Barry Manilow's Favorite Song Of His Own Is This 1975 Track He Didn't Write Or Even Record First

Barry Manilow may have written and recorded a huge number of 1970s soft-rock classics, but the one song of his that he likes the best is one he didn't originate in the least. Released as a single in late 1975, Manilow's version of "I Write the Songs" spent a week in the No. 1 position on the Hot 100 pop chart in January 1976. It's one of the best Manilow songs that isn't "Mandy," but the '70s icon can't totally claim ownership of it. A member of a once-popular pop-rock band that had spent much of the 1970s in commercial exile composed "I Write the Songs," even though he wasn't a prolific hitmaker for his main group.

Not only did Manilow not come up with the complex and celebratory song about songs, he didn't even get first crack at recording it. Another gentle pop act, and one that virtually rivaled Manilow for adult contemporary supremacy in the '70s, cut "I Write the Songs" first, but they didn't make a splash with it. It's specifically Manilow's interpretation and performance of the song that made it such a smash in the U.S. — so much so that the musician holds a special place in his heart for it.

Bruce Johnston, a long-time member of the Beach Boys, wrote "I Write the Songs," Barry Manilow's favorite Barry Manilow song. Johnston claims that the gist of the song came to him on a drive through the hills around Los Angeles, and then he quickly wrote and recorded a demo as a piano ballad. After getting turned down by a song contest, Johnston offered the song to a married musical duo who'd collaborated with the Beach Boys. That act, the Captain and Tennille, held the No. 1 spot longer than any other song in 1975 with the iconic hit "Love Will Keep Us Together." That was the title track on the pair's debut album, which also included the first recorded rendition of "I Write the Songs." But the Johnston-penned song wasn't issued as a single. 

Around that time, Johnston got a gig producing David Cassidy, and he convinced the teen idol to cut "I Write the Songs." This time, record execs deemed it single-worthy, and it was a hit, too, reaching No. 11 in the U.K. Manilow's hands-on Arista Records boss Clive Davis caught Cassidy's take and told Manilow that he ought to record it. 

Barry Manilow's recording of "I Write the Songs" was massive in 1975 and 1976, becoming his second of three career No. 1 hits on the pop chart and third of 13 No. 1 hits on the adult contemporary chart. It also earned Manilow a nomination for record of the year at the 19th Annual Grammy Awards, while songwriter Bruce Johnston won the trophy for song of the year.

The public and the music industry seemed to enjoy "I Write the Songs," and so did Manilow. When questioned by The Guardian in 2026, Manilow confessed that the tune of his he cherishes the most, more than 50 years after he recorded it, is "I Write the Songs." The fact that he didn't compose it is irrelevant when considering the song's depth, baked in by Johnston. "I Write the Songs" isn't a first-person narrative — it's about the profound effects of music, told from the point of view of music itself.

"He was saying the spirit of music is really the creator of everything, you know, of all composers' work. And I believe that, too. I believe that when I'm writing, I have nothing to do with it. I'm just taking dictation," Manilow told NPR's "Fresh Air" in 2023. "I loved that idea, but I didn't think anybody listening to 'I Write the Songs' would really understand that. And I was right. Most people actually thought that I was singing about myself."