Photo: © Nick Spanos
Melissa Manchester’s career is remarkable not only for its longevity and accomplishments but for its versatility.
Following her time as a Harlette, Melissa’s tremendously successful solo career brought her critical and commercial acclaim. The “Midnight Blue” singer received her first Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance in 1979 for the Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager-penned “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” winning the Grammy in that category four years later for “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.”
In 1980, Melissa became the first recording artist in the history of the Academy Awards to have two nominated movie themes in a single year, “Through The Eyes Of Love” from Ice Castles and “I’ll Never Say Goodbye” from The Promise, and to perform them both on the Oscar telecast.
She has appeared on both the large (For The Boys) and small (NBC hit Blossom) screen, as well as the stage. Melissa starred in the national tours of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Music Of The Night and Song And Dance. She also co-created (with lyricist Sharon Vaughn and playwright Rupert Holmes) the musical theatre sensation Sweet Potato Queens, which premiered at TUTS in Houston in 2016.
Melissa has also had her songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack Dusty Springfield, Alison Krauss, Kenny Loggins, and many others. She has written tunes for several other films including The Great Mouse Detective, Lady and the Tramp II, Dirty Girl, and Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls.
A Career of Reinvention
With a career spanning more than five decades, Melissa Manchester continues to balance her deep respect for the Great American Songbook with a contemporary look at her own musical legacy. This journey of reinterpretation was notably highlighted by her 2017 album, The Fellas—a tribute to the legendary male vocalists who defined the standards of American popular music. For Melissa, that project was more than just a tribute; it was the beginning of an ongoing exploration into a vast catalog of music she continues to mine for her audience.
Most recently, Melissa marked her 50th anniversary in the industry with the 2024 release of her 25th album, RE:VIEW. This milestone record continues to resonate with fans, offering a thoughtful mix of previously unreleased material and fresh, modern takes on her most enduring hits.
The Stage and Beyond
Melissa’s artistry has always extended to the stage. From 2022 to 2024, she traveled across North America in the first national tour of the Broadway revival of Funny Girl. Portraying Rose Brice—the mother of Fanny Brice—Melissa’s performance earned widespread critical acclaim. Reviewers praised her for bringing a “warm, wise, and humanistic quality” to the role, cementing her place as a formidable presence in musical theater.
This summer, Melissa returns to the stage at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY. In the 2026 production of Cagney the Musical, she portrays Ma Cagney, the pivotal mother and touchstone of the legendary film star James Cagney. Whether through a studio microphone or from behind the footlights, Melissa remains a dedicated guide for her audience, always looking forward to the next chapter of song.
Me and my precious friend, as far as friends go, Barry is the best!
Photo: © Lena Ringstad
Melissa Manchester’s career is remarkable not only for its longevity and accomplishments but for its versatility.
Following her time as a Harlette, Melissa’s tremendously successful solo career brought her critical and commercial acclaim. The “Midnight Blue” singer received her first Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance in 1979 for the Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager-penned “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” winning the Grammy in that category four years later for “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.”
In 1980, Melissa became the first recording artist in the history of the Academy Awards to have two nominated movie themes in a single year, “Through The Eyes Of Love” from Ice Castles and “I’ll Never Say Goodbye” from The Promise, and to perform them both on the Oscar telecast.
Mike Douglas, Billy Crystal
She has appeared on both the large (For The Boys) and small (NBC hit Blossom) screen, as well as the stage. Melissa starred in the national tours of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Music Of The Night and Song And Dance. She also co-created (with lyricist Sharon Vaughn and playwright Rupert Holmes) the musical theatre sensation Sweet Potato Queens, which premiered at TUTS in Houston in 2016.
Melissa has also had her songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield, Alison Krauss, Kenny Loggins, and many others. She has written tunes for several other films including The Great Mouse Detective, Lady and the Tramp II, Dirty Girl, and Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls.
She celebrated her forty-five-year career with the release of her 21st album in 2017, The Fellas, a tribute to the iconic male singers who set the platinum standard for the music of the great American songbook.
And she’s already thinking ahead to a possible second volume. “With all of these singers, for every song I chose, there were 20 more I could have chosen,” she says. “There’s so much music to mine. I’m happy to be my fans’ guide.”
Her upcoming album, RE:VIEW, due out in 2024, features previously unreleased songs as well as fresh takes on several of Melissa’s enduring classic hits.
Me and my precious friend, as far as friends go, Barry is the best!