Quotes from Barry Manilow

I come from nowhere Brooklyn, New York. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. These days Williamsburg is kind of a hip area, but when I grew up there, the taxi drivers wouldn't even go over the bridge, it was so dangerous.

You can't possibly prepare for what happens to you the day you hit No. 1 and people treat you differently.

I didn't want to be treated like a 'star.' I fought it constantly, and I think I was rude.

Sneakers are not my thing.

I love any opportunity I have to make music.

I was the Justin Bieber of the '70s. Really, I was.

These days, with 'American Idol' and all the other reality shows, young people become famous overnight, and that can be very difficult to handle, the way photographers follow you around and study your every move.

You know, when I did 'American Idol' the three times, I tried to tell these kids you have to tell the story of the lyric.

Touring is a young man's game, but after 30 years of it, I want to stay home.

First of all, I've been having a wonderful run of luck with cover albums, songs I didn't write. I had five pop cover albums and two Christmas albums, and they were all very successful.

I feel that after all those horrible reviews and jokes, I wasn't crazy all these years to stand up for the music I believe in. This album has proven that somewhere in the human race, the human heart is still racing and breaking and I am so grateful.

What we hear now is great-sounding records with great-sounding grooves and loops. And the sound of these records is irresistible, but the craft of songwriting is just about over. That's why, whenever I get an opportunity to do an album full of standards, I jump at it because I miss it.

When it comes to me, I just write the most beautiful music I can, I do the best work I can, and then I hand it out there.

I stay glued to my piano and my work. I don't look up. I write, I produce, I do the next project, I do my job. I don't look up, and I try to be kind. I try to be kind to people. That's what I do.

Misfits aren't misfits among other misfits.

Everything you say and do is having an impact on others.

You say something stupid and the next morning you're in the headlines.

I never wanted to be a performer, that was not one of my goals. I wanted to be a musician and that was that.