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Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, who boasts a career spanning seven decades, beat Elvis Presley’s record for most performances with his 637th show at Westgate Las Vegas.
The Brooklyn-born crooner, 80, announced on September 23 that he had signed on to perform again in February 2024. The record was set by Elvis in the hotel’s iconic International Theater.
In tribute to the king, Manilow donned a leather jacket and sang Elvis’ hit Hound Dog, which received a standing ovation.
As for his early beginnings in music, Manilow told the audience how his grandfather inspired him to become a musician.
‘Grandpa didn’t want to give up. Every Saturday afternoon he would take me across the Brooklyn Bridge to Time Square and he would put his quarter into this thing and eventually I figured out what he was trying to get me to do and I sang something for him and I liked it. ‘ he said.
Barry Manilow broke Elvis Presley’s records for most performances at the Westgate in Las Vegas by performing his 637th show at the hotel
Manilow looked gleeful as he ran across the stage throwing red scarves to his adoring fans
As a tribute to the late crooner, he sang the hit Hound Dog and received a standing ovation
‘It wasn’t so much the singing part that I liked, it was the music. Even at that young age, I understood it somewhat. If you ask my musician friends, they say the same thing: I was bad at sports and math, but I understood music somewhat.”
When asked what keeps him motivated to perform night after night during his long-running residency, Manilow said, “These people are so happy, and they’re all ages. That’s why I still do it. It’s about them, not me.’
In 1969, Elvis began a seven-year residency at Westgate, which was then called the International Hotel.
He performed on the same stage as Manilow in front of 1,150 people and completed a whopping 631 shows before his untimely death in 1977.
At the time, Elvis’ stay at the hotel made him one of the highest-paid performers in Las Vegas history. The last show he performed at the hotel was on December 12, 1976.
He also lived in a 5,000-square-foot suite on the 30th floor, which still exists and is now known as the Elvis Suite.
The floor was renovated shortly after Manilow’s debut in 1985.
Manilow donated last night’s performance fee to Victoria’s Voice Foundation, a charity funded by Westgate hotel owner Jackie Seigal, whose daughter Victoria died of a drug overdose in 2015.
Manilow donated his performance on September 23 to Victoria’s Voice Foundation, the eponymous charity named after the daughter of hotel owner Jackie Seigal
Manilow was given a ceremonial key to the Vegas Strip during the first of his three record-breaking Charity Weekend Celebration shows on September 21.
The singer, whose career has spanned seven decades, told his audience that his grandfather inspired him to become a musician
The crooner also announced that he had signed on to perform in a new run starting in February 2024
Seigal told DailyMail.com that Maslow will ‘continue to break his own record every day’
Former beauty queen Jackie is married to Westgate owner David Siegal and is best known for her starring role in the reality series Queen of Versailles.
The show was about the construction of their 90,000-square-foot mansion in Orlando, Florida, inspired by the Palace of Versailles in France. A second series will be broadcast next year.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Jackie spoke fondly of Barry Manilow and his support for Victoria’s Voice, a foundation that sheds light on the drug epidemic.
The charity is named after her daughter, who suffered a fatal overdose at the age of 18.
“Barry has been a great support to Victoria’s Voice. We are so excited that he has signed for another year – now he has broken the record for the most performances by any artist on our stage,” she said.
“He will continue to break his own record every day. I’m so excited about his support of Victoria’s Voice and his help raising awareness of the drug epidemic. Me casa is his casa that he always welcomes to my Versailles in the Sky.”