Barry Manilow - Singin' with the Big Bands

Like Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow embarked on a transition during the 1990s from being a contemporary pop singer/songwriter to being an interpretive singer on the model of Tony Bennett, who achieved a career resurgence around the same time with a series of thematic albums. Manilow followed 1991's Showstoppers, an album of songs from Broadway shows, with Singin' with the Big Bands, which found him covering swing-era standards, in some cases accompanied by the ghost bands of Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Harry James, and Glenn Miller. Les Brown & His Band of Renown were still active, and he backed Manilow on a rendition of his hit "Sentimental Journey." For the most part, the songs covered were known more for their instrumental power than for the vocals of people like Bob Eberly and Ray Eberle, and Manilow matched them, while soloists re-created the signature sounds of the big band musicians and the arrangements were subtly updated. So, for example, when Manilow sang Benny Goodman's "And the Angels Sing," he equaled Martha Tilton's vocal, and Warren Leuning aped Ziggy Elman's famous trumpet solo. Manilow got in more trouble with songs like "Sentimental Journey," originally sung by Doris Day with a marked sultriness he didn't even try to evoke, and with Frank Sinatra trademarks like "All or Nothing at All" and "I'll Never Smile Again." Born just after World War II, Manilow seemed to respond to the effervescence of the sweet swing sound, but to have no grasp whatsoever of the underlying longing and pain that went with and informed these songs of wartime separation. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Name Credits Al Sanderson Assistant Engineer Allen Abrahamson Engineer Amy Finkle Art Coordinator Art Depew Conductor, Arranger, Leader Artie Butler Arranger, Trombone, Conductor Barry Manilow Producer, Vocals Bill Molina Engineer Bill Tole Trombone Bill Watrous Trombone Bill Wilson ? Brian Soucy Assistant Engineer Bryan Carrigan Assistant Engineer Buddy Morrow Trombone, Leader Charles Paakkari Assistant Engineer Charlie Young Sax (Alto) Chie Masumoto Project Coordinator Christopher Stern ? Cord Himelstein ? Debra Byrd Vocals (Background), Vocal Arrangement, Vocals, ? Dick Hyman Conductor, Arranger Don Hahn Engineer Don Murray Mixing Don Shelton Vocals (Background) Donna Davidson Vocals (Background) Duke Ellington Orchestra ?, Orchestra Gary Chester Engineer Glenn Miller ? Harry James ?, Orchestra James Jolis Vocals (Background) Jay Hill Arranger Jill Dell'Abate Project Coordinator Jim Miller Leader Jimmy Dorsey ? Joe J. Simon Grooming John Richards Engineer Jon Joyce Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background) Kevin DiSimone Vocals (Background) Kird Bonin ? Larry O'Brien Leader Larry Walsh ?, Digital Editing Les Brown ?, Conductor Les Brown & His Band of Renown Band Marc Hulett Project Coordinator, Assistant, ? Margaret Dorn Vocals (Background) Mercer Ellington Leader Mike Kloster Mixing Assistant, Assistant Engineer Mike Melvoin Conductor, Arranger Mike Piersante Assistant Engineer Noel Hazen Assistant Engineer Peter Doell Assistant Engineer Phil Ramone Producer Richard "Dickie" Reed ? Richard Harris ? Robert Wieger ? Roland Baker Project Coordinator, Assistant Rosemary Clooney ?, Vocals Susan Boyd Vocals (Background) Susan Mendola Art Direction Susanne Edgren Project Coordinator Sy Oliver Arranger The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra Orchestra Tim White Photography Tommy Dorsey ? Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra Orchestra Wally Traugott Mastering Warren Leuning Trumpet Wayne Scot Lukas Stylist Yvonne Yedibalian Assistant Engineer