Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus in Brooklyn, New York on June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter best known for his hit recordings "I Write The Songs", " Mandy" and "Copacabana (At The Copa)".
Manilow dominated the soft rock scene in the 1970s with a string of top ten hits and multi-platinum albums. His music is considered by some to be kitsch or camp, even when it was released, owing to its difference in style to the pop or rock mainstream. Despite the frequent barbs from critics and lampooning by comedians, he continues to maintain a large fan base, especially among baby-boomer women in his native United States, as evidenced by the No. 3 debut of his 2002 greatest hits album Ultimate Manilow. A quote from 20 years ago that is still used today in his publicity: "most probably he's the showman of our generation" by Rolling Stone.