Barry Manilow's Real Name: Barry Alan Pincus

Quick answer: The singer is known professionally as Barry Manilow. Britannica and Biography.com independently give the original name Barry Alan Pincus and date his birth to June 17, 1943, in Brooklyn, New York (Britannica; Biography.com).

Real name and early life

Independent publishers support the documented original name Barry Alan Pincus. Britannica says he grew up in a lower-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, that his father left the family when he was two, and that several years later he assumed his mother's maiden name, Manilow. It says he took up the accordion and the piano, briefly studied advertising at City College of the City University of New York, took classes at the New York College of Music (now part of New York University), and later at the Juilliard School of Music. Biography.com independently records the Brooklyn birth and says he attended the Juilliard School before writing music for television and advertising.

Career highlights

Britannica says he worked in the CBS mail room to support his education, later became music director of a talent show for the network's local television affiliate in 1967, composed and arranged songs for an Off-Broadway production, and wrote jingles for nationally broadcast commercials. It says that while working as a piano accompanist he met Bette Midler and became her music director, accompanying her on tour and coproducing her first two albums. His debut album, Barry Manilow (1973; later released as Barry Manilow I), initially sold tepidly, Britannica says, but Barry Manilow II (1974) found success through "Mandy," which rose to the top of the Billboard singles chart. Later hits named by Britannica include "I Write the Songs" (1975), which it notes he did not write, "Looks Like We Made It" (1976), and "Copacabana (At the Copa)" (1978), which won a Grammy Award for best male pop vocal performance. A Broadway concert in 1976-77 earned a special Tony Award. Biography.com independently names the 1970s hits "I Write the Songs," "Mandy," and "Copacabana (At the Copa)," as well as "Can't Smile Without You" (1978), and says he co-produced and arranged Midler's Grammy Award-winning debut album and its follow-up.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Barry Manilow or Barry Alan Pincus are looking for the same American pop singer. Independent sources support the original name used in the title.