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Among those celebrating this Independence Day is the music superstar countless fans can’t smile without.
Barry Manilow will be among the stars of “A Capitol Fourth,” the holiday concert broadcast by PBS. Airing at 8 p.m. Saturday, the 29th annual edition also will feature Emmy winner Jimmy Smits hosting on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
Manilow has plenty of musical company for “A Capitol Fourth”: legendary “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin. Natasha Bedingfield, Michael Feinstein, classical pianist Andrew von Oeyen and the cast of the Four Seasons-inspired stage hit “Jersey Boys.” Erich Kunzel will return to conduct the National Symphony Orchestra.
“I know I’ll be on the stage a lot,” Manilow says. “I’ve got this song called ‘Let Freedom Ring,’ which I wrote with my collaborator, Bruce Sussman; I sang it at Bill Clinton’s inauguration and a couple of other times. I’d love to do that.”
“The biggest thrill, of course, will be working with an orchestra that size,” Manilow adds. “I don’t get the chance for that too often. I may have done only a bunch of shows in concert halls in my whole career, so I can’t wait to hear my stuff played by a large orchestra.”
Considering that career has spanned 35 years, and even longer with his earlier efforts as an arranger and accompanist, Manilow enjoys tackling anything new. Lately, he’s enjoyed success with his albums of popular songs of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s; since 2005, his live show has been a regular attraction at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Manilow has found being a Vegas staple an experience unto itself.
“All the strengths are there, and on the other hand, so are all the challenges,” he says. “Having my own (performance) room, I know I can do anything I want to. Recently, I did 30 to 40 minutes of just (material from the album) ‘Here at the Mayflower.’ I said, ‘This was really personal and important to me, and I hope you enjoy it.’
“It went over really beautifully, and I can only do that in a room like that. I couldn’t do that on the road. The challenges are conventions and tourists. Usually I’m spoiled; I get onstage and everybody yells and cheers, but that doesn’t always happen in Vegas.”
Still, that won’t deter Manilow from dipping into his jazz-oriented “2:00 AM Paradise Cafe” and “Swing Street,” among other specialized works, as long as he remains close to the Strip.
“I’ll see if the cement mixers convention likes it,” he muses. “I’ve had so many different albums, so many different styles of music.”
Happy to stay mainly in one place now, Manilow says, “We keep throwing in one-nighters (elsewhere) periodically, whether they’re benefits or regular shows, and that’s fun. I have some more coming up, but I don’t want to tour anymore. That’s the great part of being at the Hilton now: I don’t have to live out of a suitcase. After 30 years, maybe even more, I still found myself ordering room service. It just got to be too much.”
