Institution intactI am not a Fanilow and...

Institution intact

I am not a Fanilow and really couldn’t stand Barry Manilow (or any pop music) in his heyday, but now I appreciate him and recognize he is very talented and am actually very fond of him.

It was nice to see an article where he wasn’t torn to shreds. I don’t think he deserves that anymore. I think he is an American institution, and I would like to see his critics write the beautiful melodies he has shared with us. He is sincere, and I don’t think well-crafted pop is that easy.

DEBORAH WELLS AH-TYE

Santa Barbara

*

I was in radio for 30 years as a disc jockey. Over those years I have alternately loved and hated Manilow’s music. But I will tell you this: Many who believe he’s not hip or cool secretly sing his songs in the shower or driving along in their cool cars while being cool and hip.

The funny thing is it’s perceived as not cool to dig him, even though the whole world does. Keep it real, Barry.

STEVEN BEHM

Burbank

*

THE most salient point that you didn’t capture was how Barry has managed to really stay in the game. The mid-’80s and ‘90s were certainly a slow spell for him, but he continued to grind it out, touring, staying true to his music and his fan base.

Aside from Barry’s well-polished self-deprecating style, which has wide appeal, I believe he is probably the most underrated musician performing today. Add to that an uncanny talent for song arranging, a “third eye” for performing and transporting the audience into his world, a great presence on records, and the obvious king of the modulation, and it becomes easier to understand how Manilow has sustained all these years.

MONTY MORTON

Agoura Hills

*

WE would like to thank you for the article on Barry Manilow, although we have to ask you to correct something the next time you do an interview with Manilow for publication. Please do not refer to his fans, nor his die-hard fans (“friends” as Barry calls us), as “Fanilows.” We do not like the quotation and find it disrespectful to our true feelings for Barry.

This phrase was coined by a sitcom but this is not what Barry Manilow fans would call themselves and it certainly does not describe the level of dedication we have to Barry; it runs much deeper than being a “Fanilow” (ugh!), but we don’t expect the press to understand that.

LANA HUGHES, JEANETTE HUGHES, LIL TROW AND SUE IRELAND

Wirral, England

*

BARRY commutes daily from Palm Springs to Las Vegas: “There’s just no quiet in Vegas....”

Barry, how much oil do you think would be left in the world if everyone with your means chose to commute as you do? C’mon, get a room and spare the planet.

SCOTT R. CADZOW

San Juan Capistrano