January 17, 1976 –
Barry Manilow scored his second US No.1 single with I Write The Songs, which was written by The Beach Boys Bruce Johnson, on this date.
Manilow was originally reluctant to record this song, saying to Arista Records chief Clive Davis, “This ‘I Write The Songs’ thing Clive, I really don’t want to do it.” Manilow says his worry “was that the listeners would think I was singing about how “I” write the songs, when it was really about the inspiration of music. Clive understood, but didn’t think it would be a problem. “Besides,” he told me, “You DO write songs!” Manilow says he was concerned about coming off as a gigantic egomaniac, but that he liked the song so much he decided to record it. He adds, “Whenever I heard the song in public, I felt the need to run to everyone who was listening and say, ‘You know, I’m really not singing about myself!’“
The Haus of Dcaligari 