The only thing Mr. Ed hates more than country music is...

The following announcement about a resurgence in the popularity of Barry Manilow was made by Arista Records.

However, the statement fails to explain the reasons behind this curious phenomenon.

To learn why people are really buying Barry Manilow records, please follow the link at the bottom of this article.

*************************
He is music ... Manilow has the Midas touch

Greatest Songs of the Sixties goes gold

Ultimate Manilow certified double platinum

Voted Artist of the Month at MSN.com

NEW YORK - 2006 has been an incredible record-breaking year for [Barry] Manilow.

His brand new album The Greatest Songs of the Sixties released October 31 was certified gold by the RIAA, exactly one month from its street date.

This is the first time since 1981 for Manilow to have two albums of new material certify gold in the same calendar year, and his Sixties album hit the gold mark faster than his Fifties album released January 31.

In addition, his best-selling greatest hits collection, Ultimate Manilow (Arista, 2002) was just certified double platinum yesterday, and [Manilow] was voted the artist of the month for December on MSN.com with a landslide 91 percent of votes over other chart topping contenders Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Lucinda Williams and Tenacious D.

With the release of Greatest Songs of the Sixties, Manilow enjoyed an unprecedented record launch which garnered him the biggest sales week of his career when it debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at number two with 201,904 copies sold, a 30 percent sales increase over his Fifties album released just 9 months before.

Greatest Songs of the Sixties is his 13-song tribute that arrived in stores on October 31 and the follow-up to the RIAA platinum The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties, the first album in Barry Manilow's career to debut at number 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart upon its release this year on January 31.

Manilow is the only artist of 2006 to have two albums debut in the top two chart positions in the same calendar year.

The two current Fifties and Sixties albums mark the winning reunion in the studio for co-producers Manilow and Clive Davis, Arista founder and BMG U.S. chairman & CEO.

Greatest Songs of the Sixties also caps one of the
most remarkable years of Manilow's long and storied career, which includes the success of 2006's The Greatest Songs From The Fifties (his first number one chart album in nearly three decades), the renewal extension of his exclusive performing contract with the Las Vegas Hilton Theater ("Manilow: Music & Passion") through 2008, and winning his second career Emmy Award (this past August), when "Manilow: Music & Passion" was awarded Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program.

Each song on Greatest Songs of the Sixties is a classic in its own right from "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" (1965) to "And I Love Her" (1964), "When I Fall In Love" (1962) to three Burt Bacharach classics: "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" (1969), "What The World Needs Now Is Love" (1965) and "This Guy's In Love With You" (1968).

Like the '60s itself, the album covers many genres, from "There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over The World)" (1967), to "Blue Velvet" (1963), to "Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime" (1964), "Can't Help Falling In Love" (1962), "Strangers In The Night" (1966), and the album's first single "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (1967).

One of the highlights of the album is a great duet with The Association of their two number one hits "Cherish" (1966) and "Windy" (1967).

With worldwide record sales exceeding 75 million, his work as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer over the course of more than 40 albums has earned Barry Manilow the highest honors.

He sits on the board of governors of the National Academy of Jazz, and in June 2002, he was inducted into the National Academy of Popular Music's Songwriters Hall of Fame, alongside Ashford & Simpson, Michael Jackson, Randy Newman, and Sting.

In addition to his own foundation, the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope, other involvements include The Prince's Trust, United Way, the Starlight Foundation, numerous organizations fighting the battle against AIDS, and many others.

He is the national spokesperson for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Honorary Chairman of the Palm Springs Art Museum and a Founder of the Music Center of Los Angeles.

Click here to see why everybody's buying Barry Manilow albums

*************************
More SooToday.com entertainment headlines