Life Will Go On

Album: Barry (1980)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this cut from his 1980 Barry album, Barry Manilow uses his own experience with loss to comfort a heartbroken friend. The tune was written by Richard Kerr - who also composed Manilow's previous hits "Mandy," "Looks Like We Made It," and "Somewhere In The Night" - and "Top Of The World" lyricist John Bettis.

    Kerr recalled how the song came together in the liner notes to Manilow's 1992 anthology, The Complete Collection And Then Some:

    "I wrote this with John Bettis at my home high up in the Hollywood Hills during a particularly bad brush fire season. John's lyric recalls those times in life's journey when we are confronted with the pain and sadness of love lost. I love his sensitive and positive way of finding a solution."
  • Manilow loved the song but struggled to get it right. "Even though I knew how it should be done and what we should all feel when we listened to the record, I just couldn't make it happen," he explained.

    "I kept redoing the arrangement and the vocal, but the rendition that is on the Barry album still isn't what I wanted it to be."

    He included a previously unreleased live version from a 1980 concert on The Complete Collection because he felt it had more passion than his original recording.
  • Peaking at #15, Barry was Manilow's first album to miss the Top 10 in the US, although it did yield a Top 10 single on the Hot 100: "I Made It Through The Rain."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.