By Paul Freeman [July 2015 Interview]

More than 40 years after her debut LP, singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester has released one of the finest albums of her illustrious career - “You Gotta Love The Life.” Her vocals still thrill. Her songwriting continues to move listeners profoundly.

The current single from the album, “Big Light,” is a duet with Al Jarreau, marking Manchester’s first collaboration with him since “The Music of Goodbye,” from the 1985 Academy Award-winning “Out of Africa.”

The new studio album, her 20th and first since 2004, also features guest performances from Dave Koz, Keb’ Mo’, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder and the late Joe Sample. It was financed through an Indiegogo campaign.

Manchester’s performances on this record hold their own with her classics, such as “Midnight Blue” (which she co-wrote with Carole Bayer Sager), the Grammy-nominated “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and Grammy-winning “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.”

As a songwriter, Manchester’s works have been covered by such distinguished artist as Dusty Springfield, Barbra Streisand, Alison Krauss, Shirley Bassey and Roberta Flack.

An honorary artist in residence at Citrus College, where she recorded the new album, Manchester also teaches at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music.

Manchester is contributing a portion of the proceeds from “You Gotta Love The Life” to Barry Manilow’s The Manilow Music Project, which benefits school music programs.

POP CULTURE CLASSICS:
As co-producer, did you have a clear vision for the album, going in?

MELISSA MANCHESTER:
The clear vision part was that I really wanted to return - because it was my 20th album - I wanted to return to how I first started recording, which was with musicians in a room. And it was because of my students - they introduced me to the world of the independent artist and crowd-funding. So that became the fuel by which we could do this.

PCC:
Having the musicians in the room, does that create a warmer atmosphere?

MANCHESTER:
Well, it creates such a collaborative spirit that the musical discussions help you to birth new songs. The songs that were the covers - the Rodgers and Hammerstein, “Be My Baby,” those were songs that I had actually worked on with Stephan Oberhoff [her accompanist] on stage over the years. And so we certainly knew the shape of those, going in. But the new songs are new. They only live really in my head. So to be able to have those musical discussions with beloved colleagues, it was just grand. It was really grand.

PCC:
These new songs are great. Has your basic approach to songwriting changed over the years?

MANCHESTER:
Well, I have a greater sense of discernment. I have a greater sense of when I’m really capturing the essences of the idea that I’m trying to capture. I have a true appreciation of songs I wrote a long time ago that I wouldn’t be able to write now [laughs]. But I also have a deeper appreciation for the song form. It really is a world that’s created in minutes, with very few lines of lyrics and very few notes of the melody. And then it’s gone.

So you have to really sculpt what you’re looking for, so that people can hear it on first listening. Because my presumption is that people will listen to it once and then move on. And so, because I’m so enamored with the song form, its highs and lows, its peaks and valleys, that it was really something to dig deep and find a way to express myself through song yet again.

PCC:
Is that why there was a big gap between albums, waiting for the right songs to come into your head?

MANCHESTER:
Well, no, not really. The big gap had to do with the fact that my industry has become so unrecognizable. I just could not figure out how to get my music out, because I was still operating under an old paradigm, which is, you find the record company and you have a a big engine behind you and you’re subject to the whims of the president, for all of his suggestions and all that. And I could feel that the industry was changing. I just couldn’t get my footing.

And it wasn’t until I started teaching as an adjunct professor at USC and my students said, “We will show you how to do this without a record company, because that’s how we do it,” and I realized that it was my students’ version of normal, to do crowd-funding and to be independent artists. They’d never been exposed to an old paradigm. And honestly, it became an adventure I didn’t want to miss.

And crowd-funding has been around for a while now, but, to me, it was always in the abstract. I couldn’t figure out how people were doing it. I couldn’t figure out how you started. I didn’t know how you organized it. And one of my students came up to my place and walked my manager and I through it and he ended up becoming my project manager and it was an amazing, exhausting and exhilarating adventure.

PCC:
You mentioned digging deep in the writing. It’s certainly a personal album. How would you say it does reflect where you are, where you’ve been, where you’re going?

MANCHESTER:
Well, songs usually reflect the chapters that I’m going through. And being an independent artist, where you’re not subjected to a lot of opinions by a lot of people, I sort of cleared out my village. I have very few people that I work with. And everybody knows their specific task, as do I. And so to be really in charge and responsible for what it is that I do and who it is I am is reflected in those songs. I mean, “I Know Who I Am” is a song I could not have written a second before I wrote it. And to be able to sing that monologue, 45 years into my career is really astounding and really liberating and I’ve earned every word of that lyric [laughs]. And I’ve earned every one of those notes.

And on the album, the background is sung by beautiful students, that comprise the Citrus Singers, fantastic students from Citrus College, where I recorded the album, where I’m an honorary artist in residence. The blend between youthful voices and more mature voices is just so touching to me. And songs like “The Other One,” I’ve gone through personal awakenings, where I’ve realized that I was losing myself in relationships and losing myself in how I conducted my business, losing track of what I needed to be mature about, to be responsible about. That all shows up in my songs.

PCC:
And the process of writing does that help you crystallize these realizations and help you understand yourself better? Or does the understanding come first and then the song?

MANCHESTER:
Ah, what a lovely question. Well, the song becomes the vehicle to reflect how much you’ve learned or how much you still have to learn. And in this case, the songs very much reflected how much I’ve learned. When I look back on songs I wrote a very long time ago, I appreciate deeply the innate wisdom and craft that I was just born with and I’m grateful for all the fantastic collaborators, of course, that I’ve had the privilege to write with. But to be able to sing my mind and write my mind and stand very clear and on solid ground about who I’ve become is kind of thrilling. And this is what I love to do. And to be able to share it as a performer and to teach it as a teacher - because I teach master classes, as well - it’s wonderful. I also find that I learn much more than I teach [laughs].

PCC:
The collaboration with Hal David [on the song “Other End of the Phone”], was that a magical feeling, working with him?

MANCHESTER:
It was unbelievable. I set music to what turned out to be his last lyric. One of the things about the guest artists on this album, I have a long history with all of them. I’ve either written for them or known them or toured with them. And I’ve known Dionne Warwick for years and years and years. We’ve worked together on a television show or two, but when I reached out to her, because she built her career on the lyrics of Hal David, I said, “This is it. Please sing with me.” Terry Wollman, my co-producer, has a relationship with Joe Sample, whom I have been trying to work with for 30 years, and Joe was having his own health challenges, and I flew down to Houston and recorded the vocal and he played piano. And from the second you hear that track and you hear the piano-playing, it’s so masterful. Nobody ever did sound like him. So it was a grand experience on many levels.

PCC:
Have you always loved the life? Have there been points when you wondered whether the demands and the sacrifices were worth it?

MANCHESTER:
Why, of course! Of course! It drives you completely nuts. This is not a life for anybody who can’t wrap their brains around that which is unsteady or unstable or unsecure. But if all of the above sound like a really good idea, then it’s perfect for you [laughs]. For me, this version of normal suits me. It’s a real grind, but it’s a love fest, because it’s so dynamic. And the artistic life is one of the few walks where you can really use your life as a vehicle for your art. And I find that endlessly fascinating and I am more and more deeply grateful for this gift.

PCC:
When you’re doing a cover like “Be My Baby,” is it just a natural process of letting yourself find your own take on the song?

MANCHESTER:
Well, I had been thinking about that very beautiful song and separating it from the original fantastic arrangement that made it so famous for The Ronettes. And the song just stands by itself as a beautiful song and so one night I asked Stephan Oberhoff, who plays keyboards for me and is my music director, if he would listen to these ideas I had. And I slowed it down. And he said, “I get it. Let me arrange this for you.” And we tried it that night and the audience went cuckoo-bananas and started singing those background parts.

And one of my fans - which is how this whole thing started - said, “I will write you a check. Go into the studio and record this.” And this was quite a while ago, when I was still in an old paradigm and I thought, “You’re going to write me a check to go into the studio? Thank you, I don’t understand.” It took a while for me, as I said, to get to the point where I found a student who would explain why having a fan writing you a check is a very good idea [laughs].

PCC:
And “You Are My Heart,” that was inspired by the court’s validation of same-sex marriage?

MANCHESTER:
Well, it was inspired indeed by the striking down of DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act]. And my friends Steve and Bill had been together a very long time and were not able to share benefits. They could not get married. Finally, two years ago, it was struck down and I texted my gorgeous friend Steve, who is in New York, I live in California, and I heard the news and I said, “Do I hear wedding bells?” And he said, “We’re thinking of August.” And then he signed his text, as he always does, “You are my heart.” And I looked at that and I thought, “That’s the title of their song.” And I wrote them that song and I sang it at their wedding.

PCC:
And “Feelin’ For You,” I guess that proves that the idea for a song can really come from anywhere?

MANCHESTER:
[Laughs] Well, I’m very large in listening to the rhythms and music of how people speak. And I was truly propositioned by a drunk while I was visiting a juke joint in the Mississippi Delta. And he asked me about my marital status. And I said, “Yes, I’m very married.” And he said, “Oh, that’s too bad, because I’ve got a feelin’ for you.” And I thought to myself, “Oh, I can write that!” [Laughs] So I did that. And when I brought it to Keb’ Mo’, he was the perfect person. He really got the inner spirit of it.

PCC:
You mentioned the blending of mature voices with youthful voices - your voice sounds amazing - do you feel that added life experience gives extra textures to the interpretations?

MANCHESTER:
Most definitely. Because you have a great sense of breath, you have a greater sense of what the deepest part of the idea is that you want to convey through your singing. It’s about really making the singing as conversational as possible. That draws the audience in naturally, because everybody feels like you’re singing to them individually. It’s the magic of the art. And that’s part of what I teach.

PCC:
Do you have to really pamper the voice?

MANCHESTER:
No, I mean, I do have a regimen. I vocalize. On the day of a performance I drink a lot of water and work out and eat healthy, because that hour-and-a-half on stage, or whatever it is, is a long distance run. It’s not a sprint. It’s all about stamina and clarity and faith and spirituality and making room for your deepest self to show up. And making room for the audience to show up, as well.

PCC:
Are you constantly thinking of the effect you want to have on the listener?

MANCHESTER:
Well, when I’m recording and I’m in the studio, for instance, what my goal is, is to find a real musical, emotional balance in the composition and the approach to the composition. And I trust that, if I get it, the audience will get it, because I’m very much an audience member. I’m not an educated musician. I really come from my gut and come from my heart.

PCC:
Your father being a classical musician, how much influence did that have on you?

MANCHESTER:
Well, it was absolutely luscious [laughs] to have his bassoon-practicing through the apartment, all the time. And to have him home in the afternoons, when other dads were at work, because my Dad worked at night, unless he had rehearsals. And my mother was a pioneer in the fashion industry. So my sister and I had an unusual and fantastic and lively home life. Yes, classical music was very much a part of what was on the radio, but so was Frank Sinatra and so was Ella Fitzgerald. So the musical wallpaper in our home was really rich and I really learned from that.

PCC:
And who were some of the artists that most inspired you early on?

MANCHESTER:
I consider myself a member of the bridge generation. The bridge to me, I grew up knowing full well that most songs on pop radio were coming from the stages of Broadway. And so the writers were Rodgers & Hammerstein and Leonard Bernstein and Lorenz Hart and Harold Arlen, those giants, sung by great singers. Ella Fitzgerald and Judy Garland were my two musical fairy godmothers. Because one taught me about raw emotion and one taught me about a purity of tone.

And then the fellas - Sinatra, Nat Cole, Johnny Hartman. From then, it was when I became a teenager and singer-songwriters started to show up - Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro, who became my personal muse. And the shape of the songs and the content of the American songs were changing, were infused with poetry and psychology that really struck me. And I was really in the right place at the right time, New York City, to have adventures, then to have that all reflected in my songs.

PCC:
Performing with Bette Midler, was that an adventure?

MANCHESTER:
Yes, I was very fortunate to have spectacular adventures. And Bette Midler and getting to know Barry Manilow was definitely one of the top ones. Barry and I were jingle singers and he was working with a young unknown, Bette Midler. And we actually worked in clubs on different sides of the same street. And Barry brought her over to see me one night and she had just been on the Johnny Carson show for the first time and tore it up. And I was introduced to her after my set and I asked her what she was up to and congratulated her. And she said, “Well, I’m getting ready for Carnegie Hall. [Laughs] I said, “Oh, are you going to have any background singers?” She said, “I don’t know. Would you like to sing in back of me?” I said, “Actually, I’d like to sing instead of you. But I’d be happy to sing in back of you.” And so Barry and I organized what became The Harlettes and I was the Toots in the middle. I worked with her for six months and then went on my way.

PCC:
Even at that point, were you confident that you were someday going to be able to carve out the kind of lasting career you’re having?

MANCHESTER:
Yes. I just knew that my secret wish was to have a special life. And I have. And it certainly has been filled with ups and downs, but the main thrust of it has been pretty wondrous.

PCC:
Studying songwriting at NYU, how much do you think it was a gift you were born with and how mush was it a craft that you’ve honed and perfected?

MANCHESTER:
Well, the truth is that life shows up for me in song form. That’s how I process sings - in songs. You know, some people sketch. Some people quilt. I write songs. But I had the great privilege of studying with Paul Simon for those six months, while at NYU. And that impacted me greatly, because he was coming from the deep trenches of being an international star songwriter and performer. His stories were unbelievable. And what he imparted was what I hold onto and teach and move forward to this very day - essentially all the stories have been told. It’s the way you tell your story that is your stamp of authenticity.

PCC:
Having songs covered by all these great artists - Dusty, Barbra, Roberta Flack - what does that feel like, having them interpret what you’ve written?

MANCHESTER:
It’s extraordinary. Again, I came from that generation where great singers had songs written for them, by great writers. And so now, when mostly people write their own stuff, to have great singers, great artists, reinterpret your songs is a grand, grand gift. And a deep honor.

PCC:
Having had huge hits that become part of the culture, do you look back on them as gifts, or at some point, did they make you feel pressured to record something that would equal their commercial success?

MANCHESTER:
Well, I’m deeply grateful for those enormous hits. I sure would like that to happen again [laughs] with this album. It’s a different landscape in how that does happen. But I think the real challenge and the real opportunity is - how do you remain relevant? And I can’t help who I am and I have music that I must express. So that’s my hunger and that’s my passion. And I’ll do it however I can do it, for whoever is willing to listen. That’s just what I do.

PCC:
The sharing process with your students, has that helped that whole process?

MANCHESTER:
Well, yes, because I’ve learned so much from them as to this new landscape of getting music out, played and share. It has taught me how to do it. And it has taught my little village how to do it. And it’s fascinating. It’s absolutely a new paradigm. We are really in an industrial revolution and this time, I don’t know that this wheel that is being reinvented ends up becoming round in the same way I understood round to be, because the industry is not settling. It just keeps unfolding. There are new dots to connect. There are new things to think about. I mean, it’s just fascinating.

PCC:
And the performing, live on stage, is that as exhilarating as ever for you?

MANCHESTER:
It’s as exhilarating as ever, yeah. I’m as hungry in this pursuit of performance and writing and recording as I ever was. And I do love this life.

PCC:
And you’ve accomplished so much. Are there still unfulfilled goals?

MANCHESTER:
Oh, sure. Oh, absolutely. Yes. As a matter of fact, I have a musical that’s going up in Houston this coming March, a musical called “Sweet Potato Queens,” that I’ve written with wonderful colleagues Rupert Holmes And Sharon Vaughn. And yes, I’m addicted to writing musicals. [Laughs] It’s a crazy addiction. And it’s not the first one. I just love writing for theatre or for animation. It’s a very interesting distant cousin to writing pop songs.

PCC:
Would you like to get back to acting in musicals, as well?

MANCHESTER:
You know, if something turned up, I certainly would consider it, I think. It’s really rigorous work. And I have such respect for people who choose to do that. My experience of working in theatre was the most rigorous. I did “Song & Dance,” written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, where I did the entire first act. [Laughs] I did the national tour and I took over for Bernadette Peters and it was huge. It was a huge amount of work. So we’ll see.

PCC:
You’ve certainly proven your acting chops in films like “For The Boys.” I didn’t realize until recently that you were Blossom’s TV mom.

MANCHESTER:
Yes, yes. I played with those wonderful young actors. Mayim Bialik is just fantastic. And yeah, we worked together and did the television movie together. And I’m so happy for her, the new chapter of her career.

PCC:
And at this point in your career, what are the greatest rewards of life in show biz?

MANCHESTER:
Well, the greatest reward - my kids are grown and launched and wonderful. My life continues to unfold and is interesting. I’m getting to know my mind, more and more, which sounds kind of odd, but it’s true. And there are songs to write and musicals to write and hopefully, a book or two to write. So we’ll see.

For the latest news and more, visit melissamanchester.com.

MELISSA MANCHESTER – UPCOMING TOUR DATES
8/12 – New York, NY @ 54 Below
8/13 – New York, NY @ 54 Below
8/14 – New York, NY @ 54 Below
8/15 – New York, NY @ 54 Below
8/29 – Laguna Beach, CA @ Laguna Arts Festival
9/11 – Louisburg, NC @ Seby Jones Performing Arts Center   
9/26  – Needham, MA @ The Great Hall - Needham HS benefit                                        
10/22 – Pocatello, ID @ Stephens Performing Arts Center   
10/23 – Boise, ID @ Sapphire Room 
10/24 – Boise, ID @ Sapphire Room
11/5 – New York, NY @ 54 Below
11/6 – New York, NY @ 54 Below
11/7 – New York, NY @ 54 Below
12/12 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  
12/18 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  
12/19 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  
12/20 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel
12/24 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  
12/27 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel