Mandy

The writer of 'Mandy' was Tommy Woods from Wigan Lancashire UK, and he sold it for £50

I love you too, Shawn! ;)

shawn, i love you :)

On January 18th, 1975 "Mandy" reached #1 for one week; and for the following 11 weeks there was 11 different songs at #1 until Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" stayed at #1 for two weeks!!! Copy & paste: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hot_100_number-one_singles_of_1975_(U.S.)

"Mandy" was a common name for the 1970s recreational drug the quaalude or Mandrax. Manilow was in recovery when he wrote the song. That is why he lied about it being about a dog.

The quaalude or Mandrax (MDMA) was commonly referred to as the Mandy in the 1970s. The song Mandy was written in 1974. Manilow was in recovery for barbiturate abuse when he wrote it. Why else would he blame it on a dog? It was about a drug that he kicked. It kissed him and stopped him from shaking and he sent it away.

Beautifully written, beautifully sung, an all time great romantic song: I could not care less where it came from or how Manilow got it. All I know is this is a classic.

BTW, the original performer of the song (he also wrote the lyrics) was reggae singer Scott English, on UK Trojan Horse label in 1971. A year later, the Bunny Walters version was released in New Zealand, covering the UK original. In 1974, Clive Davis asked Manilow to cover the song for the US market, and Barry was reluctant to do it, but he eventually did, changing the style, the general arrangement... and the name of the girl!!!

The song had a "parody" in a Will & Grace episode. Grace Adler sings it as "Mammy" regretting her mother's avoiding to meet her. She was in front of a theater in which Manilow would perform the following day (she was taking care of her friend Will's place in the line to buy tickets)

This was parodied in another Simpsons episode. Krusty the Clown sings to a photo of Sideshow Bob "Oh Bobbbb, ...."

Not sure about Buddy Waters, but the release of Brandy by Scott English was released around 1971, as said above, (will drag out my old sheet music to verify copyright date) It does annoy me that the credit for the original is not given freely when airing the song, hence most people state it as being one of Barry Manilows greatest songs, when, with only the name change, it should have gone down as a cover of the original and not a re write. Didn't know it was about Scott English's dog. As a kid I honestly thought it was about the drink and his desperate need for it. Funny how words can be interpreted differently in songs and still be meaningful to the listener.

Manilows song is a direct rip off from Bunny Walters (New Zealand). Bunny wrote and recorded it in 1972. The only thing that was changed was Mandy for Brandy (in 1974). Not only was it stolen but I dont think the writer has received any recognition. I wonder if it has ever bothered Barry Manilow.....?

Found it! On the Scott English version 'Brandy'.

Riding on a country bus
No one even noticed us
Yesterday's a dream
A feast of mourning
Crying on the breeze
The pain is calling

I distinctly remember hearing a verse in the song that started 'Riding on a country bus, noone even knows us...'
Where is this verse now? Is it only on a long version?

i wish i guy would sing this song to me it would be so romantic

Funny thought, but do any of you think there is anything to the idea that we love music produced around our birth date? That we are perhaps linked to that point in time?
I find that I cannot "get" the music of today and Barry, Elton, etc.. of the 70's are my favorites. Is it part of us....?

My mom has been in love with Barry Manilow since he first came out. So when I was born she named me Mandy. When I heard "Mandy" for the first time I thought maybe Mandy was an ex girlfriend or something but then I heard it was about his dog. I don't think it was about either of them.

I fell in love with a song called Brandy by Scott English in the early 70's. When it came out as Mandy I was shocked at it's popularity because anyone who knew the original recording can attest to its superiority.

This song was also mentioned (and sung badly) in the first episode of the second season of "Angel", where David Boreanaz (Angel) sings "Mandy" at a karaoke bar.

In the Manilow box set that includes a snippet of Scott English's original song, you can also hear an early session of Manilow's version of "Mandy". At one point, Manilow sings, "Oh, Brandy...oops!"

All of these Barry Manilow hits are either not written by him, or quick filler cuts he wasn't feeling 100% about. Does this, or does this not, support the "Manilow Sucks" arguement? Like 'what came first, the chicken or the egg?', that question is a real brain-drainer.

My mom had this on a 12" single when I was growing up. Between this song and "Sometimes when we Touch" we wore them out playing them. I've always been a hopeless romantic so these songs pull on my heart strings. I still can get tears in my eyes after all these years listening to it.

The New Zealand singer Bunny Walters did not write "Brandy", as some people in New Zealand believe. His version from 1972 (a #4 hit in NZ) was released after the original version by Scott English, who wrote the song with Richard Kerr. Scott English's "Brandy" entered the British charts in October 1971 and reached #12; Bunny Walters' "Brandy" charted in NZ in April 1972. The story that Bunny Walters was ripped off by Barry Manilow ("Mandy") probably comes from Scott English's original version not being well-known in New Zealand, and when "Mandy" came out some people jumped to conclusions because they already knew the Bunny Walters version so well. It's an easy mistake to make.

This song was featured in the movie "Can't Hardly Wait". One of the characters was obsessed with a classmate named Amanda, and he hears this song on the radio and is told by his friend Denise (played by the brilliant Lauren Ambrose) that the song is about a dog. It makes for a funny scene in the movie.

This song is responsible for my getting married (29 years ago) to the man I love. I met Larry while he was stationed at Ft. Bliss, Texas just before he was shipped off to Viet Nam. We dated during the summer of 1971 and then wrote him almost twice a week the entire time he was gone. I thought when he returned we would "get together." He lived in Chicago and I was moving from El Paso to Oregon. He needed some time to get his life back. I waited almost 4 years and finally just put a "curse" on him that someday when he would be smooching another gal, a song or someone talking about this state would come on the radio and have my name in it and he would have to think of me. Seeing that my name was Virginia I thought he could be haunted by it. Little did I know that he WAS touched by the song Mandy and did think of me. You see my last name was Manning and Larry had a slight hearing problem. He thought Manilow was saying Manning instead of Mandy. He couldn't get me out of his head and soon we were together. I still love him with all my heart (29+years). I'm so excited because we're both going to the Manilow concert in October in Chicago to celebrate sweetest day.

Barry actually included the original recording of "Brandy" in his box set. Comparing "Brandy" to Barry's "Mandy" shows Barry's talent for taking an existing song and truly making it his own. So while he may not have written "Mandy," he is totally responsible for the song's magic.

Barry only recorded the song as a favor to producer Clive Davis, never thinking it would be a hit. He was very much wanting to become known for his own songs and not someone elses.

Barry's dog was named Bagel (then Bagel's offspring, Biscuit). I have been a fan of Barry's for as long as I can remember. If Mandy was first recorded in the U.K. as "Brandy" by it's co-writer (and I believe that is true), I don't think Barry could be accused of stealing it. He is a great performer/composer in his own right.

This song was stolen by Manilow and English from a Moari in New Zealand by the name of Bunny Walters . Bunny wrote and recorded this song in N.Z. but didnt copy write it . Manilow took the song changing Brandy to MAndy and made a fortune while Bunny lost out big time .

I have heard that Mandy was Manilow's dog, which gives the song an entirely different perspective!

i love this song it brings back so many memories of how i used to like this girl named mandy but then she found another girl, she was a lesnian yup to bad cause she was hot