Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, musician, and producer with a career that has spanned more than 50 years. His long string of hit recordings include 'Mandy', 'Can't Smile Without You' and 'Copacabana (At the Copa)'.

Manilow grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and attended Eastern District High School, graduating in 1961. That same year, he enrolled in the City College of New York where he briefly studied before entering the New York College of Music. He also worked at CBS while he was a student in order to pay his expenses.

During this time, he began work as a commercial jingle writer that continued well into the 1970's. Many of the TV jingles he wrote and/or composed he would also perform, including State Farm Insurance ('Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there') or Band-Aid ('I am stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!'), for which he adopted a childlike voice and wrote the music (Donald B. Wood wrote the lyrics). A 1965 Polaroid Swinger commercial featuring Manilow's 'Meet The Swinger' jingle starred a young Ali MacGraw. His singing-only credits include commercials for Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Tab and the famed McDonald's 'You Deserve a Break Today' campaign. Manilow won two Clio Awards (Advertising, design and Communication Awards) in 1976 for his work for Tab and Band-Aid.

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