Greatest HIT ARTIST of the '70s, Round 1b: Barry Manilow vs. Bread

[Borborygmi]

Barry Manilow (#9 seed, 9 qualifying Top 100 hits)
1975	36	Barry Manilow	"Mandy"
1975	38	Barry Manilow	"Could It Be Magic"
1976	13	Barry Manilow	"I Write the Songs"
1976	95	Barry Manilow	"Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again"
1977	37	Barry Manilow	"Looks Like We Made It"
1977	65	Barry Manilow	"Weekend in New England"
1978	27	Barry Manilow	"Can't Smile Without You"
1978	74	Barry Manilow	"Copacabana"
1979	93	Barry Manilow	"Somewhere in the Night"

— versus —

Bread (#56 seed, 4 qualifying Top 100 hits)
1970	13	Bread	"Make It with You"
1971	61	Bread	"If"
1972	52	Bread	"Everything I Own"
1977	70	Bread	"Lost Without Your Love"

All poll threads in this mini-megapoll for Barry Manilow
All poll threads in this mini-megapoll for Bread

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Anti-Barry vote. I can't evoke enough negativity against his opponent - they're as bland as white bread.

[Pencil]

Her name is Lola.

BM is horrible. Copacabana is horrible too, but in a way that you keep coming back to Taco Bell*, even though you know it's horrible.






*Insert fast food place of choice.

[Detroit Hoser]

You are correct, my graphillytic friend! Mostly, anyway. Barry arranged an album of Rosemary Clooney songs for Bette Midler that is simply wonderful, including a duet they did of "Slow Boat to China," which has easily become one of my feel-good tunes.

Bread is just plain shit, that's all.

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by Pencil

*Insert fast food place of choice.

Nah, it's as bad here as it is over there.

[Borborygmi]

I don't hate either of these as much as I'm supposed to, although I'm with presumably everyone else in that I certainly don't expect to vote for the winner in Round 2.

[Pogo]

After my rant in the main poll about Bread, I had to vote for Manilow.

[fucktard loser]

Barry Manilow is not greater than pizza.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by fucktard loser

Barry Manilow is not greater than pizza.

He's close to the worst ever.

I mean he's like the fried liver my mom use to make.

[Rebo]

Barry Manilow is definitely no Reuben, but he's better than a Bread grilled cheese...

[NAF1138]

Manilow is, shockingly, a LOT better than the band Bread.

Crazy. Bread is just THAT bad a band guys.

[Larry Borgia]

No vote. I'll vote against the winner in the next round.

[Monstera deliciosa]

I voted for Bread, but the list of hits did remind me of a Barry Manilow song I actually kind of like and had forgotten about. "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" is halfway decent. Actually two-thirds decent. I find the first 2/3rds of the song to be quite touching, because falling out of love is a bitch. The last third is full of the usual Barry bombast, turning the whole thing into a production number.

[silenus]

One of my best friends is a Fanilow, so this vote is for her.

[Oxirane]

:gun to the head: "No, silenus would NEVER vote for Barry Manilow, NEVER, I tell you!!!"

[silenus]

Let's see...someone who can actually write a catchy tune and sing vs Bread.

I would vote for David Boreanaz as Angel butchering "Mandy" over anything by Bread any day of the week.

[NAF1138]

Originally Posted by silenus

Let's see...someone who can actually write a catchy tune and sing vs Bread.

I would vote for David Boreanaz as Angel butchering "Mandy" over anything by Bread any day of the week.

One of the few sane posts in the thread.

[Borborygmi]

Fun fact: David Boreanaz's father did the weather on Philadelphia local news for a bazillion years.

Well, maybe not that much fun, but I can't think of Boreanaz without thinking of happy weather guy Dave Roberts.

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Originally Posted by silenus

Let's see...someone who can actually write a catchy tune and sing vs Bread.

I would vote for David Boreanaz as Angel butchering "Mandy" over anything by Bread any day of the week.

Um, Barry didn't write any of those songs (actually, he composed the music for "Could It Be Magic", but he stole the tune from Chopin.

At least Bread, in all of their bleached processed goodness, wrote their own music.

[silenus]

So they get total blame for it.

[Zeener Diode]

Originally Posted by Dr. Winston O'Boogie

At least Bread, in all of their bleached processed goodness, wrote their own music.

Sorry, but that's not enough to overcome the blandness of their songs.

[Detroit Hoser]

Originally Posted by Dr. Winston O'Boogie

Um, Barry didn't write any of those songs (actually, he composed the music for "Could It Be Magic", but he stole the tune from Chopin.

He based the music on Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20, crediting Chopin on the album. This isn't unheard of in the music world, not even unheard of before popular times. And nowhere in the otherwise very strict rules of the Megapolls is it written that Barry Manilow had to have written each of his hits.

I get that you hate Barry Manilow, that's understandable and maybe a little desirable. But don't fucking lie about it, dude.


According to Wiki, these are some of the songs for which Manilow wrote the music:

Bermuda Triangle
Copacabana
Could It Be Magic
Daybreak
Even Now
I Dig New York
I Made It Through the Rain
I Won't Be the One to Let Go
I'm Your Man
It's a Miracle
It's Just Another New Year's Eve
New York City Rhythm
Only in Chicago
Perfect Isn't Easy
Some Kind of Friend
Stay
Street Singin'
Superheroes
This One's for You
When October Goes

[silenus]

Hell, I'd vote for Barry's jingles before I'd vote for Bread.

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Originally Posted by Weedy Crocker

I get that you hate Barry Manilow, that's understandable and maybe a little desirable. But don't fucking lie about it, dude.

Woah, woah, woah. Let's take it down a bit here. I was commenting on the hits in the list, which FACTUALLY were not written by BM. I don't give a pair of fetid dingo's kidneys one way or the other. Neither one of them is going far in this anyway.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by Dr. Winston O'Boogie

Neither one of them is going far in this anyway.

[Borborygmi]

You know, as the years pass by and people's passions and interests change with the times there are fewer and fewer good places on the Internet to scream complaints about Bread into the void. I'm proud that these 70s music megapolls are providing a venue for this underserved need.

[JackieLikesVariety]

nicely said.

[Detroit Hoser]

Originally Posted by Dr. Winston O'Boogie

Woah, woah, woah. Let's take it down a bit here. I was commenting on the hits in the list, which FACTUALLY were not written by BM. I don't give a pair of fetid dingo's kidneys one way or the other. Neither one of them is going far in this anyway.

FACTUALLY Copacabana and Could It Be Magic were written by Barry Manilow. Which hits did Three Dog Night write, again?

[thylacine]

Is there any way to come out of this vote without shuddering? Useless carbs vs useless sequins. It was close

[Pogo]

Originally Posted by Weedy Crocker

Which hits did Three Dog Night write, again?

In earlier megapolls, I mentioned that 3DN is a cover band. I kinda started to check up on myself after the fact. Here's what I found from studio albums:
Album 1 - Three Dog Night, they wrote 0 of 11 songs
Album 2 - Suitable for Framing, they wrote 1 of 10 songs

• Dreaming isn't Good for You

Album 3 - It Ain't Easy, they wrote 1 of 9 songs

• Rock and Roll Widow

Album 4 - Naturally, they wrote 1 of 10 songs

• Fire Eater

Album 5 - Harmony, they wrote 1 of 10 songs

• Jam

Album 6 - Seven Separate Fools, they wrote 0 of 11 songs
Album 7 - Cyan, they wrote 3 of 9 songs

• Happy Song
• Storybook Feeling
• Into My Life

Album 8 - Hard Labor, they wrote 1 of 9 songs

• Prelude - which is not credited with writers but I count them

Album 9 - Coming Down Your Way, they wrote 2 of 10 songs

• Midnight Flyer (Eli Wheeler) by a new member
• Kite Man by a new member

Album 10 - American Pastime, they wrote 1 of 9 songs

• Hang On by one of the new members, above

Album 11 - It's a Jungle, they wrote 0 of 5 songs

So, they wrote 11 of 103 songs and none of the hits. The singles portion of their wikipedia discography indicates that 0 of the 11 were released.

In a similar fashion, I think Joe Cocker is a cover guy; I can't name a song he wrote. And in the 70s poll, we have the Linda Ronstadt vs Joan Baez battle for Cover Queen.

[Jaglavak]

I'd rather listen to a dumpster rolling down a flight of stairs than Manilow.

[What Exit?]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

I'd rather listen to a dumpster rolling down a flight of stairs than Manilow.

That would be a lot better.

[Detroit Hoser]

I'm not sure I'm familiar with any of the 3DN originals. Maybe it's best they did covers.

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Originally Posted by Weedy Crocker

FACTUALLY Copacabana and Could It Be Magic were written by Barry Manilow. Which hits did Three Dog Night write, again?

Per Wikipedia,

"Copacabana", also known as "Copacabana (At the Copa)", is a song recorded by Barry Manilow. Written by Manilow, Jack Feldman, and Bruce Sussman, it was released in 1978 as the third and final single from Manilow's fifth studio album, Even Now (1978).

Whoops - I missed the Manilow part in the "written by". Probably because the way Wiki works and the others were highlighted.

I did mention that he wrote the music for Could It Be Magic, but he stole the melody from Chopin.

And, what does Three Dog Night have to do with a competition between Barely Manenough and WonderBread? Lighten up, Francis.

[Secret_Squirrel]

There is a long tradition of artists borrowing melodies and ideas from classical music. The Beatles copped classical stuff on songs like Because. I mention this because (no pun intended) I can't quite figure out whether calling out Manilow for doing it is a criticism or just stating the facts.

As far as 3DN and songwriting is concerned, it isn't important. 3DN joined the longstanding tradition of not being writers, but singing other people's songs. That's pretty much how things worked until the 60's when artists writing and performing their own material became commonplace. There were, of course exceptions, like say, Hank Williams, but generally speaking, singers performed material written by others.

Many of my favorite singers were not writers. Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett to name a few.

[Dr. Winston O'Boogie]

Originally Posted by Secret_Squirrel

I can't quite figure out whether calling out Manilow for doing it is a criticism or just stating the facts.

Just stating facts (slightly incorrectly, I will admit). Correction - it started out not as a criticism of BM, but as a plus for Bread.

Joe Cocker is one of my favorite artists (and absolutely my favorite raspy-voiced singer!), and (AFAIK) didn't write any of his songs. Linda Rondstat is one of my favorites, but, again, didn't do any original music (certainly none of her hits were). Don't know about all, but most of Santana's hits were covers. Performing other peoples music isn't a negative, but writing your own is a plus.

Sometimes the cover is better than the original. When I hear Cocker's version of "Leave Your Hat On", I get "film noir" images - a guy standing there in a trench coat and fedora, fog billowing around him. When I hear Randy Newman's original, I imagine a fat guy missing a few teeth standing there in stained boxers and a white t-shirt. Much rather hear Cocker.

[Borborygmi]

The favorite '70s hit artist 1a and 1b polls close in about 24 hours. This one is still close.

[What Exit?]

People, I know Bread is a crappy group. But no go on record encouraging Mr. Crappy Earworm. He's the worst.

[Borborygmi]

I love that this is, by far, the longest thread from Round 1 of the minimega. Passions clearly run deep with these artists.

[What Exit?]

If just one of you change your votes, we can flush this BM away in round 1 and you can see Bread get properly defeated in round 2. Don't you want to see Bread defeated in a landslide?

@Borborygmi, @Doctor French, @JackieLikesVariety, @Kat, @NAF1138, @Pencil, @Pogo, @Rebo, @Secret_Squirrel, @silenus, @thylacine, @Weedy Crocker, @Wolf Larsen, @Zeener Diode

[NAF1138]

Originally Posted by What Exit?

If just one of you change your votes, we can flush this BM away in round 1 and you can see Bread get properly defeated in round 2. Don't you want to see Bread defeated in a landslide?

@Borborygmi, @Doctor French, @JackieLikesVariety, @Kat, @NAF1138, @Pencil, @Pogo, @Rebo, @Secret_Squirrel, @silenus, @thylacine, @Weedy Crocker, @Wolf Larsen, @Zeener Diode

No, I want bread defeated in Round 1

[silenus]

Again, one of my best friends is a Fanilow. I must represent her interests here.

[NoClueBoy]

Originally Posted by Jaglavak

I'd rather listen to a dumpster rolling down a flight of stairs than Manilow.

STOMP!

[NoClueBoy]

In a similar vein... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqJdzYY_Fas

[Kat]

I am still mad at bread.

[thylacine]

Sorry WE but as much as I dislike the old bazza he did contribute more to the 70s than the toast crumbs. Some of it was nearly veering in a positive direction.

[Oxirane]

Originally Posted by Kat

I am still mad at bread.

I am still mad at grilled cheese.

[dba Fred]

Ya can’t make a Ruben OR grilled cheese sandwich without Bread.

Bread went Truckin’ like the Grateful Dead:


And Bread was pro-freedom:


Barry Manilow is stale now, Bread shouldn’t get stale till the next round.

[What Exit?]

It really is super bland (Bread) vs. absolute shit (BM).

For the record, I didn't add that tag, but it is 100% accurate.

[JackieLikesVariety]

Originally Posted by Borborygmi

I love that this is, by far, the longest thread from Round 1 of the minimega. Passions clearly run deep with these artists.

I really can't get riled over this pairing ....but in the spirit of megapoll I reconsidered changing my vote and breaking the tie.

but, no. Manilow is better than Bread if only just.