"I Need Your Help Barry Manilow" is a 1979 song by Dale Gonyea, sung by Ray Stevens.Satirist Ray Stevens Turns Barry Manilow on His Musical Ear, People Magazine, May 28, 1979 It was the first track on Stevens' album, The Feeling's Not Right Again. The single's release in March preceded the release of the album in June.
The single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording and reached number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It spent a total of eight weeks on the chart. On the Cash Box Top 100, it peaked at number 34. It also charted in Canada and Australia.
Background As with most of Stevens' songs, "I Need Your Help Barry Manilow" features a comedic story line. It also uses riffs reminiscent of many of Manilow's best known hits, led off with a musical phrase resembling the opening of "I Write the Songs". The fictional singer recounts a litany of unfortunate events in his life, some of which are comically trivial or nonsensical. He reaches the conclusion that he needs Manilow to sing one of his more melancholy and wistful songs to comfort him, as several of Manilow's biggest hits have story lines about suffering and misfortune, particularly in love gone awry. The second half of the second verse switches to a recitation that incorporates the titles of several Manilow songs in the monologue: "Mandy", "Copacabana", "Can't Smile Without You", "Weekend in New England", "Could It Be Magic" and "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again". The song also makes reference to MasterCharge, the San Andreas Fault, gossip columnist Rona Barrett, and a slogan for Dristan nasal spray.
Just as the album's cover art is a spoof of Manilow's album Tryin' to Get the Feeling, so the single's cover art is a spoof of Manilow's album Barry Manilow II.
Chart history Weekly charts Chart (1979)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)92Canada RPM Top Singles63US Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - 49US Cashbox Top 10034US Billboard Adult ContemporaryBillboard Adult Contemporary, April 28, 197911US Country85
References
External links Lyrics of this song