falls down. i never thought about hit records. he would call me and say, it is not working, but when it comes to me, i write the most beautiful music i can. i do the best right thing i can. i was lucky i had claude davis

with me, and they would guide me along. that is why i had hit records. i wrote my own stuff, but claude did not even like "copacabana." >> he had some wonderful things to say about you. >> i would not even have this career without him. tavis: he said the same thing about you. >> he found me on his desk. he had this bad album cover picture, and he went to me and said, i would be the opening after dionne warwick, and i thought i was awful, but he shook my hands and said, welcome. he must have seen something in me, that i did not see. tavis: how are you enjoying the paris run in las vegas? >> i was very grateful.

i could not bear it anymore. i am sure a lot of people who have been on the road will say the same thing. waiting for bed room service, and i wanted it all, so i said, i am done, and i got this offer to be the resident artist, and i said, that is where all the singers go to die, but it turns out to be one of the greatest experiences i have ever had. i love this. i was made for a group like this. now tavis: i am in: -- tavis: is like traveling around the country, but people come to you. >> i do 19 years, but not the tour. i cannot do the tour. -- i do one night shows, but not the tour. i cannot do the tour. >> i am glad you brought your piano, because it allows me to

step aside and do what you do so well and what you have done so well for many years. i am honored. i have never had a conversation with somebody at their piano, so i am glad to have you here. >> i am glad to be here. minutesit is called "15 of fame." up next, a song by barry manilow. enjoy, and keep the faith. he comes home, and he is so excited because he got the job and cannot wait to tell her, and he goes to the bed and whispers -- sleep, loseies yesterday possible loose --

yeterday's blues ♪ harbor, ours in the streets is turning gold ♪ ♪ what ever you are dreaming, it is no longer on hold ♪ ♪ dream, baby, the dream, while you were asleep, i had mountains to climb and a promise to keep ♪ hunter and holden the prius, i am waiting to tell you when you open your eyes ♪ bring on tomorrow for me and for euyou ♪

hours, donn for dark is overdue ♪ ♪ bring on tomorrow and show me the sun ♪ ♪ we will live in it together, because you are the one ♪ smile, baby, smile, you will really be smiling by morning's light ♪ ♪ they told us we are crazy ♪ they promised i would lose them, theynd forget are yesterday's news ♪ anding on tomorrow for me for huyou ♪ ♪ we hung on for dark hours, don

is overdue ♪ ♪ bring on tomorrow and show me the soun ♪ ♪ we will live in it together because you are the yuan ♪ region -- the one ♪ forever, heard speaking in time ♪ tomorrow for me and for you ♪ hours,ng on for dark dawn is overdue ♪ ♪ bring on tomorrow and show will leave it together because you are the one

-- live it together because you are the one ♪ [applause] >> for more james. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all lived better. >> nationwide supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide is proud to

work in improving financial literacy and removing obstacles one at a time. good evening >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪