Laury, this whole post is a delight! I can relate, subbing Barry for Barry (i.e. Gibb), up until getting to bake cookies for him! I love that he was every bit as gracious and kind as you had hoped. Such a lovely story.
You met Barry! Oh wow. Your story makes me like him even more.
I remember I was twelve and for my birthday they got me a portable battery operated record player along with money for 4 albums: Barry Manilow, Bee Gees, Karen Carpenter, and Neil Diamond.
Hi Zara! Yes, it will always remain a big moment in my memory; so many years ago, he still had a tremendous impact. One of the privileges of being able to follow my dad around was the lacing together of moments, in person real life moments, with people who would otherwise have remained at an inpassable distance. Privilege yes, but gratefully and joyfully valued by a little kid who just got to be in the room sometimes with important people. Barry will always be one of my absolute favorites!
I loved this Laury - and laughed. I too have my Barry memories. A bit different from yours. I was sp IN LOVE during the Manilow years; in love with a guy who was in love with himself mostly and never faithful but hey I thought he would change.... I played & sang Barry's songs, knew all the words. When the breakup came - as of course it had to - I sang This One's For You [still do often]. Thanks for bringing back memories.
Oh I'm so glad you liked it! And it's always thanks for reading. Hey, I think it's so fun that people enjoyed Barry Manilow, and that women thought he was such a romantic force. He wrote the songs haha
PS: My Mom passed away many yrs ago. Her very favorite song was "Can't Smile Without You". Please keep on writing these short stories; you are brilliant at it, and so authentic.
Just beautiful, Laury. You lived my childhood dream! I had those Arista records, too, and sang along. And I met more than one tween and teen who fantasized about marrying Barry Manilow. (The stuff of Girl Guide late-night camping conversations.) What stays with me about your memory is how sweet it was of your dad to make that magical visit happen. But also, what a strange in-between time it was for girls and young women in our rapidly changing culture. Regardless of one's religious background, in our mainstream lives there were few meaningful coming-of-age rituals in place to guide us. Like you, I turned to music as a way of seeking a deeper connection with myself. Songs like Barry's created a sacred space where I could feel my big feelings, all those longings, and do so safely.
These are powerful insights Robin. Yes, other than crushing on someone entirely unattainable, there was this sense of being lost in the world during that time...not knowing how to make the leap from childhood to young adulthood, from living at the home I grew up in to college. The one or two years in between, I had to make choices with very limited information, and I made some fine ones. And I made disastrous ones as well. But here I am, a lot closer to knowing myself.
Friends and I saw Barry live in concert in...1987, maybe? Boise, Idaho. I was in my mid-late twenties at the time. There was an older couple (they had to be at least in their 40s, if not 50s - ancient!) in the row in front of us who really needed to leave the concert and go find a room.
I was singing "Copa Cabana" as I read the lyrics (everyone does, right?). That was one of my faves, because it was a story-song. Thanks for the trek down memory lane, and OMG, YOU MET HIM AND BAKED HIM COOKIES!!!!!!!!
FYI, I subscribed because I like the way you write. I had no idea you belonged to a famous family until you mentioned it in some of your articles.
That's really kind of you, the part about subscribing. I am grateful. Thank you for reading this one. And yes to Copacabana... Apparently you and I are not alone because it was huge, looking for pictures out there on the interweb, I saw so many people obsessed with that era of his! He's a delightful human and that moment in my life deposited long-lasting warmth into my emotional bank... like toll House cookies.
Laury, this whole post is a delight! I can relate, subbing Barry for Barry (i.e. Gibb), up until getting to bake cookies for him! I love that he was every bit as gracious and kind as you had hoped. Such a lovely story.
I'm so glad you liked it! I'm kind of a fan of yours now.
Thank you, Laury! Likewise! 😊
You met Barry! Oh wow. Your story makes me like him even more.
I remember I was twelve and for my birthday they got me a portable battery operated record player along with money for 4 albums: Barry Manilow, Bee Gees, Karen Carpenter, and Neil Diamond.
Hi Zara! Yes, it will always remain a big moment in my memory; so many years ago, he still had a tremendous impact. One of the privileges of being able to follow my dad around was the lacing together of moments, in person real life moments, with people who would otherwise have remained at an inpassable distance. Privilege yes, but gratefully and joyfully valued by a little kid who just got to be in the room sometimes with important people. Barry will always be one of my absolute favorites!
Makes me live Barry even more.
I loved this Laury - and laughed. I too have my Barry memories. A bit different from yours. I was sp IN LOVE during the Manilow years; in love with a guy who was in love with himself mostly and never faithful but hey I thought he would change.... I played & sang Barry's songs, knew all the words. When the breakup came - as of course it had to - I sang This One's For You [still do often]. Thanks for bringing back memories.
Oh I'm so glad you liked it! And it's always thanks for reading. Hey, I think it's so fun that people enjoyed Barry Manilow, and that women thought he was such a romantic force. He wrote the songs haha
PS: My Mom passed away many yrs ago. Her very favorite song was "Can't Smile Without You". Please keep on writing these short stories; you are brilliant at it, and so authentic.
Just beautiful, Laury. You lived my childhood dream! I had those Arista records, too, and sang along. And I met more than one tween and teen who fantasized about marrying Barry Manilow. (The stuff of Girl Guide late-night camping conversations.) What stays with me about your memory is how sweet it was of your dad to make that magical visit happen. But also, what a strange in-between time it was for girls and young women in our rapidly changing culture. Regardless of one's religious background, in our mainstream lives there were few meaningful coming-of-age rituals in place to guide us. Like you, I turned to music as a way of seeking a deeper connection with myself. Songs like Barry's created a sacred space where I could feel my big feelings, all those longings, and do so safely.
These are powerful insights Robin. Yes, other than crushing on someone entirely unattainable, there was this sense of being lost in the world during that time...not knowing how to make the leap from childhood to young adulthood, from living at the home I grew up in to college. The one or two years in between, I had to make choices with very limited information, and I made some fine ones. And I made disastrous ones as well. But here I am, a lot closer to knowing myself.
Saving. I had such a big crush on him!
Right? I thought I was alone, but he still has millions of possibly much older fans now, but he struck a cord.
Laury, I meant to say I haven't read this yet, but I'm looking forward to it!
I totally followed that! Thanks
Friends and I saw Barry live in concert in...1987, maybe? Boise, Idaho. I was in my mid-late twenties at the time. There was an older couple (they had to be at least in their 40s, if not 50s - ancient!) in the row in front of us who really needed to leave the concert and go find a room.
I was singing "Copa Cabana" as I read the lyrics (everyone does, right?). That was one of my faves, because it was a story-song. Thanks for the trek down memory lane, and OMG, YOU MET HIM AND BAKED HIM COOKIES!!!!!!!!
FYI, I subscribed because I like the way you write. I had no idea you belonged to a famous family until you mentioned it in some of your articles.
That's really kind of you, the part about subscribing. I am grateful. Thank you for reading this one. And yes to Copacabana... Apparently you and I are not alone because it was huge, looking for pictures out there on the interweb, I saw so many people obsessed with that era of his! He's a delightful human and that moment in my life deposited long-lasting warmth into my emotional bank... like toll House cookies.