Введение
"I Write the Songs" – популярная песня, написанная Брюсом Джонстоном в 1975 году и выпущенная на его альбоме Going Public в 1977 году. Версия Барри Манилоу достигла первого места в чарте Billboard Hot 100 в январе 1976 года после двух недель на вершине чарта Billboard Adult Contemporary в декабре 1975 года. Песня получила премию «Грэмми» как песня года и была номинирована на «Запись года» в 1977 году. Оригинальная версия была записана Captain & Tennille, которые работали с Джонстоном в начале 1970-х годов вместе с The Beach Boys. Она вошла в их альбом 1975 года Love Will Keep Us Together. Первым синглом "I Write the Songs" стал релиз от кумира подростков Дэвида Кэссиди из его сольного альбома 1975 года The Higher They Climb, который также был спродюсирован Джонстоном. Версия Кэссиди достигла 11-го места в британском чарте синглов в августе того же года. Джонстон заявил, что для него «я» в этой песне – это Бог.
"I Write the Songs" is a popular song written by Bruce Johnston in 1975 and released on his album Going Public in 1977. Barry Manilow's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976 after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977. The original version was recorded by Captain & Tennille, who worked with Johnston in the early 1970s with the Beach Boys. It appears on their 1975 album Love Will Keep Us Together. The first release of "I Write the Songs" as a single was by teen idol David Cassidy from his 1975 solo album The Higher They Climb, which was also produced by Johnston. Cassidy's version reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in August of that year. Johnston has stated that, for him, the "I" in the song is God,
Manilow was initially reluctant to record the song, stating in his autobiography Sweet Life: "The problem with the song was that if you didn't listen carefully to the lyric, you would think that the singer was singing about himself. It could be misinterpreted as a monumental ego trip." Record World called it "an uplifting production number" and "perhaps [Manilow's] strongest offering since 'Mandy.'"
Манилоу изначально не хотел записывать эту песню, о чем он написал в своей автобиографии Sweet Life: «Проблема с песней была в том, что если не прислушиваться к тексту, можно было подумать, что певец поет о себе. Это можно было бы истолковать как проявление огромного эгоизма». Журнал Record World назвал ее «вдохновляющим номером» и «возможно, самым сильным произведением [Манилоу] после ‘Mandy’».
"I Write the Songs" is a popular song written by Bruce Johnston in 1975 and released on his album Going Public in 1977. Barry Manilow's version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1976 after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975. It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977. The original version was recorded by Captain & Tennille, who worked with Johnston in the early 1970s with the Beach Boys. It appears on their 1975 album Love Will Keep Us Together. The first release of "I Write the Songs" as a single was by teen idol David Cassidy from his 1975 solo album The Higher They Climb, which was also produced by Johnston. Cassidy's version reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart in August of that year. Johnston has stated that, for him, the "I" in the song is God,
Manilow was initially reluctant to record the song, stating in his autobiography Sweet Life: "The problem with the song was that if you didn't listen carefully to the lyric, you would think that the singer was singing about himself. It could be misinterpreted as a monumental ego trip." Record World called it "an uplifting production number" and "perhaps [Manilow's] strongest offering since 'Mandy.'"
Чарты на конец года
График (1976) Рейтинг: Австралия (Kent Music Report) – 52, Канада – 49, США (Billboard Hot 100) – 13, США (Billboard Easy Listening) – 5.
Популярность
После того, как его версия достигла первого места, Манилоу сам сочинил шуточную песню, вдохновлённую этой композицией, которую он записал под названием "I Really Do Write the Songs", в которой поёт о процессе создания каждой части песни и повторяет фразу "Sometimes I really do write the songs" в конце каждого куплета. В финале он поёт: "Sometimes, ah, what the hell, I write the songs". Песня не была выпущена в то время, но в 2006 году вошла в качестве бонус-трека в переиздание его альбома This One's for You.