Trying to Get the Feeling Again - Barry Manilow (1976) 11/5/21

Several times over the past two years, (including just a few days ago), I've mentioned that Richard Carpenter was always on the lookout for songs that would fit Karen's voice and possibly become a hit.

Sometimes he was successful ("We've Only Just Begun," "For All We Know,"), but sometimes not so much--at least right away.

In 1975, while putting together their "Horizon" album, The Carpenters recorded a song that Richard decided was not quite good enough for an album that already was "ballad heavy."

So he shelved it and forgot about it.

At about the same time, Barry Manilow was looking for new material, and happened to find the SAME song. Not only did he think "Trying to Get the Feeling Again" was a hit, he named his next album after it and released it a single.

Barry was right! Not only was it a hit, it turned out to be a "Great Song of 1976," topping the Adult Contemporary charts in both the US and Canada. It also reached #10 on Billboard's Hot 100.

Cut to 1994. Richard was looking through some old master tapes when he stumbled upon a "work lead" of Karen singing the song, designed only for background musicians to follow as a guide while recording.

She was obviously sight-reading the song (Richard could tell, because he could hear her turning the pages of the sheet music while she sang.)

After 18 years, he was surprised to discover that it was much better than he remembered, so he took the master, cleaned it up, (somehow covering the page turns), and added it to the album "Interpretations: a 25th Anniversary Celebration."

It wasn't released as a single, but I've added a link below so you can check it out.

"Trying to Get the Feeling Again:" A "Great Song of 1976" by Barry Manilow that COULD have been a "Great Song of '75" by the Carpenters!

Barry:

Karen & Richard: