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One evening while Barry Manilow was headlining at the Copacabana Hotel in Rio De Janeiro, he wondered if any songs had been written about the legendary Copacabana Nightclub in New York City. He asked his songwriting collaborator Bruce Sussman to look into it, and after a thorough search, Bruce discovered...nothing!
So Bruce got together with lyricist Jack Feldman and concocted a story about about murder, a mobster and mental illness.
Barry LOVED it, and decided to write a Latin-flavored dance tune around the lyrics...and the story of Lola, Tony and Rico became a “Great Song of the '70s!”
In 1978, “Copacabana (At the Copa)” was a Top 15 smash on multiple charts in 7 countries. In the US alone, the song hit #6 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart, #8 on the Hot 100 and #15 on the Dance Chart. In Canada, it did even better: #3, 7 and 2 on the matching charts.
And Barry won the 1979 Grammy Award for “Best Male Pop Performance!”
The song was SO popular, Barry wrote a full 2-act musical theatre production called “Copacabana,” (of course!) which ran for two years in London's West End, and toured the US for over a year!
The story may be FICTION, but the FACT is: “Copacabana” is a “Great Song of the '70s!”
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