Editor’s Note: The interview with Barry Manilow was conducted prior to his D.C. show being rescheduled to March 4.
WASHINGTON — He sang about the Copa … Copacabana.
Now, Barry Manilow is at Verizon … Verizon Center.
Manilow’s “One Last Time” farewell tour stops here Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets start at $19.75 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his smash hit “Mandy” in 1975.
“They’ve become more than just pop ditties,” Manilow tells WTOP. “When I hit ‘Mandy’ or ‘Could it Be Magic’ or ‘I Write the Songs’ or ‘Copacabana,’ for me, it becomes memories about this young guy who didn’t know what was about to happen to him.”
Manilow estimates he’s played in D.C. about 25 times, including a 1975 show at The Cellar Door, where he came out for a sound check but was stunned to find no piano. He had to cancel the show.
On another occasion, he played at the MCI Center — now the Verizon Center — which had just opened. Unfortunately, there were only two restrooms in the entire arena.
“They were crossing their legs for my entire show,” he jokes.
Now, Manilow is excited to be coming back to the nation’s capital, though he thinks music has changed over the years, shifting to more dance-oriented records.
“I do what they call music and lyrics; isn’t that odd?” Manilow jokes. “I can’t get enough of ‘Uptown Funk.’ It’s unbelievable. But I do miss a song that’s got a beautifully written lyric and a beautifully written melody. It seems to have taken a nosedive. I guess people call it old-fashioned, but to me, I like feeling something. … Not just music that makes me tap my toes. I do miss that kind of songwriting.”
