Manilow: Old And New Scores

With record sales exceeding 60 million worldwide, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Barry Manilow is on tour, celebrating the release of his 43rd career album - a collection of songs from two of his major musical productions.

The CD is called "Scores: Songs From Copacabana and Harmony."

On Tuesday's The Early Show, Manilow sang a new rendition of his No. 1 hit single from 1978, "Copacabana," as well as "Every Single Day," from his upcoming musical, "Harmony." He also performed "Dancin' Fool."

Manilow joked with co-anchor Hannah Storm about one of his first jobs: working in the CBS mailroom. He conceded that people got "sick of" him, because, "I had an office next to the rehearsal room with a piano, and I would sneak out of the office and play. I would play for people."

He told Smith he never anticipated "Copacabana" becoming the huge hit it did. "It was a novelty song that we wrote to put on the 'Even Now' album," he recalls. "We thought it was much too sophisticated for the radio. Story songs don't make it on radio. We thought the audiences that bought the album would like it, but had no idea it would be a hit."

Manilow says "Harmony" is a continuation of his true love: "I'm a Broadway baby. I was raised on Broadway musicals. My parents loved them and I studied them when I was growing up, and that was really what I was going to do with my life when I was a young musician. (I wanted to be a) Broadway composer, and then this little song called 'Mandy' distracted me and pushed me into another world."

"Mandy" was a mega-hit, Manilow's first big pop song.

The book for "Harmony" was written by collaborator Bruce Sussman. Manilow and Sussman co-wrote all of the songs. "Harmony" is currently in development for an anticipated Broadway opening in 2005.

"Harmony" is based on the true story of Germany's Comedian Harmonists, the world's first superstar boy band. The Comedian Harmonists enjoyed international album and movie success, performed concert tours around the world and recorded and performed with legendary stars Marlene Dietrich and Josephine Baker before being forced to disband by the Nazi regime.

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