Songfacts®:

• David Pomeranz wrote "The Old Songs" in 1977 with Buddy Kaye, who had a string of hits as a songwriter. Pomeranz told the story in a Songfacts interview: "Buddy wrote a song called 'The Full Moon And Empty Arms,' which was a big hit in the late '40s. In the '50s he wrote 'Speedy Gonzales,' and he wrote 'A - You're Adorable,' the classic, you know, 'A - you're adorable, B - you're so beautiful...' several others like that. Real kind of timeless big, big hits for him. He and I got together, we wrote six songs together at that time, and 'The Old Songs' was one of them. We had written it for Jennifer Warnes - she must have passed on it. I had recorded it on my Atlantic album, and Barry had heard my album, heard the song, and then decided that he would record it, too. That was in 1979 when my album came out."
• This is one of those songs that had to grow on the writer. David Pomeranz explained: "It was just an interesting idea that Buddy and I had about that sort of thing where the guy wants the girl, gets the girl to stay, and thinks maybe songs might have her reminisce enough to want to give it another chance. Even though it was a good idea, I don't know that it came from my experience in particular. It might have come more from Buddy's, but it was one of those songs that, frankly, I didn't really care for. I thought it was okay, and I was very eager to get on to the next song. Buddy said, 'No, it's a good song.' I said, 'Okay, great.' I played it for my publisher and he cried. And I went, 'Wow.' I didn't really think that would happen. 'The Old Songs' didn't effect me quite so deeply, but I recognized it was a good, solid pop song."
• Pomeranz is a successful solo artist and has written songs that have been recorded by Gene Pitney, Bette Midler, John Denver and many others. Many of his songs he writes on his own, but he does find collaboration helpful. Says Pomeranz: "It always helps to have someone in the room. You have a little less time to re-think and re-think. If I'm by myself, sometimes I get very, very, very into it. With somebody else, you kind of keep it outside and discuss the problems and solve them quicker."
• Manilow's balladeering was wearing thin on critics' ears, who claimed "The Old Songs" indeed sounded the same as all his other old hits. The singer responded to the criticism in a 1980 interview with The Washington Post. "When I'm making them [singles], they don't sound the same, but when I hear them back-to-back they begin to. Maybe it's because I'm the same singer with the same voice. I really like the records I make. They're great records. I hear 'em on the radio and I say, 'Awwright, that sounds good. That sounds like someone put a lot of work into it."
  
  Besides, the singles are necessary for an album's success and are a gateway to the rest of his music that might otherwise go unnoticed. "I want my albums to succeed because there's great stuff on them," he added. "If the single takes off, it catapults the album and the good stuff gets out there."
• This was Manilow's 11th of 13 #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart. While his version was at the top, another rendition by Frederick Knight peaked at #74 on the R&B chart.
• This was used on WKRP In Cincinnati in the 1982 episode "Pills."