| "I Write the Songs" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Captain & Tennille | |
| from the album Love Will Keep Us Together | |
| Released | May 23, 1975 |
| Genre | Pop, adult contemporary |
| Label | A&M |
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Johnston |
| Producer(s) | Daryl Dragon |
| Audio Recording | |
| " I Write The Songs - The Captain & Tennille (1975)" on YouTube | |
| "I Write the Songs" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by David Cassidy | ||||
| from the album The Higher They Climb | ||||
| B-side | "Get It Up for Love" | |||
| Released | May 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 4:07 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Johnston | |||
| Producer(s) | Bruce Johnston | |||
| David Cassidy singles chronology | ||||
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| "I Write the Songs" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Barry Manilow | ||||
| from the album Tryin' to Get the Feeling | ||||
| B-side | "A Nice Boy Like Me" | |||
| Released | November 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock[1][2] | |||
| Length | 3:43 (single version) | |||
| Label | Arista 0157 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Johnston | |||
| Producer(s) | Ron Dante Barry Manilow | |||
| Barry Manilow singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| "I Write the Songs" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Bruce Johnston | |
| from the album Going Public | |
| Released | May 1977 |
| Genre | Pop rock |
| Length | 4:05 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Bruce Johnston |
| Producer(s) | Gary Usher |
"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[3] after spending two weeks atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1975.[4] It won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and was nominated for Record of the Year in 1977.[4] Billboard ranked it as the No. 13 song of 1976.[5]
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.[6]
Johnston has stated that, for him, the "I" in the song is God,[3] and that songs come from the spirit of creativity in everyone. He has said that the song is not about his Beach Boys bandmate Brian Wilson.[7]
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."[4] After persuasion by Clive Davis, then president of Arista Records, Manilow recorded the song, and his version of "I Write the Songs" was the first single taken from the album Tryin' to Get the Feeling. It first charted on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 15, 1975, reaching the top of the chart nine weeks later, on January 17, 1976. Cash Box said of Manilow's version "Good work Barry" describing the song as "melodic, ballad-like beginning grows into an operatic crescendo, all done in clear production that all age groups will appreciate."[8] Record World called it "an uplifting production number" and "perhaps [Manilow's] strongest offering since 'Mandy.'" [9]
- ^ Lecaro, Lina (November 19, 2016). "This Monthly Club Is a Non-Ironic Celebration of Rock's Softer Side". LA Weekly.
- ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (October 15, 1996). "Born To Be Mild: Soft Rock". Precious and Few - Pop Music in the Early '70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 32. ISBN 031214704X.
- ^ a b Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of #1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 425.
- ^ a b c Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 177.
- ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1976
- ^ Official Charts Company info OfficialCharts.com. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
- ^ "I Write The Songs by Barry Manilow Songfacts". Songfacts.com. September 17, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 8, 1975. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 8, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
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