''Showstoppers'' is an album by singer-songwriter

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

, released in 1991. It was his first album to not feature any original music.

Track listing

#" Give My Regards to Broadway (from ''

Little Johnny Jones ''Little Johnny Jones'' is a musical by George M. Cohan. The show introduced Cohan's tunes " Give My Regards to Broadway" and " The Yankee Doodle Boy." The "Yankee Doodle" character was inspired by real-life Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan. Ba ...

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George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

) #"Overture of Overtures" - 4:11 #"All I Need is the Girl" (from ''

Gypsy {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

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Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

) #"Real Live Girl" (from '' Little Me'') - 3:26 (

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

Carolyn Leigh Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". W ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

) #"

Where or When "Where or When" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical ''Babes in Arms''. It was first performed by Ray Heatherton and Mitzi Green. That same year, Hal Kemp recorded a popular version. The song also appeared in the film version ...

" (from ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a work ...

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Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...

) #"Look to the Rainbow" uet with Barbara Cook">Barbara_Cook.html" ;"title="uet with Barbara Cook">uet with Barbara Cook(from ''Finian's Rainbow'') - 4:31 (Burton Lane, Yip Harburg, E.Y. Harbourg) #"Once in Love With Amy" (from ''Where's Charley?'') - 4:19 (Frank Loesser) #"Dancing in the Dark (Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz song), Dancing in the Dark" (from '' The Band Wagon (musical), The Band Wagon'') - 3:21 (

Howard Dietz Howard Dietz (September 8, 1896 – July 30, 1983) was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz. According to historian Stanley Green, Dietz and Schwartz were "most cl ...

Arthur Schwartz Arthur Schwartz (November 25, 1900 – September 3, 1984) was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz. Biography Early life Schwartz was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New ...

) #"You Can Have the TV" (from ''Notes'') - 2:48 (

Craig Carnelia Craig Carnelia (born 1949) is an American musical theater composer and singer, known for his collaboration on the musicals '' Working'' and ''Sweet Smell of Success''. Biography Carnelia grew up in Floral Park, New York. He was exposed to Broad ...

) #" I'll Be Seeing You" (from ''

Right This Way ''Right This Way'' is a Broadway production that opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 5, 1938, and ran for fifteen performances. It was categorized as an original musical comedy and was set in Paris and Boston. It starred Joe E. Lewis a ...

'') - 3:14 (

Irving Kahal Irving Kahal (March 5, 1903, Houtzdale, Pennsylvania – February 7, 1942, New York City) was a popular American song lyricist active in the 1920s and 1930s. He is best remembered for his collaborations with composer Sammy Fain which started in ...

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...

) #"But the World Goes 'Round" (from ''

And the World Goes 'Round ''And the World Goes 'Round'' is a musical revue showcasing the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb. The revue takes its title from a tune the songwriting team wrote for Liza Minnelli to sing in the film ''New York, New York'' (that song, however, ...

'') - 3:52 (

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita ...

) #" Fugue for Tinhorns" rio with Michael Crawford & Hinton Battle">Michael_Crawford.html" ;"title="rio with Michael Crawford">rio with Michael Crawford & Hinton Battle] (from ''Guys and Dolls'') - 2:47 (Loesser) #"Luck Be a Lady" (from ''Guys and Dolls'') - 2:15 (Loesser) #"Old Friends" (from ''Merrily We Roll Along (musical), Merrily We Roll Along'') - 1:09 (Sondheim) #"The Kid Inside" (from ''

Is There Life After High School? ''Is There Life After High School?'' is a musical with a book by Jeffrey Kindley and music and lyrics by Craig Carnelia. It is loosely inspired by Ralph Keyes' best-selling book of the same name. The show uses songs and monologues to recall th ...

'') - 3:59 (Carnelia) #"Never Met a Man I Didn't Like" (from ''

The Will Rogers Follies ''The Will Rogers Follies'' is a Musical theatre, musical with a book by Peter Stone (writer), Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. It focuses on the life and career of humorist and performer Will Rogers, ...

'') - 4:59 (Coleman/

Betty Comden Betty Comden (May 3, 1917 – November 23, 2006) was an American lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to numerous Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows of the mid-20th century. Her writing partnership with Adolph Green spann ...

Adolph Green Adolph Green (December 2, 1914 – October 23, 2002) was an American lyricist and playwright who, with long-time collaborator Betty Comden, penned the screenplays and songs for musicals on Broadway (theatre), Broadway and in Cinema of the Unite ...

) #" Bring Him Home" (from ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'') - 3:46 (

Claude-Michel Schönberg Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include '' La Révolution Fr ...

Alain Boublil Alain Boublil (born 5 March 1941) is a French national musical theatre lyricist and librettist, best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg for musicals on Broadway and London's West End. These include '' La ...

Herbert Kretzmer Herbert Kretzmer (5 October 192514 October 2020) was a South African-born English journalist and lyricist. He was best known as the lyricist for the English-language musical adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and for his collaboration with French ...

) #"If We Only Have Love" (from ''

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway product ...

'') - 3:51 (

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

)

Personnel

Vocalists * Barry Manilow – vocals * Beth Anderson, Susan Boyd, Jon Joyce and

Joe Pizzulo Joe Pizzulo (born June 15, 1951) is an American vocalist best known as one of the lead singers on 1980s hit singles credited to Sérgio Mendes, including " Never Gonna Let You Go" (from Mendes' self-titled 1983 album) and "Alibis" (from the 1984 ...

– backing singers (2) *

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

– vocals (6) * Patricia Arkin, Debra Byrd, Keith Carlisle, Phillip Dennis, Susan DuBow, Marc Hulett, Garry C. Kief, Paul Levine, Dolores Mazzolla, Reparata, Steve Wax, Ken Welch and Mitzie Welch – chorus (7) *

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English actor, comedian and singer. Crawford is best known for playing the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'', Cornel ...

and

Hinton Battle Hinton Govorn Battle Jr. (November 29, 1956 – January 30, 2024) was an American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer. He won three Tony Awards, all in the category of Featured Actor in a Musical. He was the first to portray the Scarecrow ...

– vocals (12) Musicians (Tracks 1, 5, 8-10, 12, 14-16 & 18) *

Randy Kerber Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema. Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national tour with Bette Midler in ...

– acoustic piano (1, 5, 8, 10, 12, 14-16, 18), synthesizers (5, 9, 10, 15, 16, 18) * Mitch Holder – guitar solo (5), guitar (8) * Eddie Arkin – guitar (9, 18) *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los A ...

– guitar (15, 16, 18) *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the fathe ...

– bass guitar (5, 8, 15, 18) *

Chuck Berghofer Charles Curtis Berghofer (born June 14, 1937) is an American double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked in jazz and as a session musician in the film industry for more than 60 years, including working on more than 400 movie soundtracks. ...

– bass guitar (10) *

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing the electric bass at age 10, performing and composing at age 12, and at age 15, s ...

– bass guitar (12, 16) *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums (5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18) *

Dan Higgins Dan Higgins (born January 28, 1957, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States) is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as John Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, M ...

– saxophones (12) * Joel Peskin – saxophones (12) *

Bill Reichenbach Jr. William Frank Reichenbach Jr. (born November 30, 1949) is an American jazz trombonist and composer. He is the son of Bill Reichenbach, who was the drummer for Charlie Byrd from 1962 to 1973. He is best known as a session musician for television, ...

– trombone (12) * Gary Grant – trumpet (12) *

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', '' Rock with Y ...

– trumpet (12) Musicians and Orchestra (Tracks 2-4, 6, 7, 11, 13 & 17) * Randy Kerber and Tom Ranier – acoustic piano * Pat Coil, Randy Kerber and Tom Ranier – synthesizers *

Dennis Budimir Dennis Matthew Budimir (June 20, 1938 – January 10, 2023) was an American jazz and rock guitarist. He was considered to be a member of the Wrecking Crew. Biography Budimir learned to play piano and guitar in his youth and first played profe ...

and John Pondel – guitars *

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) (1954–2022), American sportswriter and reporter *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, Joh ...

, Jimmy DeJulio, Arni Eglisson, Abraham Laboriel and John Patitucci – bass * Sol Gubin, Steve Houghton,

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters. Life and career Mason was born and grew ...

, Carlos Vega and

Dave Weckl Dave Weckl (born January 8, 1960, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American jazz fusion drummer and the leader of the Dave Weckl Band. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Weckl started playing his first se ...

– drums *

Larry Bunker Lawrence Benjamin Bunker (November 4, 1928 – March 8, 2005) was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. ...

, Judith Chilnick, Alan Estes,

Joe Porcaro Joseph Thomas Porcaro (April 29, 1930 – July 6, 2020) was an American jazz drummer. Biography Personal life The Porcaro family is, on the paternal side, originally from San Luca, an Aspromonte village in the province of Reggio Calabria. Joe ...

and

Walfredo Reyes Jr. Walfredo Reyes Jr. (born Walfredo de los Reyes Palau IV; December 18, 1955) is a Cuban American musician who is an expert in drum set and auxiliary percussion, and a music educator and clinician. He has performed with many jazz, Latin, World musi ...

– percussion *

Donald Ashworth Donald William Ashworth (born March 16, 1931) is a musician who was a member of ''The Tonight Show Band'' for thirty years before retiring in 1995. Ashworth played woodwind instruments with the group starting from Johnny Carson's first week as hos ...

Gene Cipriano Gene Fred Cipriano (July 6, 1928 – November 12, 2022), known familiarly as "Cip", was an American woodwindist and session musician, playing clarinet, oboe, flute and saxophone among other instruments. He played on hundreds of recording sessions ...

, Earl Dumler, Gary Foster, Bill Green, Gary Herbig, Dan Higgins,

Ronny Lang Ronnie Lang (sometimes spelled Ronny; born July 24, 1927) is an American jazz alto saxophonist. His professional début was with Hoagy Carmichael's Teenagers. He also played with Earle Spencer (1946), Ike Carpenter, and Skinnay Ennis (1947). La ...

, Dick Mitchell,

Jack Nimitz Jack Nimitz (January 11, 1930 – June 10, 2009) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist, nicknamed "The Admiral" - a reference to Chester Nimitz. Career A native of Washington, D.C., Nimitz started on clarinet in his early teens before pl ...

, Joe Soldo and Bob Tricarico – woodwinds * William Booth, Bryant Byers, Alan Kaplan, Charles Loper,

Dick Nash Richard Taylor Nash (born January 26, 1928) is an American jazz trombonist most associated with the swing (genre), swing and big band genres. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and began playing brass instruments at ten. He became more intere ...

Jim Self James Martin Self (born August 20, 1943) is an American tuba, tubist and composer from Los Angeles. Self has performed extensively in Los Angeles and internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral tubist, and, most notably, as a stud ...

, Kenny Shroyer and Chauncey Welsch – trombone * Rick Baptist, Stuart Blumberg,

Oscar Brashear Oscar Brashear (August 18, 1944 – July 7, 2023) was an American jazz trumpeter and session musician from Chicago, Illinois. After studying at DuSable High School and Wright Jr. College (currently known as Wilbur Wright College) under John DeR ...

Bobby Bryant Bobby Bryant (born January 24, 1944) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback who played for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecock ...

Buddy Childers Marion "Buddy" Childers (February 12, 1926 – May 24, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and ensemble leader. Childers became famous in 1942 at the age of 16, when Stan Kenton hired him to be the lead trumpet in his band. Biograph ...

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical ab ...

, Gary Grant, Walter Johnson and Larry McGuire – trumpet * Tommy Johnson –

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

* Marni Johnson, Brian O'Connor, Kurt Snyder and Brad Warnaar –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

* Ronald Cooper, Christine Ermacoff, Barbara Hunter, Ray Kelley, Ray Kramer, Earl Madison, Nils Oliver, Harry Shultz and Tina Soule – cello * Gayle Levant and Joann Turovsky – harp * Bob Becker, Sam Boghossian, Richard Elegino, Myra Kestenbaum, Linda Lipsett, Carole Mukogawa, Dan Neufeld, Harry Shirinian, Lynn Subotnik, Raymond Tischer and Herschel Wise – viola * Murray Adler, Israel Baker, Jackie Brand, Mari Botniclk, Bobby Bruce, Bette Byers, Harold Dicterow, Bonnie Douglas, Assa Drori, Bruce Dukov, Ron Folsom, Irv Gellar, Harold Goldman, Alex Horvath, Ezra Klegar, Bernie Kundell, Razdan Kutumjian, Carl LaMagna, Joy Lyle, Michael Markman, Stan Plummer, Bob Sanov, Sheldon Sanov, Sid Sharp, Paul Shure, Alex Treger, Dorothy Wade, Francine Walsh and Tibor Zelig – violin * Frank Capp and Bill Hughes – orchestra contractors * Doug Dana, Janice Hayen, Bill Hughes, Bob Hurrell, Jeff Jones, C. Lake, Diz Mullins, Yvonne Richardson, Jim Surrell and Dick Thurik – music copyists Arrangements * Barry Manilow (1, 9, 10, 12, 14-16, 18) * Eddie Arkin (1, 5, 8-10, 12, 14-16) * Billy Byers – orchestra arrangements (2-4, 6, 7, 11, 13), orchestra conductor (3, 4, 11, 13) * Bruce Broughton – orchestra conductor (2, 6) * Jerry Hey – additional horn arrangements (11), horn arrangements (12) *

Artie Butler Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American arranger, composer, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum album ...

– orchestra arrangements and conductor (18)

Production

* Barry Manilow – producer * Eddie Arkin – producer * Don Murray – recording, mixing * Shawn Berman – assistant engineer * Squeak Stone – assistant engineer * Robert Vosgien – digital editing at CMS Digital (Pasadena, California) * Wally Traugott – mastering at

Capitol Studios Capitol Studios is a recording studio located at the landmark Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, United States. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capi ...

(Hollywood, California) * Marc Hulett – personal assistant, credit coordinator * Les Joyce – production coordinator * Carolyn Quan – art direction, design * Randee St. Nicholas – photography * Ron Oates – set design * Alfonso Noe – grooming * Deborah Waknin – wardrobe stylist * Garry C. Kief – management

References

{{Authority control Showstoppers 1991 albums Arista Records albums