#827 - Marty Panzer

The Marty Panzer Interview is featured on The Paul Leslie Hour.

Are you here? If you’re here, your work is done! All you have to do now is listen.

So, we saw in the paper that Manilow is talking about his first new pop album in years. Which is the perfect segue for this:

We’ve got an interview queued up from the archives, one of Paul’s all time favorites. It’s also the interview that has received the most emails from people who tuned in.

A great newspaper journalist named Brandee A. Thomas was interviewing Paul back in 2011. Paul told her: “Probably my favorite interview of all times was with a lyricist named Marty Panzer. He wrote ‘Through the Years’ for Kenny Rogers and he wrote a lot of songs for Barry Manilow.”

So who is Mr. Panzer? Marty Panzer is a great lyricist who has songs known all over the world. He began writing songs with his friend Barry Manilow when they worked in the CBS-TV mailroom. They wanted a career in music so they began writing commercial jingles.

From there, you could say Marty Panzer’s songs have more than taken off–he wrote songs for Barry Manilow like “It’s a Miracle,” “This One’s for You,” “All the Time,” and “Even Now.”

Not only has Marty Panzer written songs for Barry Manilow, but he wrote the Kenny Rogers classic “Through the Years.” His songs have been recorded by the likes of Dionne Warwick, Frankie Valli, Gladys Knight, Julio Iglesias, Dusty Springfield, and others.

Marty Panzer has 35 gold and platinum records, four BMI million play awards, a 3 million play award, and record sales in excess of 70 million units. Impressive, isn’t it?

There’s also a live event called “An Evening with Marty Panzer,” featuring songs, stories and performances by many guest composers and artists. Paul saw “An Evening with Marty Panzer” in 2012, and we’ll tell you that story soon. Stay tuned.

Real quick, just remember that The Paul Leslie Hour is made possible by people just like you. Just go right here, and we thank you for being a patron of the spoken word.

Okay. The songs of Marty Panzer are loved by many, and the host of this show is no exception. It is our pleasure to present a great and passionate lyricist, a man who says he is about … “things that last.”

The Marty Panzer interview was played on the radio many times, and now it’s available on all of the new media like Spotify, Apple, iHeartRadio and more. It is our hope that what you are about to hear will find a way into your heart and soul. Let’s pull out that precious tape. Let’s listen together.

The Paul Leslie Hour is a talk show dedicated to “Helping People Tell Their Stories.” Some of the most iconic people of all time drop in to chat. Frequent topics include Arts, Entertainment and Culture.