Neil Diamond is in the hall of fame and Barry Manilow is not? This is just wrong! Manilow is a living legend, and he still has a huge following. He deserves to be in the hall as an entertainer and a composer/producer. up until he stopped touring in 2015, he was still selling out concert halls!

Posted by Daphne on Thursday, 10/20/2016 @ 22:42pm

Barry Manilow definitely has a bit of schmaltzy Vegas crooner about him on songs like "Copacabana", but he also has several gems that are definite soft-rock standards: "Mandy", "Ships", "Trying to Get the Feeling Again", "It's a Miracle", "Looks Like We Made It"... I agree that a little Manilow goes a long way, but those songs (among others) are absolutely essential. He's certainly more talented and tolerable than, say, Michael Bolton (*gag*).

Posted by E E on Wednesday, 01/18/2017 @ 16:42pm

he needs to be in hof. a lot of people may not like him but he is one of the adult comt musicians around. plus has countless awards and does do a lot of good for high school music programs.

Posted by kelly johnston on Thursday, 10/5/2017 @ 19:48pm

Diamond was legitimately rock 'n' roll for years before he started doing the 'cheesy love songs'. Hello, "Cherry Cherry", "Thank The Lord For The Night Time"? On the other hand, Manilow has always put out either MOR or disco. If The Carpenters ever get in, then maybe we can think about Barry. But my vote is no. He isn't rock.

Posted by Michael McNeely on Tuesday, 07/17/2018 @ 15:15pm

Manilow has sold more records and albums than probably 75% of hall of fame inductees. His music is still listened to and will be long after many of those artists will be forgotten. Great writer of songs, great concerts, has wrote many jingles, won Emmy's and Grammys, and has been a very generous person for youth and under privileged kids. The kind of performer that is hall of fame

Posted by Steve roser on Sunday, 02/21/2021 @ 12:06pm

I love the fact that Aretha, Diamond Joel and other non rock artists have made it to the HOF. In this writer's biased opinion as a fan of his..sticking up for Barry to make it to the macho hall is like the captain of the football team sticking up for the champion chess club geek. But, in reality, it would take nothing away from the captain to acknowledge the other's greatness and support him. Gay, straight, bi..who gives??? Singer, arranger, composer..muscian..do me a favor..open the door and let him in..one last note..Sinatra said "he's next", Dillon says "we're inspired by you"..michael Jackson requested him specifically to do a medley of his songs for a Dick Clark special. Pretty impressive for a guy who gets no respect I'd say!!

Posted by Ernest Heron on Friday, 02/26/2021 @ 01:40am

I love the fact that Aretha, Diamond Joel and other non rock artists have made it to the HOF. In this writer's biased opinion as a fan of his..sticking up for Barry to make it to the macho hall is like the captain of the football team sticking up for the champion chess club geek. But, in reality, it would take nothing away from the captain to acknowledge the other's greatness and support him. Gay, straight, bi..who gives??? Singer, arranger, composer..muscian..do me a favor..open the door and let him in..one last note..Sinatra said "he's next", Dillon says "we're inspired by you"..michael Jackson requested him specifically to do a medley of his songs for a Dick Clark special. Pretty impressive for a guy who gets no respect I'd say!! Oh and rolling stone magazine dubbed him THE entertainer of our generation!! I really could go on but I digress.

Posted by Ernest Heron on Friday, 02/26/2021 @ 01:45am

He is a musical genius. I truly doubt that there is anyone who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame who is as musically talented/gifted as Manilow is!! How can someone who is not only a musical legend but a cultural icon not be inducted!!

Posted by Deanne Benkert on Saturday, 02/19/2022 @ 10:56am

There is no one in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame that is as musically gifted as Barry Manilow! Billboard and Cash & Records Magazines have declared him the #1 Adult Contemporary Artist of All Time. He holds countless records on the Billboard charts, including having a song on the charts in every decade since the 70's! Is there any other artist in the Hall of Fame that can say that - seriously doubt it! Every album he has produced for other singers has been nominated for a Grammy! Not inducting him into the Rock N Roll would be a disgrace!!

Posted by Deanne Benkert on Saturday, 03/5/2022 @ 00:16am

I think you truly have to be a fan of his particular style of music to seriously entertain the idea of him being in the HOF. There's no denyong the success he had at his peak, and the millions of records he sold. That said, I think a large part of his success was simply that his timing was right. He, like many artists didn't choose it, it was more ir less chosen for him. You could say the same thing about the Beatles, but I 'm certainly not putting Barry Manilow in even the same universe as them. The mid 70's as it turned out, was the perfect time for his brand of radio friendly music.

Posted by BOC Fan on Tuesday, 03/8/2022 @ 20:23pm

I was beyond disbelief when reading the list of HOF members and not seeing Barry Manilow's name. I have loved Barry Manilow from the first time I heard Mandy in 1974. Having seen him in concert 4x over the past 40 yrs he never disappoints. And no, you don't have to play rock and roll to get into the HOF.
He has recorded and released 51 Top 40 singles on the Adult Contemporary Chart, including 13 that hit number one, 28 appeared within the top ten, and 36 in the top twenty. He has released 13 platinum and six multi-platinum albums.
As well as producing and arranging albums for himself and other artists, Barry has written and performed songs for musicals and films. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award (winning once) as a producer, arranger and performer a total of fifteen times (and in every decade) from 1973 to 2015. He has also produced Grammy-nominated albums for Bette Midler, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan.He has 2 Emmy's, 3 AMA's, a Tony and is in the songwriters Hall of Fame along with winning the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award. He will soon have a musical opening on Broadway. Manilow has sold more than 85 million records as a solo artist worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists.
I think a part of the problem is that a lot of people don't like to admit that they like Barry Manilow's music. I wonder then who bought those 85 million records? Why does he sell out every concert or show he ever does? If ever a musician belongs in the HOF, it's Barry Manilow, and shame on you HOF committee for not putting him in there.

Posted by Michelle on Tuesday, 03/15/2022 @ 12:56pm

Barry definitely deserves it. Yes many of his hits were not what one might consider rock. Neither I could argue are The Bee Gees or Neil Diamond . Listen to other tracks in some of Barry's albums like "she's a star" , "I wanna be somebody's baby" , the theme from American bandstand for gosh sake. Listen to the majority of the album 15 minutes . It's ver guitar driven. If the can consider Dolly Parton then certainly Barry should be considered .

Posted by Chris on Monday, 04/11/2022 @ 08:19am

Barry definitely deserves it. Yes many of his hits were not what one might consider rock. Neither I could argue are The Bee Gees or Neil Diamond . Listen to other tracks in some of Barry's albums like "she's a star" , "I wanna be somebody's baby" , the theme from American bandstand for gosh sake. Listen to the majority of the album 15 minutes . It's ver guitar driven. If the can consider Dolly Parton then certainly Barry should be considered .

Posted by Chris on Monday, 04/11/2022 @ 08:37am

I like Barry Manilow's music, but honestly can anyone call it rock and roll? He was inducted in 2002 in the songwriters hall of fame. That seems appropriate.

Posted by Paul Urbahns on Tuesday, 05/17/2022 @ 11:44am

I have been a big fan of Barry for almost 50 years. Granted he is not a rocker but he is very talented musician. I have seen him perform live 3 times in my life. We my family goes on a long drive for vacation you can bet there will be a few of his cds playing in the car

Posted by Ronald A Gardocki on Monday, 03/27/2023 @ 20:24pm

If the queen of disco Donna Summer, Madonna, ABBA, are in why not Barry Manilow??

Posted by Laura on Sunday, 12/31/2023 @ 17:03pm