"Weekend in New England" is a song recorded by Barry Manilow for his fourth studio album, '' This One's for You'' (1976). Written by

Randy Edelman Randy Edelman (born June 10, 1947) is an American musician, producer, and composer for film and television. He began his career as a member of Broadway's pit orchestras, and later went on to produce solo albums for songs that were picked up by ...

, it was released as the second single from the album, and became a Top Ten hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while topping the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

Content

The song's title does not occur in its lyrics but is approximated in the first line of the second verse: "Time in New England took me away", the evident basis of "Weekend in New England" being the leisure habits of New Yorkers for whom "the romantic short escape of choice has long been a drive up the coast towards Massachusetts and the other ew Englandstates", lyrical references to "long rocky beaches and you by the bay" indicating a seaside getaway. The song's narrator, on his first day "back in the city where nothing is clear", fondly remembers the romance of the weekend just past, and yearns to be reunited with the person he met in New England (or vacationed there with).

Background

Composer

made the first recording of his song for his 1975 album ''Farewell Fairbanks'', the track—entitled "A Weekend in New England"—serving as B-side for the single " Concrete and Clay". Prior to "Weekend in New England" being recorded by Barry Manilow (and subsequently by other artists), Edelman modified the song's melody at the behest of Arista Records president Clive Davis, to whose attention

Roger Birnbaum Roger Birnbaum (born November 14, 1950) is an American film producer who owns the company Spyglass Media Group, and was co-CEO and co-chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His two greatest box office hits as producer have been ''Rush Hour 2'' and '' T ...

, then a West Coast A&R man for Arista, had brought Edelman's original version. Davis recalled, "The choruses were beautiful, but the verses needed to be

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

accessible melodically. So I asked Edelman to rewrite the melody of the verses, and if it came out strong, I would ask Manilow to record it." Edelman recalled doing UK promotion for "Concrete and Clay" when he received a long distance phone call from Davis soliciting "Weekend in New England" for Manilow: " avis wentoff on a detailed discussion of why the harmonics in the verse didn't work utin

uch Uch ( pa, ; ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ; ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the southern part of Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexan ...

a way that I didn't feel that my creativity was being challenged."24 April 1977 "Clive's Comeback" by Geoffrey Stokes Although, in Edelman's recollection, Davis indicated that Manilow would record "Weekend in New England" with or without Davis' suggested modifications. Edelman recounted, "It was just that he thought some simplification could really make it a hit. And he was right." Edelman provided Davis with a customized verse melody for "Weekend in New England" a week later.

Personnel

*Barry Manilow - vocals, piano *Richard Resnicoff - guitar *Steven Donaghey - bass guitar *Alan Axelrod - keyboards *Lee Gurst - drums *Gerald Atlers - orchestration

Reception

At the time of the August 1976 release of its parent album: '' This One's for You'', "Weekend in New England" was passed over as lead single but was earmarked for future single release. ''Record World'' Vol 33 #1521 (21 August 1976) "Who in the World: Manilow's Got the Feeling"p.47 Subsequent to the surprising underperformance of the album's title cut as a single—" This One's For You" rose no higher than no. 29 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100—"Weekend in New England" had its single release in November 1976. It afforded Manilow a considerable

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

comeback, entering the Top 20 on the Hot 100 of January 29, 1977. However, "Weekend in New England" did not become one of Manilow's top hits, as its ultimate Hot 100 peak was at no. 10. It did maintain Manilow's virtual "lock" on the no. 1 position of the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart, while the third single release from ''This One's For You'', "

Looks Like We Made It "Looks Like We Made It" is a song by American singer Barry Manilow, from his 1976 album '' This One's for You'', composed by Richard Kerr with lyrics by Will Jennings. The single was released April 20, 1977. Overview The song was first released ...

", returned Manilow to the top of the Hot 100 for the third time. '' Cash Box'' said "a piano plays in the foreground, the vocal is strong and right to the point" and "the production is overflowing with horns and strings."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Subsequent versions

"Weekend in New England" has since been recorded by: *

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for his 1977 album ''Sincerely''. *

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for his 1978 album ''Roger Whittaker Sings the Hits''. *

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for her 1979 album ''Thank You For the Music (I Sing the Songs)''. *

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for his 1980 album ''Remember Romance''. *

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for his 1993 ''A Gift of Love''. *

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for her 1994 album ''Sooner or Later''. * Martin Nievera for his 1999 album ''Return to Forever''. *

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for his 2007 album ''Another Side''. *

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for her 2007 album '' Regine Live: Songbird Sings the Classics''. *

for his 2007 album '' Another Side''. *

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for his 2011 album ''Heroes''. *

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for her 2015 album ''Make Your Own Kind of Music - Live at 54 Below''. *

Kyle Vincent Kyle Vincent is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and entertainer, labeled as the "crown prince of soft pop," by '' Goldmine.'' Barry Manilow has called him, "One of the best singer-songwriters to come along since the heyday ...

for his 2016 album ''Kyle Vincent Sings the Great Manilow Songbook''. *

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for her 2017 album ''Lovelife with Kath''.

Popular culture

*Barry Manilow's version was heard in the 2009 comedy '' Paul Blart: Mall Cop''.

References

External links

* Songs about the United States Barry Manilow songs 1976 singles Song recordings produced by Ron Dante 1975 songs Arista Records singles Songs written by Randy Edelman {{1970s-pop-song-stub