Silver was a soft rock band formed by the expansion of the duo known as Batdorf & Rodney, who scored two minor chart hits in 1975 with "You Are A Song" (#87) and "Somewhere In The Night" (#69). The latter would become a big #9 hit for Barry Manilow a few years later. In 1976, Silver had their one and only chart appearance when "Wham Bam (Shang-A-Lang)" reached #16. It came from their self-titled record, which contained a number of other radio-friendly tunes that seemed to have chart potential as well, like the upbeat "All I Wanna Do." Afterwards, the keyboardist (Brent Mydland) joined The Grateful Dead until he passed away from a drug overdose in 1990 at the age of 37.
Brooklyn native Barry Alan Pincus (aka Manilow) was a student of the prestigious Julliard School and his talents were quickly put to use. He got his start as the accompanist for the great Bette Midler and was a sought after composer of commercial jingles (he gets the praise or blame for McDonald's long-running "You deserve a break today" ad). Manilow's first chart hit arrived in 1974 when "Mandy" soared to #1 - not a bad way to start your career. He would reach the top twice more with "I Write The Songs" and "Looks Like We Made It." Manilow did so well in the 70s with his grandiose pop and syrupy ballads that he became the 23rd most successful artist of the decade. The 80s were not as kind. With changing musical trends, Manilow struggled to stay contemporary. He adapted his sound to incorporate more synths and even dabbled in jazz. His last top 40 hit was in 1983 when "Read 'Em And Weep" reached #18. "Here Comes The Night" was Manilow's 1982 album that spawned the hits "Memory" (#39) and "Some Kind Of Friend" (#26). He was running on fumes at this point, but "Heart of Steel" seemed to have all the ingredients to put some zest back in Manilow's step, but it fell through the cracks.
