Even Now by Barry Manilow

Album: Even Now (1978)

Charted: 19

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Barry Manilow composed the music to this heartfelt tune, with lyrics by Marty Panzer - his co-writer on tracks like "This One's For You" and "It's A Miracle." Panzer noticed a trend in lonelyheart ballads, where the singer would express their longing for someone based on the sad circumstances of their own life.

"I wanted to write a song that said, 'I miss you, because you're worth missing,'" Panzer explained in the 1992 Manilow compilation The Complete Collection And Then Some.

"Most songs said, 'I'm lonely - and I miss you.' 'I'm unhappy - and I miss you.' 'My life is not good - and so, I miss you.'

I wanted to say, 'I miss you - because you're wonderful. Whether I'm happy, or sad, has nothing to do with it. I miss you because you are an extraordinary person, whose value exists independent of my state of mind, or the condition of my life.'

I wanted to say, 'I miss you, because you're worth missing. Even now.'"
This is the title track of Manilow's fifth studio album, as well as its second single. Aside from going to #19 on the Hot 100, it went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, making it the ninth of his 13 chart-toppers on the tally.
Even Now was nominated for Album of the Year at the 1979 Grammy Awards but lost to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Manilow's own contribution to film music, singing "Ready To Take A Chance Again" for the comedy Foul Play, was honored with an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song that same year.
Around this time, Manilow had already established himself as a soft-rock phenom with a series of hit ballads but he was also a big concert draw. His live album, released in 1977, was a smash hit, selling 3 million copies in the US and earning his first #1 on the albums chart.
This was used in the 2022 miniseries Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story in the episode "The Good Boy Box."

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