Barry Manilow's 1975 Hit Song Has A Little-Known Beach Boys Connection

In late 1975, singer Barry Manilow released "I Write the Songs" from his album "Tryin' to Get the Feeling." By January 1976, it had completed its march to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks. "I Write the Songs" has remained one of Manilow's signature songs and a concert staple ever since. Not surprisingly, because of the lyrics many people believe Manilow wrote this tune, but "I Write the Songs" was actually penned by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys. The song also has quite a history that predates Manilow, and includes a number of other 1970s pop stars.

When Johnston wrote the song in 1975, he'd been a member of the Beach Boys for a decade, joining the band in 1965 as a permanent replacement for Brian Wilson on tour before appearing on numerous Beach Boys records, solidifying his place in the story of the Beach Boys. Johnston played his new tune for some friends who had also worked with the Beach Boys, and who decided to record it on their first album. These were Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon, better known as Captain and Tennille. While they struck gold with "Love Will Keep Us Together" in 1975, their version of "I Write the Songs" wasn't released as a single, and so made little impact. Manilow, on the other hand, would take his version straight to the top.

Before Bruce Johnston's song made its way to Barry Manilow, another '70s pop sensation, David Cassidy of "The Partridge Family" fame, recorded a version that charted in the U.K., and with Johnston as his producer. Neil Diamond also considered recording the song before Manilow, but instead decided to focus on his own songwriting. It was eventually super-producer Clive Davis who was the driving force behind Manilow's recording of the song. He'd heard Cassidy's version while visiting England and felt it would be perfect for Manilow. But the singer initially had reservations about the tune, as he did a few years later with his 1978 hit Copacabana.

"I said 'I can't do that'," Manilow recalled telling Davis concerning Johnston's song (via The Philadelphia Inquirer). "People are going to think I'm bragging about how I write all the songs in the world." But after studying the lyrics, he realized the song was about "the spirit of music" and acquiesced. Johnston also shared in the success, ending up with a songwriting Grammy for the song in 1977 thanks to Manilow's hit version. Johnston also recorded his own version in 1977 for his album "Going Public," making him one of the more than 200 artists who have recorded the song, including Frank Sinatra.