Manilow, Barry - Brooklyn Blues Lyrics

The Saxmaster, Tom Scott. ----------------------------WolfSky9, 73 y/o

Hands-down, THE most underrated album / single , Barry ever did. --------This is the kind of song that just grows on you------& soon you find yourself snapping your fingers-----moving those hips,-------& singing along------Barry was 44 y/o-------& finally, on that album cover,dressed for his age, & looked good. IMO, his voice was at it's very best. -------Tom Scott, on Tenor Sax.--------Wolfsky9, 73 y/o

I love this song. It has a mystic, wonderful feeling to it.

Great song, but he should give Steely Dan some credit.

The old Scotty's Hardware Store brought me here. They used to play this song every once in a while over there P.A system.

Great song. Sounds like a very good detective movie...lol

Yeah...this is a cool, smooth song.

This is new to me. COOL SONG !!! Thanks Rich C.

IMO, this album, along with Mayflower, was some of his best work.

Have a pretzel Its a great song

Linda canción poco difundida, la escuché en la desaparecida 94.3 Horizonte de Buenos Aires.- Es un acierto de B. Manilow

Hard to believe this was released 28 years ago in 1990...timeless.

sandiegotrojandawg It was a couple of years before that. Either ‘87 or ‘88.

This is an american icon song!! Being in Nyc hearing this piece is like a eye open dream!

Did any of you see him perform this on the Tonight Show? Wish I could find a video of that performance. It was the best.

Intro with the horns is captivating

Classic!

could never remember the name to this. loved it the first time I heard it. love the horns and sax

Anyone else notice how closely the melody sounds like Steely Dan's "Pretzel Logic"?

This may well be my favorite Manilow song.

It is definitely my favorite.

One of my favorites by Barry. The whole song is amazing but the intro and outro give me the chills big-time!

Nancy Hahn can play it again and again.

love it........................its so smooth.....................

Brooklyn Blues es un temazo, muy bien arreglado con la voz del gran Barry Manilow, es otro exito inolvidable para coleccionar.- Lo escuche primero en Horizonte 94.3

My local radio station started playing this one. Probably the most auto biographical of all of his songs. Most of his songs are. Love it. Happy Birthday Barry.

His best work, IMO.

The comments about plagiarism are amusing. It's a basic blues progression.

He can't stop! He has to write. Barry tells a story, endlessly! I mean, real creative stuff...come on, give it up...

amazing

Truly, one of America's finest singers/ song writers/ arrangers / producers------oh, did I mention the man can seriously pound the keys ?? Unbelievable talent, & I for one always admired, & loved this man & his music! I took a lot of heat at times, but talent----& the man overflows with it -----will win out in the end! God Bless you, Barry. And, your private life---& sexuality-----is totally your business. -----------------------------------------Wolfsky9

.....Holy FUCK ....Your Friend........Y'All!

Steely Dan : Pretzel Logic...

You cannot play this song at a low volume! It is so elegantly jazzy and yet so sweetly Pop. But best of all, it is autobiographical and real! I read so many on-target remarks here, and that just was very cool to see that others love this as well! Love you, Barry!

Most have no idea the amount of plagiarizing that occurs in the music industry. It's a fact

like this "inspiration" based upon PRETZEL LOGIC.. George Harrison : my sweet lord : hes so fine by the Ronnettes...

We it not for plagiarizing we wouldn't have any music

ummm all must be based upon plagiarism?

86 th street and 18 th Avenue,some 30 yrs ago,,,but not today,it aint what it was,,unfortunately ! Thanks,Fegele !

Damnit barry, i'm trying to find recordings of blues from brooklyn!!!

One of my favorite Barry songs. I am really enjoying reading the well-written accolades below. Barry always and forever! What a legend!

LOVE LOVE THIS SONG R. MANILOW I'M FROM bROOKLYN

class track nuff said

Hauntingly beautiful!

classic track

This is probably the most under-rated piece Manilow ever did...

Absolutely!  You hardly ever hear it played on the radio, and that's the shame!

+Frank C. Sooooooo true, thanks

Sir, I totally agree-------this is just gorgeous music, & irresistible.------------------------------Wolfsky9

LOVE songs to a PRINCES.. Maybe DIANA???

Tom Scott is playing that Sax!   SNAP

+Kyylaa JByran George Shelby

That opening is a trumpet

Heh Now Ulvi! °☆ ●  •♥♪♫   •♥♪♫. Awesome

Muy buen tema del gran B. Manilow!

This talented musician can do NO wrong, regardless of genre, composer, lyricist, arranger.  Whether it's his original tunes or covers or re-arrangements, he is masterful.  I have been utterly mystified for four decades by those who can't discern his talent.

I have been mystified,too,totally and completely! So many of the Manilow naysayers are and have been so busy over the years trying to pigeonhole him,trying to classify him;it simply can;t be done. This talented man is in a class by himself! There is no one around who can do what he can do,and he does it ALL!! His mastery of the key change is phenomenal,I find myself counting them,lol....his arrangements stellar,his musical phrasing spot on and emotional. I've come to the conclusion that these Barry bashers simply have no knowledge of what they are actually HEARING! All they hear is a "pop" song. More's the pity,because that's not what I hear at all,what I hear is SO much more and then some. I'm glad I came across your comment,but I better stop here because I could go on,ad nauseum,about the musical brilliance of the Maestro, Have a good night. :)

@Imapeach1 Impeccably well stated.  I understand "putting the brakes" on your supportive ideas.  I once sat down and wrote out what I hear, feel, understand about this unbelievably talented musician.  It was 15 pages long!

@doxienboxie
I Love it!!!! Oh,I believe we could talk. I know some one who says Barry can't sing!!! I looked at them as if they'd lost their mind!! Though,I'm sure,that from a technical standpoint,there are others who could probably sing rings around Manilow,tho I'll be damned if I know who they are,lol,there's something about the tone and timbre of his voice that reaches into one's depths....i believe he delivers an emotional continuity between him and the music he writes....even without the vocals the MUSIC has something in it,something indefinable,not the least of which is the total love of his craft. That love is what reaches. For him it's all about the music. For example,"If I Should Love Again" is a beautiful song....but the kicker of that song is the piano solo in the middle of it. If you have ever heard his story of how he came to write it....well the point is you can actually "see" what he saw,what he was looking at,in the music. It's breathtaking!! Hope to hear from u again,lol.

He never intended to 'sing'. He never thought he was talented in that area. He 'wanted' to write music for someone else to sing. So, in the beginning, he wrote the songs and 'hired' others to sing the auditions but he was rejected time & time again. Rejected to the point he had no more money, so he had to 'sing' the newest song he had written just to get someone to hear it - and Bingo! They took it! Condition being, Barry had to record it. He has one of those mellow voices as many, but unique enough, you can tell when 'he's" singing. (Remember Stuck on Band-Aids' and We Deserve a Break Today - all Barry!)

+Sonia Sergent Oh,I know all of what you say....as a matter of fact,he wanted his friend Ron Dante to sing his songs on the demos,but,Dante said he didn't know the words....why don't YOU do it,lol. Well,the rest,as they say,is history! Let's face it....the man is EFFIN' BRILLIANT!!

It was always chic to slam Barry Manilow and his music.  The man can write a tune to sticks in your head for the rest of your life.  And yeah...he is schmaltzy at times and as far as I am concerned....there's nothing wrong with that.  

Holy crap! There's no way this isn't a conscious emulation of Steely Dan's "Pretzel Logic"-- same phrasing, nearly identical melody, and even the same descending-fifth "oh yeah" at the end of some of the verses! There's a difference between inspiration and grand larceny! Sheesh!

There ain't anything wrong with this song, and this ISN'T grand larceny!  It's all about creativity.  I love "Brooklyn Blues"!  And if I had to pick any of Barry's songs as a #1 favorite, this one would be it!

Besides, Ari, did you not know that the late Jeff Porcaro - first drummer for the band Toto, who died from a heart attack at age 38 in '92 - had borrowed two rhythm patterns from Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan, combined the two patterns with a shuffle bass drum beat, and created the rhythm pattern for their classic signature song "Rosanna"?  Look at how good THAT one turned out!  And "Rosanna" is just as popular today as it was nearly 33 years ago.

@Ari Shagal Ridiculous. And if Manilow copied the Dan he certainly improved upon Pretzel Logic. Do you know how many hundreds of songs are shuffles with these changes?

@Andy M It's not the changes that make it larceny; it's the melody. It hews too closely to that of "Pretzel Logic." Under the law, two songs can have the same drum pattern or chord progression, but if the melody is different, there's no theft going on. If, however, there is too much similarity in the melody, that constitutes copyright infringement. The melody of "Brooklyn Blues" is just too much like that of "Pretzel Logic."

@Ari Shagal Great, sue the Doobie Brothers too for Minute by Minute, which came out 4 years later and has a similar melody to PL. We can hunt down similar melodies all day long. Do you realize that the popularity of music is actually based on similarity?

Andy M '

This is where the classic "middle of the road" musician gets real.

this is the album of barry that i fell in love with!!!

Great song! I would appreciate it if you check out my original song called The Brooklyn Song. Search for Richie Levoi on YouTube and click on The Brooklyn Song.

Or like Robbie Dupree. I like his tune, "Blue Monday".

I Love This Barry Manilow 1988 Hit, "Brooklyn Blues," Which Became A Top 15 Adult Contemporary Hit In America.

He's a kick-ass artist-songwriter-singer! Sarah Vaughan, Gerry Mulligan, Mel Torme, Shelly Manne and other jazz greats thought so too when they recorded 2am Paradise Cafe!!They saw an honored his talent with their time and talent,.....corny my butt!!

He is an awesome musician/songwriter, and this is a killer song. Love the feel and Bass riff. The sax part is cool too.

DESPUES DE HABERLO TENIDO EN VINIL,... Y HABERLO ESCUCHADO UNA Y OTRA, Y OTRA VEZ,.... LO ENCUENTRO EN INTERNET,... GUUUAAAUUUU¡¡¡¡

Im totally agree with Sergio Sam

The Swing Street album and the special were very special. Thanks for the upload.

Barry Manilow can do anything musically. He's got that feel for any place or emotion. Don't care if some say he's corny. He brims with talent.

Below the shmaltz there is an amazingly talented sophisticated musician. Of all your work , Barry, this is what you can be most proud of. No peer can deny the brilliance of this music

I was never a fan, until I heard this tune. Bought the cd, (years ago), and THEN re-visited the older stuff, which, guess what? Isn't so bad as I remember...:)

This is an awesome piece of music.... Barry got so criticized for moving into this genre. I've got this in my musical collection. Go Manilow.... You're a bad boy!

I can't get enough of this song !!!!!

I like the bass keyboard

When i was very young,i went to london to see him in concert. So Great!! Dave Lennard

Every time I hear "Black Velvet" I think of this song.