By Dustin Fitzharris***On May 1, Melissa Manchester stood center stage at Carnegie Hall, looking every bit of the star she is. In a black and gold coat, Manchester performed “I Am Your Child” during the New York Pops 40th Anniversary Gala honoring Barry Manilow and his music. That song was a personal nod to Manchester and Manilow’s enduring friendship that very few in the entertainment industry can claim.
“He asked me to do it,” Manchester says. “He remembered 50 years ago sitting in his apartment and having Chinese food. Apparently, I said, ‘One day we’ll do a concert together, and you’ll sing a song of mine, and I’ll sing a song of yours, and I will sing “I Am Your Child.’”
When asked what song Manchester would like Manilow to sing from her vast catalog if she was given a tribute, she says “Midnight Blue.”
Not surprising, the song co-written with Carole Bayer Sager, became her first Top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and reached number one on its Adult Contemporary chart. From there, Manchester was on her way, racking up a slew of hits including “Come in from the Rain,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and the Grammy-winning “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.” She’ll soon release her new album RE: VIEW, which reimagines some of her greatest hits and rarities.
While RE: VIEW celebrates the past, Manchester’s eyes and energy are on the future. She has just completed her first concerto, which Grammy-winning pianist Jeffrey Biegel commissioned her to write. Manchester calls writing the five-movement piece titled “AWAKE!” an “emotionally exhilarating adventure.” In addition to “AWAKE!,” the musical Sweet Potato Queens, which Manchester composed, will launch a new production at the Marcelle Theater in St. Louis in February 2024.
On a brisk, spring morning in Manhattan, just days after her appearance at Carnegie Hall and sold-out shows in Connecticut and New Jersey, I sat down for breakfast with Manchester in a cozy restaurant. Over eggs, toast and coffee, we had much to discuss. After all, this year marks her 50th anniversary in show business. Her music has touched generations. But when you get to know Manchester beyond the records, it becomes clear that for her the music has brought lessons—and from those lessons she thinks, processes and learns.
“I know myself. I know what I know, and I’m comfortable with what I’ve done and who I am,” she says. “I own the mistakes I’ve made. My mind has been reframed. I’ve been rewired because I’ve hung in there long enough. I know what lands at my feet and what does not.”
Dustin Fitzharris (DF): As I was on my way to meet you, the phrase “It’s today” kept running through my mind, which is how you begin many of the thoughts you share on social media. I was like, “It’s today! Breakfast with Melissa!”
Melissa Manchester (MM): I had read that Jerry Herman’s mother would greet him in the morning with “It’s today!” It’s also what
he wrote for the opening of “Mame.” I thought, that’s good, I’ll do that.
DF: I was also listening to the song “Time” from your album Emergency. In thinking of time and your 50th anniversary in show business, are you a reflective person?
MM: Only to learn. I don’t like to get sucked down into regrets. That’s too hard.
DF: It reminds me of a recent recording you did of the song “Lessons to Be Learned” as a tribute to singer-songwriter Marsha Malamet. What is one of the greatest lessons you’ve learned?
MM: Be gentle with yourself when you start to feel regret. It’s an emotional sock drawer. You’re never going to get to the bottom of it.
DF: Will you ever write a memoir?
MM: I think I have cleared my mind to start working on a book. I have saved my journals since I was 14. It’s [the memoir] not about this happened and then this happened. It’s more about what I’ve learned along the way. We really do live in chapters. Get to the point where you look in the mirror each morning and say, “Good morning. I’m so glad you’re here.” You have to live with yourself. You have to befriend yourself. You have to carry around all of your luggage, which hopefully becomes a matching set. Tattered and torn it may be.
DF: How are things different for you as an artist today from when you started?
MM: In the beginning, I was the artist and told to just take care of my art. [And told] We’ll take of the rest. Somebody will take care of your finances and somebody will take care of all your lega
l stuff. You’re told that you don’t have to think about any of that stuff—and therefore you don’t. That is not good.
DF: When you’re speaking to aspiring artists now who want a career in show business, what advice do you give?
MM: It takes a village. You need to be surrounded by good people who will be supportive of you and will help you when you are stuck. Help you find your answer as opposed to giving you their answer.
DF: Raising children takes a village too. You have two children—and now you’re a grandmother! What’s that like?
MM: It’s amazing. It’s spiritual. You are seeing your son and his wonderful wife move into their lives as a family. You’re standing on the shore watching them move off—and you can be invited to join them—but you are on the shore letting them go. It’s remarkable.
DF: In the past 50 years you’ve had quite the journey. The first album you released was Home to Myself. When you look at that album cover, a straight-on shot, what would you say to your 22-year-old self?
MM: Among them, I would say, remember that you are the center creative force of all the people you encounter who work for you. They may try and tell you that you work for them and that you are lucky to have them, but they are really lucky to have you. You can trust that.
I would also say, when you feel anxious, find ways to slow your brain down because it’s just fear. Take care of yourself. People will drop off. You will lose pe
ople along the way. Just take care of your soul, take care of your mind and take care of your body.
DF: In thinking of album covers, do you have a favorite from your career?
MM: For the Working Girl. George Hurrell [photographer] was just a master. He knew exactly what he was looking for. When you look at that photograph, every ripple in the material, he placed. Every position of my fingers, he placed. He created the picture for the camera.
DF: That photo was stunning. I was always intrigued how you looked like a statue with no arms.
MM: It was based on Blonde Venus and it was based on the Venus de Milo. She had no arms. Working with him was very unique.
DF: Do you like doing photo shoots?
MM: I actually do if I feel that I’m being taken care of. Anybody who has an appreciation for old Hollywood glamour always has my heart.
DF: The For the Working Girl album was released in 1980. That decade found your music and image changing. When you look back on that time, what goes through your mind?
MM: It’s very interesting. That’s where … how do I explain it?
DF: I bring it up because in thinking of your career, much of the music from the ‘80s was a departure from the kind of music that initially made people fall in love with you.
MM: It was a manipulation from the record company. Madonna was showing up. Disco was happening. They wanted to move me from ruminative balladeer to more mainstream. I didn’t have the words or the courage to say, “I don’t think this is the path for me.”
Another thing I just started to notice in the last couple of years is my dear friend Barry Manilow was on the same label as I, Arista, and the songs that he was given were very expansive and very inclusive and very gentle. I was given “Nice Girls” and “Pretty Girls.” What’s wrong with this picture? I just did not have the language to say, “This doesn’t feel right. Why am I being given the kitten songs?” It’s only in looking back that I have to breathe gently and look at those times and how women were framed. I was a willing person and participant because I didn’t know any better, and I didn’t have anyone around me to say, “You may want to slow this down and think about it.” I could have said, “Keep looking for other songs.” But I didn’t.
DF: In this moment, what do you think you learned from that time?
MM: It’s real interesting to reframe a chapter of your past and think about who you were and how you were. How undeveloped your soul was, your mind was, to deal with power and say, “Let’s discuss this and find a more balanced approach.”
DF: And yet I’m sure you realized how amazing it was to have the kind of life where you were recording albums, traveling and performing for audiences.
MM: Gratitude was always the first foot in the door. Be that as it may, you are entitled to unfurl the flag and want to march under it and say, “This is what my flag looks like. Are we all marching under that flag?” But I couldn’t do it at that moment because I didn’t know it at that moment.
DF: And now?
MM: Now I look in the rear-view mirror once in a while and try to forgive myself because that’s where I was. It’s just interesting that a male would be given certain kinds of songs and a woman would be given other kinds of songs. That’s the part that has piqued my interest.
DF: You mentioned chapters a few times. What would you call this chapter of your life?
MM: A really good one.
For more on Melissa Manchester, visit www.melissamanchster.com
