And still more...

That must be one busy office in LA today...
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PRESS RELEASE:

BARRY MANILOW RE-SIGNS WITH ARISTA RECORDSANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM, IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS, ARRIVING IN STORES OCTOBER 13th AND COLLABORATES ONCE AGAIN WITH CLIVE DAVIS ON THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME, SET FOR RELEASE IN JANUARY

IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS Features 12 Yuletide favorites: “Silver Bells,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” (aka “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire”), “Count Your Blessings,” “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer,” and Manilow’s original “Christmas Is Just Around The Corner” (From Cranberry Christmas) AND MORE!

(OCTOBER 7, 2009– New York, NY) Grammy, Tony, and Emmy Award-winning recordingartist Barry Manilow, has just announced that he has re-signed his recording deal withArista Records and will be releasing two new albums, one of seasonal favorites, ringing inthe holidays with contemporary and traditional yuletide repertoire on IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS and THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME scheduled for release in January, just in time for Valentine’s Day (track listing and details for THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME to be announced soon).

On the heels of the extraordinarily successful “decades” series (Greatest Songs of the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties), IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS¸ produced and arranged by Manilow, will arrive in stores on October 13th. A special pre-order campaign at the www.manilow.com website and at Amazon will ensure that fans will receive IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS in its very first week of release.

Manilow, who has had a long-standing relationship with Arista Records and its founderClive Davis, now Chief Creative Officer, Sony Music Entertainment will be teaming up onceagain to record his forthcoming album THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME, setfor release in January. Davis has been a perennial collaborator with Manilow on virtually allhis recordings, since they first worked together on “Mandy,” Manilow’s debut #1 single asthe first artist signed to Arista by Davis in 1974, the first year of the label’s existence.Beyond the sensational “decades” series, Arista is the home to Manilow’s biggest hitsincluding “Mandy,” “It’s a Miracle,” “Could It Be Magic,” “I Write the Songs,” “Looks Like WeMade It,” “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Copacabana (At the Copa),” “Somewhere In the Night,”“Ships,” “I Made It Through the Rain,” and many, many more. Comments Clive Davis:“Barry and I have a mission to bring to a new generation the great songs that are thesoundtrack of our lives. This album does just that and Barry is sounding better than ever."

IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS presents a dozen holiday gems. Contemporarystandards include: “Silver Bells” (first recorded by Bing Crosby & Carol Richards in 1950);“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGMmusical Meet Me in St. Louis); “Christmas Time Is Here” (one of the instrumental themes composed by Vince Guaraldi for 1965’s A Charlie Brown Christmas); and “The Christmas Song” (aka “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire,” the Mel Tormé standard that became an evergreen after Nat King Cole’s 1953 recording).

More: “Violets For Your Furs” (a Frank Sinatra rarity from his album Songs for YoungLovers, 1954); “Toyland” (a perennial favorite from Victor Herbert’s 1903 operetta, Babesin Toyland); “Count Your Blessings” (by Irving Berlin, from 1954’s timeless film, WhiteChristmas); Johnny Marks’ classic “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” (popularized byGene Autry in 1949); and “Christmas Is Just Around The Corner,” composed by Manilowfor Cranberry Christmas, the ABC Family animated TV special first broadcast in December2008, based on the 1976 children's book of the same title.

IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS is actually the third album of holiday songs recorded byBarry Manilow during his career. In 1990, he released the 10-song Because It's Christmason Arista; and in 2002, Columbia issued A Christmas Gift of Love.

IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS is Barry Manilow’s follow-up to the mega-bestselling series of “decades” albums that he masterminded with Arista founder and co-producer Clive Davis. The series began in January 2006 with The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties,which entered the Billboard 200 album chart at #1 (his first #1 album since Barry Manilow/Live in 1977), and was certified RIAA platinum. The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties(October 2006) entered at #2. When the RIAA platinum The Greatest Songs Of TheSeventies entered at #4 (September 2007), Barry Manilow was distinguished as the onlyartist to chart three Top 5 debuts during 2006-2007. The most recent entry in the series,The Greatest Songs Of The Eighties was released November 2008.

With worldwide record sales exceeding 75 million, Barry Manilow is ranked as the top AdultContemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio & Records); with no less than 25 consecutive top 40 hits to his credit between 1975 and 1983, on the Billboard Hot 100. Manilow has worked on over 40 albums over the course of his career as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer.

Stay tuned for further information on THE GREATEST LOVE SONGS OF ALL TIME setfor release in January.

Barry Manilow: IN THE SWING OF CHRISTMAS (final track listing)
“Silver Bells”
“Carol Of The Bells/Jingle Bells”
“Joy To The World/It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year”
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
“Violets For Your Furs”
“O Tannenbaum/Winter Wonderland”
“Christmas Time Is Here”
“The Christmas Song” (aka “Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire”)
“Toyland”
“Count Your Blessings”
“Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”
“Christmas Is Just Around The Corner”
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1) "Re-signed" with Arista? Aside from 1985's Manilow and 2001's Mayflower, has he ever not been with Arista? Especially recently?

2) I admit I haven't heard any of his Christmas records yet, except for what was promoted on morning shows when he made an appearance. If anyone wants to comment, how does he handle a song like "Joy to the World"? It's a religious song, but he's not a religious guy - at least not in the same sense that the song was written in. Any commentary?

3) Thinking ahead to Greatest Love Songs...
Take a look at the tracks on this Christmas album. Some of the pieces are so traditional and so established, everyone knows at least part of them. Some are the kinds of things you know but don't realize (like the instrumental from Charlie Brown). Others, you've never heard of after they were recorded, so Barry can make them his own. (Think I Write the Songs.)

Not that my opinion means anything, but why not take the same approach w/ the new covers record? Sure, you need a couple of "number ones" but how about digging out and reinventing some really obscure works by those artists? The record's working title is "The Greatest Love Songs of All Time", not "the most famous".

Just a thought from a face in the audience.