Weekend in New England

"Weekend in New England" is a song recorded by Barry Manilow for his fourth studio album, This One's for You (1976). Written by Randy Edelman, it was released as the second single from the album, and became a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, while topping the Adult Contemporary chart.[1]

"Weekend in New England"
Single by Barry Manilow
from the album This One's for You
B-side"Say the Words"
ReleasedNovember 1976
GenreOrchestral pop, soft rock
Length3:43
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)Randy Edelman
Producer(s)Barry Manilow, Ron Dante
Barry Manilow singles chronology
"This One's for You"
(1976)		 "Weekend in New England"
(1976)		 "Looks Like We Made It"
(1977)

Content

The song's title does not occur in its lyrics but is approximated in the first line of the second verse: "Time in New England took me away", the evident basis of "Weekend in New England" being the leisure habits of New Yorkers for whom "the romantic short escape of choice has long been a drive up the coast towards Massachusetts and the other [New England] states",[2][3] lyrical references to "long rocky beaches and you by the bay" indicating a seaside getaway. The song's narrator, on his first day "back in the city where nothing is clear", fondly remembers the romance of the weekend just past, and yearns to be reunited with the person he met in New England (or vacationed there with).[4]

Background

Composer Randy Edelman made the first recording of his song for his 1975 album Farewell Fairbanks, the track—entitled "A Weekend in New England"—serving as B-side for the single "Concrete and Clay". Prior to "Weekend in New England" being recorded by Barry Manilow (and subsequently by other artists), Edelman modified the song's melody at the behest of Arista Records president Clive Davis, to whose attention Roger Birnbaum, then a West Coast A&R man for Arista, had brought Edelman's original version. Davis recalled, "The choruses were beautiful, but the verses needed to be [more] accessible melodically. So I asked Edelman to rewrite the melody of the verses, and if it came out strong, I would ask Manilow to record it."[5]

Edelman recalled doing UK promotion for "Concrete and Clay" when he received a long-distance phone call from Davis soliciting "Weekend in New England" for Manilow: "[Davis went] off on a detailed discussion of why the harmonics in the verse didn't work [but] in [such] a way that I didn't feel that my creativity was being challenged."[6] Although, in Edelman's recollection, Davis indicated that Manilow would record "Weekend in New England" with or without Davis' suggested modifications. Edelman recounted, "It was just that he thought some simplification could really make it a hit. And he was right."[6] Edelman provided Davis with a customized verse melody for "Weekend in New England" a week later.[7]

Personnel
  • Barry Manilow – vocals, piano
  • Richard Resnicoff – guitar
  • Steven Donaghey – bass guitar
  • Alan Axelrod – keyboards
  • Lee Gurst – drums
  • Gerald Atlers – orchestration

Reception

At the time of the August 1976 release of its parent album: This One's for You, "Weekend in New England" was passed over as lead single but was earmarked for future single release.[8][9] Subsequent to the surprising underperformance of the album's title cut as a single—"This One's For You" rose no higher than no. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100—"Weekend in New England" had its single release in November 1976. It afforded Manilow a considerable Top 40 comeback, entering the Top 20 on the Hot 100 of January 29, 1977. However, "Weekend in New England" did not become one of Manilow's top hits, as its ultimate Hot 100 peak was at no. 10. It did maintain Manilow's virtual "lock" on the no. 1 position of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, while the third single release from This One's For You, "Looks Like We Made It", returned Manilow to the top of the Hot 100 for the third time.

Cash Box said "a piano plays in the foreground, the vocal is strong and right to the point" and "the production is overflowing with horns and strings."[10] Record World called it a "sweeping ballad delivered in the style that has made [Manilow] one of the country's leading male vocalists."[11]

Chart performance

Subsequent versions

"Weekend in New England" has since been recorded by:

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 155.
  2. Daily Mail 5 March 2013 "From Weather Girl to Leaf Peeper: Lucy Verasamy explores autumnal New England" By Lucy Versamy
  3. Daily Mail 17 January 2016 "Be a Real New Yorker and Escape to New England: join the stars in Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard" by Frank Barrett
  4. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. November 13, 1976. p. 75. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  5. Robins, Wayne (10 April 1977). "Arista's Superstar: the rise fall & resurrection of Clive Davis have combined to make him a myth in the record business". Newsday. pp. 71–72.
  6. Stokes, Geoffrey (24 April 1977). "Clive's Comeback". The New York Times. p. SM 18.
  7. Billboard vol 88 #32 (7 August 1976) "Clive Davis Dialog" pages 14, 67
  8. Cash Box Vol 38 #14 (21 August 1976) "For the Record" by Stephen Fuchs p.19
  9. Record World Vol 33 #1521 (21 August 1976) "Who in the World: Manilow's Got the Feeling"p.47
  10. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. November 13, 1976. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  11. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. November 13, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  12. "Barry Manilow – {{{song}}}". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  13. "Barry Manilow Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  14. "Barry Manilow Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  15. "Cash Box Top 100 2/19/77". cashboxmagazine.com. 1977-02-19. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  16. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5162a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  17. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  18. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-06-03. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  19. "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  20. "Billboard". Books.google.com. 1977-12-24. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  22. Dowling, Marcus K. (March 2, 2021). "How Reba McEntire Flipped 'Whoever's in New England' (and Her Sound) to Create a Mega-Hit". The Boot. Townsquare Media. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  23. Roznovsky, Lindsey (2008-01-02). "The story behind Sugarland's "Stay"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
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