Melissa Manchester -

Melissa Manchester is an American singer–songwriter who released two 1973–74 albums on Bell Records, followed by nine albums between 1975 and 1983 on Arista. She first emerged under the auspices of Barry Manilow and Bette Midler and co-wrote many songs with Carole Bayer Sager. Manchester’s best known songs include “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” “Midnight Blue,” “Through the Eyes of Love,” and “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.”

Background

She was born on February 15, 1951, in the Bronx to Ruth and David Manchester (1920–1993), a bassoonist with the Metropolitan Opera. Her mother was a fashion designer and founder of Ruth Manchester LTD., a clothing firm.

Melissa, a singer since childhood, studied piano and harpsichord at the Manhattan School of Music. After a two-year stint in the jingles industry, Chappell Music hired the 17-year-old as a staff writer. She befriended fellow jingle singer Barry Manilow, who introduced her to an up-and-coming talent on the Manhattan club scene, Bette Midler. Manchester sang for a time in the Harlettes, Midler’s backing trio.

Manchester formed a writing partnership with Carole Bayer Sager, who’d worked with Peter Allen and co-written songs for The Mindbenders (“A Groovy Kind of Love”) and Frankie Valli. In 1972, singer Beverly Bremers recorded the Manchester–Sager song “Heaven Help Us” for the motion picture Crazies. That same year, Manchester made her first vinyl appearance on National Lampoon Radio Dinner, which features her vocals on “Deteriorata” and (as “Yoko Ono”) the track “Magical Misery Tour.”

Home to Myself

Melissa Manchester released her debut album, Home to Myself, in May 1973 on Bell.

The album contains ten Manchester titles, seven co-written with Carole Bayer Sager. The arrangements place Manchester’s piano and voice with bassist Andy Muson, bassist John Cooker LoPresti, drummer Allan Schwartzberg, guitarist Bob Mann, guitarist Dave Appell, and arranger Chris Dedrick, who adds keyboards, organ, electric piano, and conducted ensemble parts.

“If It Feels Good (Let It Ride)” settles into lithe first-person balladry, with Manchester’s vocal placed inside the polished piano-songbook setting. “Easy” leans further into confession and stretches the slower side through poised delivery. “Something to Do With Loving You” rises with a stronger vocal push and brighter arrangement motion. “Funny That Way” turns self-measurement into a compact cabaret piece, as the narrator names Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro as reference points outside her own voice. “

Be Happy Now” brightens the tempo without leaving the record’s piano-led surface. “One More Mountain to Climb” returns to small-scale reflection. “Doing the Best (That He Can)” folds third-person sympathy into the same inward ballad mode. “Home to Myself” settles the sequence on self-possession and restrained vocal poise.

A1. “If It Feels Good (Let It Ride)” (3:25) – Manchester–Sager
A2. “Easy” (5:48) – Manchester–Sager
A3. “Something to Do With Loving You” (2:59) – Manchester–Sager
A4. “Funny That Way” (2:42) – Manchester
A5. “Pick Up the Good Stuff (Reprise)” (2:39) – Manchester–Sager

B1. “Be Happy Now” (3:27) – Manchester–Sager
B2. “One More Mountain to Climb” (2:32) – Manchester–Sager
B3. “Jenny” (2:37) – Manchester
B4. “Doing the Best (That He Can)” (4:09) – Manchester
B5. “Home to Myself” (2:50) – Manchester–Sager

Manchester recorded Home to Myself in New York with producers Hank Medress and Dave Appell and engineer Bill Radice. Chris Dedrick arranged the album, while Medress handled the final mix with Radice.

Home to Myself reached No. 156 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Bright Eyes

Melissa Manchester released her second album, Bright Eyes, in March 1974 on Bell.

Bright Eyes contains seven Manchester originals plus one Duke–Gershwin standard. Adrienne Anderson wrote lyrics for three titles, while Carole Bayer Sager returns on “Ruby and the Dancer.” Manchester uses a rotating New York studio group headed by bassist Cooker LoPresti, drummer Kirk Bruner, guitarist David Wolfert, keyboardist Stanley Schwartz, and arranger Chris Dedrick.

“Bright Eyes” glows with vibrant gospel-leaning lift and coming-of-age lyric reach. “Alone” lowers Manchester into a nocturnal piano ballad, with hurt carried by close vocal placement. “O Heaven (How You’ve Changed Me)” swells through choir-supported uplift and a redemption turn in the lyric. “Inclined” lingers over restrained romantic ballad form. “No. 1 (Ahwant Gemmeh)” quickens through a primal studio chant, with trash-can and vacuum-hose sounds worked into the track’s physical edge.

“Ode to Paul” salutes Paul Simon in playful tribute form. “I Can’t Get Started” curls into a late-night standard reading. “He Is the One” follows with a gospel-leaning love song and firmer vocal pressure. “Ruby and the Dancer” sketches Ruby as a character vignette, then lands on her denial of being “bad or crazy.”

A1. “Bright Eyes” (4:27) – Manchester–Anderson
A2. “Alone” (3:19) – Manchester–Anderson
A3. “O Heaven (How You’ve Changed to Me)” (3:27) – Manchester
A4. “Inclined” (4:20) – Manchester
A5. “No. 1 (Ahwant Gimmeh)” (3:49) – Manchester–Anderson

B1. “Ode to Paul” (3:22) – Manchester
B2. “I Can’t Get Started” (3:47) – Vernon Duke–Ira Gershwin
B3. “He Is the One” (3:51) – Manchester
B4. “Ruby and the Dancer” (4:20) – Manchester–Sager

Manchester recorded Bright Eyes at Le Studio in New York with producers Dave Appell and Hank Medress and engineer Bill Radice. Medress and Manchester arranged the album, with Dedrick credited for horn and string charts.

Bright Eyes reached No. 159 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Melissa

Melissa Manchester released her third album, Melissa, in February 1975 on Arista.

The album contains seven Manchester co-writes, one solo title, and covers of Stevie Wonder and Syreeta Wright (“Love Havin’ You Around”) and Randy Newman (“I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore”). Vini Poncia’s rhythm section retains LoPresti, Bruner, and Wolfert, with James Newton Howard on electric piano, clavinet, organ, and synthesizer. Trevor Lawrence supplies saxophones plus horn and string arrangements.

“We’ve Got Time” glides through tender ballad setting, with Manchester’s vocal kept close to the lyric. “Party Music” struts through a sleek mid-tempo setting. “Just Too Many People” carries the mid-tempo surface into a social lyric about people slipping into loneliness and defeat. “Stevie’s Wonder” rises in pace and turns homage into musical design through a descending chromatic figure. “This Lady’s Not Home Today” withdraws into tender-hearted reflection.

“Love Havin’ You Around” answers Manchester with backing harmonies. “Midnight Blue” shimmers through a slow conversational build and hopeful studio gloss. “It’s Gonna Be Alright” sharpens the pace with horns, harmonies, and piano under the lead. “I Got Eyes” watches from a cinematic ballad setting. “I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore” places its narrator inside cramped rooms and overheard neighbor talk, then holds the cover in a vulnerable piano-and-strings presentation.

A1. “We’ve Got Time” (4:33) – Manchester–Sager
A2. “Party Music” (3:26) – Manchester–Wolfert
A3. “Just Too Many People” (3:49) – Manchester–Poncia
A4. “Stevie’s Wonder” (3:36) – Manchester–Sager
A5. “This Lady’s Not Home Today” (4:43) – Manchester–Sager

B1. “Love Havin’ You Around” (4:39) – Wonder–Wright
B2. “Midnight Blue” (4:06) – Manchester–Sager; addresses a relationship at the exhaustion point, then argues for one more attempt after the night’s anger cools. “Better things to do” frames reconciliation as practical, weary, and adult, not grandly romantic.
B3. “It’s Gonna Be Alright” (3:18) – Manchester–Anderson
B4. “I Got Eyes” (2:48) – Manchester
B5. “I Don’t Want to Hear It Anymore” (5:03) – Newman

Manchester recorded Melissa at Sunset Sound in Hollywood and A&R Recording in New York with producer Vini Poncia, executive producer Richard Perry, and recording engineer Bob Schaper. Bill Schnee remixed the album at Sound Labs in Hollywood.

Melissa appeared in a sleeve with art direction by Robert L. Heimall, design by Arton Associates, illustration by Pacific Eye & Ear, and photography by Ed Caraeff.

Arista lifted “Midnight Blue” as a May 1975 single (b/w “I Got Eyes”), which reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Just Too Many People” followed in August 1975 (b/w “The Lady’s Not Home”) and reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Melissa reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Better Days & Happy Endings

Melissa Manchester released her fourth album, Better Days & Happy Endings, in 1976 on Arista.

The album contains eight Manchester originals or co-writes and one cover of Fontella Bass (“Rescue Me”). Poncia returns as producer, with LoPresti, Bruner, Wolfert, Schwartz, Lenny Castro, James Newton Howard, and Johnny Vastano in the main rhythm and keyboard pool.

“Happy Endings” opens with theatrical self-address and places Manchester as “fantasy’s best friend” before the lyric turns toward songs as the one gift she can offer. “You Can Make It All Come True” bounces through a buoyant adult-pop setting without losing the record’s polished vocal scale.

“Better Days” consoles from the morning-after side of “Midnight Blue,” with the lead held in a soft, intimate ballad form. “My Sweet Thing” loosens the first side with a lighter, roots-tinted cover turn. “Come in From the Rain” gathers into a large romantic ballad, with Manchester’s phrasing held close before the arrangement opens.

“Rescue Me” sharpens the pace through a compact cover reading. “Just You and I” swells through a tender vows-and-reassurance form. “Stand Up Woman” steadies its traditional source with a firmer mid-tempo stance. “Good News” stretches into the album’s long late-side ascent. “Sing, Sing, Sing” resolves the set in a showpiece mode, with Manchester’s phrasing carrying the final lift.

A1. “Happy Endings” (3:56) – Manchester
A2. “You Can Make It All Come True” (3:30) – Manchester–Poncia
A3. “Better Days” (4:21) – Manchester–Sager
A4. “My Sweet Thing” (3:28) – Manchester–Wolfert
A5. “Come In From the Rain” (4:17) – Manchester–Sager

B1. “Rescue Me” (3:09) – Smith–Miner
B2. “Just You and I” (4:10) – Manchester–Sager
B3. “Stand Up Woman” (4:16) – Manchester–Sager
B4. “Good News” (5:49) – Manchester–Sager
B5. “Sing, Sing, Sing” (4:25) – Manchester

Manchester recorded Better Days & Happy Endings at Davlen Studios in North Hollywood with producer Vini Poncia and engineer Bob Schaper. Barry Fasman arranged strings, horns, and woodwinds, while Trevor Lawrence arranged horns on “You Can Make It All Come True” and “Rescue Me.”

Arista lifted “Just You and I” as a 1976 single, which reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Better Days” followed in 1976 and reached No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Better Days & Happy Endings reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Help Is On the Way

Melissa Manchester released her fifth album, Help Is On the Way, in 1976 on Arista.

The album contains seven Manchester originals or co-writes, plus covers of Frankie Miller (“A Fool in Love”), Michael Franks (“Monkey See, Monkey Do”), and Steely Dan (“Dirty Work”). Poncia’s session frame retains LoPresti, Bruner, Wolfert, Schwartz, Castro, and Howard, with Gary Coleman on vibraphone and Steve Cagan on orchestration for “So’s My Old Man” and “Singing From My Soul.”

“Talkin’ to Myself” settles into a firm piano-led ballad, with Manchester close against the lyric. “Be Somebody” floats through soft shimmer and rounded backing replies. “A Fool in Love” swings harder, with a sultry lead over the quicker pace. “Headlines” sways through offbeat lilt and bright call-back figures. “Help Is On the Way” lifts from inward assurance into a fuller refrain.

“Monkey See, Monkey Do” loosens into a rousing cover with slick vocal turns. “Dirty Work” smooths the Steely Dan song into a poised studio reading. “So’s My Old Man” lingers over a wistful character sketch, while the lyric leaves him still chasing a “little slice of heaven.” “There’s More Where That Came From” holds a slow, restrained form. “Singing From My Soul” resolves in a brief, ornate setting.

A1. “Talkin’ to Myself” (4:23) – Manchester
A2. “Be Somebody” (3:38) – Poncia–Vastano–Manchester
A3. “A Fool in Love” (3:04) – Miller
A4. “Headlines” (4:36) – Manchester
A5. “Help Is On the Way” (4:08) – Manchester–Sager

B1. “Monkey See, Monkey Do” (3:15) – Franks
B2. “Dirty Work” (3:09) – Becker–Fagen
B3. “So’s My Old Man” (4:20) – Manchester
B4. “There’s More Where That Came From” (4:00) – Manchester–Sager
B5. “Singing From My Soul” (1:34) – Manchester–Anderson

Manchester recorded Help Is On the Way at Sound Labs in Hollywood and The Burbank Studios with producer Vini Poncia and engineer Bob Schaper. James Newton Howard arranged strings on four titles, while David Wolfert and Tom Saviano handled horn arrangements on selected tracks.

Help Is On the Way appeared in a sleeve designed by Nancy Greenberg and Robert Heimall with photography by Reid Miles.

Arista lifted “Monkey See, Monkey Do” as a 1976 single. “Be Somebody” followed in early 1977. Help Is On the Way reached No. 60 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Singin’…

Melissa Manchester released her sixth album, Singin’…, in 1977 on Arista.

Singin’… contains nine covers and one Manchester original, “No One’s Ever Seen This Side of Me.” Manchester covers Michael Jackson (“I Wanna Be Where You Are”), Sly and the Family Stone (“Stand”), Three Dog Night (“Let Me Serenade You”), the Beach Boys (“The Warmth of the Sun”), James Taylor (“You Make It Easy”), and Wendy Waldman (“My Love Is All I Know”).

The album uses New York session personnel, with bassists Will Lee and Tony Levin, drummer Steve Gadd, guitarists David Spinozza, Jeff Mironov, and Sid McGinnis, keyboardist Don Grolnick, and percussionist Lenny Castro.

“Sad Eyes” eases into a polished opener with Manchester placed high in the arrangement. “I Wanna Be Where You Are” starts delicately, then blooms into a larger final lift. “A Love of Your Own” reclines in a smooth cover setting. “No One’s Ever Seen This Side of Me” carries Manchester’s own material into a more exposed stage-ready form. “You Make It Easy” stretches into a bluesier showcase without breaking the album’s controlled finish.

“Stand” steadies its anthem source through group replies. “My Love Is All I Know” softens the sequence with a gentle late-side glow. “Time” draws its slow reach across a broad arrangement. “Let Me Serenade You” keeps the cover set compact and relaxed. “The Warmth of the Sun” closes on a softened late-night contour.

A1. “Sad Eyes” (4:02) – Spinozza
A2. “I Wanna Be Where You Are” (3:46) – Ware–Ross
A3. “A Love of Your Own” (3:59) – Doheny–Stuart
A4. “No One’s Ever Seen This Side of Me” (3:14) – Manchester
A5. “You Make It Easy” (5:05) – Taylor

B1. “Stand” (3:58) – Stone
B2. “My Love Is All I Know” (3:34) – Waldman
B3. “Time” (4:13) – Miles–Marshall
B4. “Let Me Serenade You” (3:46) – Finley
B5. “The Warmth of the Sun” (4:48) – Wilson–Love

Manchester recorded Singin’… at A&R Studios in New York and Sound Labs in Hollywood with producer Vini Poncia and engineer Bob Schaper. Galen Senogles mixed the album at Producers Workshop in Hollywood.

Singin’… appeared in a sleeve with art direction and design by John Kosh, cover coordination by Kay Steele, and photography by David Alexander.

Arista lifted “I Wanna Be Where You Are” as a 1977 single. Singin’… reached No. 60 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Don’t Cry Out Loud

Melissa Manchester released her seventh album, Don’t Cry Out Loud, in October 1978 on Arista.

The album contains eight Manchester originals or co-writes, plus songs Stevie Wonder and Ira Tucker Jr. (“Bad Weather”) and Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager (“Don’t Cry Out Loud”). Leon Ware produced most titles, while Harry Maslin produced the title track.

Ware’s tracks use bassist Chuck Rainey, drummer James Gadson, guitarist David T. Walker, keyboardists Greg Phillinganes and Richard Tee, and percussionist Lenny Castro; Maslin’s title track uses bassist Toto David Hungate, drummer Jim Keltner, guitarist Lee Ritenour, Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne, and trumpeter Jerry Hey.

“Shine Like You Should” glides through Ware’s creamy treatment, with Manchester’s lead folded into smooth reply figures. “Caravan” cruises in the same polished lane, with a steady mid-tempo roll under the vocal. “Don’t Cry Out Loud” swells from plaintive focus into an orchestral crest, while Baby’s circus story leaves “sawdust and some glitter” behind the lesson. “Almost Everything” settles into an intimate side-one hush. “Bad Weather” lifts through bright accents and grouped replies.

“Through the Eyes of Grace” strips down to Manchester alone at the piano, then follows age through the lyric image “a deeper shade of red.” “To Make You Smile Again” lingers on a slow consoling line. “Such a Morning” keeps its lighter turn compact. “Knowing My Love’s Alive” smooths the late side through rounded vocal layering. “Singin’ from My Soul” returns in expanded form with a more formal sweep.

A1. “Shine Like You Should” (3:13) – Manchester
A2. “Caravan” (3:43) – Manchester
A3. “Don’t Cry Out Loud” (3:50) – Allen–Sager; turns heartbreak into stage discipline: the girl joins the circus, hides fear behind performance, and learns public composure as emotional survival. “Painted on a smile” gives the song its central image of pain covered by spectacle.
A4. “Almost Everything” (2:44) – Manchester–Ware
A5. “Bad Weather” (3:23) – Wonder–Tucker

B1. “Through the Eyes of Grace” (4:02) – Manchester
B2. “To Make You Smile Again” (4:52) – Manchester–Sager
B3. “Such a Morning” (2:53) – Manchester–Cagan
B4. “Knowing My Love’s Alive” (4:02) – Manchester–Ware
B5. “Singin From My Soul” (3:10) – Manchester–Anderson
B6. “We Had This Time” (4:49) – Manchester–Weiss

Manchester recorded Don’t Cry Out Loud at A&M Studios, The Village Recorder, Music Grinder, and Allen Zentz Recording with producers Leon Ware and Harry Maslin. Gene Page, David Blumberg, Tom Saviano, Barry Fasman, and Ware supplied the album’s arrangements.

Don’t Cry Out Loud appeared in a sleeve with art direction and design by John Kosh and photography by David Alexander.

Arista lifted “Don’t Cry Out Loud” as a November 1978 single (b/w “We Had This Time”), which reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Don’t Cry Out Loud reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 75 on the Kent Music Report.

Meanwhile, Machester co-wrote the ballad “Whenever I Call You Friend” with Kenny Loggins, whose 1978 duet version with Stevie Nicks reached the Billboard Top 10.

Television and Soundtrack Work

Manchester later performed “Don’t Cry Out Loud” on episode 512 of The Muppet Show. The segment places her against a black circus setting with three full-body clown dancers and a tightrope-walking Whatnot, which turns the lyric’s public-composure theme into a stage tableau. Elkie Brooks carried the song into the UK market with a Gus Dudgeon-produced version, which reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart across an eleven-week run.

Manchester also recorded “Through the Eyes of Love,” the Marvin Hamlisch–Carole Bayer Sager theme from the 1978 Columbia Pictures film Ice Castles. The film follows Lexie Winston, a young Iowa figure skater who enters the national circuit, sustains a skating accident that leaves her blind, and returns to competition with help from her boyfriend and coach. Manchester’s recording accompanies the film’s climactic skate and later earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Song.

Melissa Manchester

Melissa Manchester released her self-titled eighth album in October 1979 on Arista.

The album contains five Manchester co-writes and five outside titles. The album includes a Lisa Dalbello cover (“Pretty Girls”) and a duet with Arnold McCuller on “Whenever I Call You Friend.” Steve Buckingham’s sessions use keyboardists Alan Feingold and Randy McCormick, bassists Tom Robb and Steve Tischer, drummer James Stroud, guitarist Larry Byrom, and the Tower of Power horn section on “How Does It Feel Right Now.”

“Pretty Girls” strides through an uptempo dance-single frame with a polished late-seventies finish. “Fire in the Morning” smooths outside material into a soft-focus duet-adjacent setting. “When We Loved” withdraws into a slow reflective form. “It’s All in the Sky Above” keeps Manchester’s layered voice close to the lead.

“How Does It Feel Right Now” brightens through crisp horn replies and a clean studio finish. “Whenever I Call You Friend” turns the duet toward Arnold McCuller’s answering part and a softened orchestral setting. “Holdin’ On to the Lovin’” steadies the pace with rounded backing parts. “Lights of Dawn” closes in a piano-ballad mode tied to the reflective side of her late-seventies work.

A1. “Pretty Girls” (3:50) – Dalbello
A2. “Fire in the Morning” (3:49) – Steve Dorff, Larry Herbstritt, Gary Harju
A3. “Don’t Want a Heartache” (3:46) – Darrow–Cohen
A4. “When We Loved” (4:10) – Buckins–McCormick
A5. “It’s All in the Sky Above” (4:15) – Manchester–Sager

B1. “How Does It Feel Right Now” (3:54) – Manchester–Sager
B2. “Whenever I Call You Friend” (4:42) – Loggins–Manchester
B3. “Holdin’ On to the Lovin’” (3:21) – Manchester–Willis–Williams
B4. “I Know Your Love Won’t Let Me Down” (2:49) – Manchester–Anderson
B5. “Lights of Dawn” (3:29) – Manchester

Manchester recorded Melissa Manchester at Web IV Studios in Atlanta with producer Steve Buckingham and engineer Ed Seay. Seay also mixed the album and recorded the horn and string sessions.

Melissa Manchester appeared in a sleeve with art direction and design by John Kosh and photography by Steve Schapiro.

Arista lifted “Pretty Girls” as a September 1979 single. “Fire in the Morning” followed in February 1980. Melissa Manchester reached No. 63 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 93 on the Kent Music Report.

For the Working Girl

Melissa Manchester released her ninth album, For the Working Girl, in August 1980 on Arista.

The album contains five Manchester originals or co-writes and six outside titles. Peabo Bryson duets with Manchester on “Lovers After All,” while Don Henley, Paul Davis, Donna Rhodes, Sandra Rhodes, and Charles Chalmers appear in the backing-vocal pool. Buckingham returns as producer, with keyboardists Randy McCormick and Alan Feingold, bassist Tom Robb, drummer James Stroud, guitarist Larry Byrom, and percussionist Mickey Buckins.

“If This Is Love” reclines into a slow, polished ballad with Manchester’s lead held in a steady adult-pop contour. “(For the) Working Girl” strides through Bernie Taupin’s vignette sequence, moving from chorus work and hardhat customers to Cleveland mail-room survival. “Without You” stretches its familiar heartbreak into a large, tear-stained ballad.

“Boys in the Backroom” saunters through a barroom character sketch, with Trixie makeup, a first “Mr. Fix It,” and truck-stop hitchhiker imagery around the narrator’s exit. “You and Me” drifts through a slow, soft-focus ballad form. “Lovers After All” pairs Manchester with Peabo Bryson in a smooth duet setting.

A1. “If This Is Love” (3:39) – Chater–Patton
A2. “Any Kind of Fool” (3:07) – Stalker–Berg–Dorff
A3. “(For the) Working Girl” (4:13) – Taupin–Manchester
A4. “Without You” (3:26) – Ham–Evans
A5. “Boys in the Backroom” (3:35) – Manchester
A6. “You and Me” (3:52) – Sager–Allen

B1. “Talk” (3:46) – Manchester–Willis
B2. “A Fool’s Affair” (3:41) – Kerr–Seals
B3. “Lovers After All” (4:14) – Manchester–Ware
B4. “Tears of Joy” (3:55) – Manchester–Alan Bergman–Marilyn Bergman
B5. “Happier Than I’ve Ever Been” (3:29) – Manchester

Manchester recorded For the Working Girl at Northstar Studios in Boulder, Web IV Studios in Atlanta, and Britannia Studios in Hollywood with producer Steve Buckingham. Larry Roberts and Ed Seay engineered the album, with Seay credited for the final mix.

For the Working Girl appeared in a sleeve with art direction by Ria Lewerke-Shapiro and photography by George Hurrell.

Arista lifted “If This Is Love” as a 1980 single, which reached No. 19 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. “Lovers After All” followed in February 1981 and reached No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, No. 35 on the Hot Soul Singles chart, and No. 25 on the Adult Contemporary chart. For the Working Girl reached No. 68 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Hey Ricky

Melissa Manchester released her tenth album, Hey Ricky, in April 1982 on Arista.

Hey Ricky marks her first studio album with producer Arif Mardin, who pairs Robbie Buchanan’s synthesizer and keyboard parts with bassist Abraham Laboriel, drummer Jeff Porcaro, guitarists Steve Lukather, Michael Landau, and Dean Parks, and saxophonist Larry Williams. David Gates duets with Manchester on “Wish We Were Heroes,” while “Come in From the Rain” receives a new studio version.

“You Should Hear How She Talks About You” sprints through glossy electronic bounce, with Manchester cast as the messenger in a third-person crush report. “Slowly” eases back into a smoother adult-pop lane. “Hey Ricky (You’re a Low-Down Heel)” struts with flirty metropolitan bite, while Ricky enters the lyric with a “sweet tooth” and “swagger.”

“Race to the End” turns the Chariots of Fire theme into a striving vocal piece, with the runner’s “each step” tied to the soul. “Wish We Were Heroes” pairs Manchester with David Gates in a sentimental duet. “Come in From the Rain” returns in a sleeker cosmo-modern form. “Looking for the Perfect Ahh” plays risque wordplay against dice-table language. “Your Place or Mine” glides through late-night invitation, with two lovers circling like “moths around the flame.” “Someone to Watch Over Me” closes on a standard treated with cabaret poise.

A1. “You Should Hear How She Talks About You” (4:17) – Pitchford–Snow; first recorded by Charlie Dore for her 1981 second album Listen!
A2. “Slowly” (3:31) – Bell–Skinner–Wallace
A3. “Hey Ricky (You’re a Low Down Heel)” (4:15) – Manchester–Taupin; she cuts Ricky down through sexual ridicule, class parody, and open retaliatory infidelity. The spiciest barbs move from “silk stockings” against “cheap old pair of tights” to the lights-out “tiger” jab, then peak when she leaves his “Jello heart” adrift while she messes up another man’s sheets.
A4. “I’ll Always Love You” (3:32) – Snow–Kaz
A5. “Race to the End” (3:52) – Vangelis–Anderson

B1. “Wish We Were Heroes” (4:12) – Gravelding
B2. “Come in From the Rain” (4:20) – Manchester–Sager
B3. “Looking for the Perfect Ahh” (3:14) – Manchester–Sager–Buchanan
B4. “Your Place or Mine” (3:52) – Manchester–Willis–Bryant
B5. “Someone to Watch Over Me” (3:51) – George Gershwin–Ira Gershwin

Sessions occurred at Sunset Sound and Cherokee Studios in Hollywood, Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, and Atlantic Studios and the Record Plant in New York. Manchester recorded Hey Ricky with producer Arif Mardin and recording engineer Jeremy Smith.

Hey Ricky appeared in a sleeve with art direction by Ria Lewerke-Shapiro and photography by George Hurrell.

Arista lifted “You Should Hear How She Talks About You” as a May 1982 single (b/w “Long Goodbyes”), which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Hey Ricky (You’re a Low Down Heel)” followed as the second single.

Hey Ricky reached No. 19 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Emergency

Melissa Manchester released her eleventh album, Emergency, in 1983 on Arista.

The album contains four Manchester co-writes and outside titles by Tom Snow, Billy Livsey, Terry Britten, Teddy Johns, Nancy Simmonds, Robert Palmer, Bernie Taupin, Burt Bacharach, and Carole Bayer Sager. Arif Mardin returns as producer and co-arranger, with Robbie Buchanan on keyboard and synthesizer parts across most titles.

Emergency includes drummer Carlos Vega, bassists Abraham Laboriel, Will Lee, and Nathan East, guitarists Dann Huff, David Williams, Dean Parks, Buzz Feiten, and Hugh McCracken, and saxophonists Michael Brecker, Gary Herbig, and Larry Williams.

“I Don’t Care What the People Say” darts through the album’s quick electronic tread and icy metropolitan sheen. “No One Can Love You More Than Me” smooths the tempo into a sleek adult-pop single. “City Nights” prowls through urban desire, with the lyric placing hunger and hidden pain inside the city. “Stop Another Heart Breakin’” moves in the same bright modern frame with a firmer relationship plea. “Emergency” stretches the electronic setting into a larger alarm-call form.

“The End of the Affair” slows the pace into a resigned breakup piece. “That Boy” follows a long-distance romance through trust and risk, with the girl’s eyes “filled with the night.” “White Rose” turns inward on paired questions about two people who feel and think alike. “Johnny and Mary” recasts Robert Palmer’s character study, with Mary counting walls while Johnny keeps chasing certainty. “Time” closes the album in a polished ballad mode.

A1. “I Don’t Care What the People Say” (3:35) – Snow
A2. “No One Can Love You More Than Me” (4:15) – Livsey–Britten
A3. “City Nights” (4:33) – Mardin–Kieffer–Manchester–Bellotti–Longo
A4. “Stop Another Heart Breakin’” (3:45) – Livsey–Shostak
A5. “Emergency” (5:11) – Anderson–Manchester

B1. “The End of the Affair” (4:40) – Johns
B2. “That Boy” (3:44) – Simmonds
B3. “White Rose” (3:52) – DeRemer–Manchester
B4. “Johnny and Mary” (4:19) – Palmer–Taupin
B5. “Time” (4:25) – Bacharach–Sager–Manchester

Sessions occurred at Music Grinder and Sunset Sound in the Los Angeles area, plus Atlantic Studios and the Record Plant in New York. Manchester recorded Emergency with producer Arif Mardin and engineer Jeremy Smith.

Emergency appeared in a sleeve with art direction by Ria Lewerke and photography by Helmut Newton.

Arista lifted “No One Can Love You More Than Me” as a single, which reached No. 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Emergency reached No. 135 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Mathematics

Melissa Manchester released her twelfth album, Mathematics, in April 1985 on MCA.

Mathematics contains three Manchester co-writes and seven outside titles. George Duke produced four titles, Brock Walsh and Robbie Nevil produced four more, and Trevor Veitch and Robbie Buchanan each produced one title.

The sessions draw on keyboard programming, horn punctuation, and layered vocal parts, with guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., percussionist Paulinho da Costa, drummer Carlos Vega, bassists Abraham Laboriel and Freddie Washington, and horn players Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Bill Reichenbach, and Larry Williams.

“Victims of the Modern Heart” moves on a strict up-down pop tread, with Manchester set inside a sharper mid-eighties grid. “Mathematics” bounces through number-play seduction, as the lyric works a pen, equation, slide rule, and bottom line into romance. “Energy” charges through the album’s hi-gloss dance side. “Shocked” keeps the programmed pace tight and bright. “All Tied Up” snaps the Robbie Nevil side of the album into taut, flirty motion.

“The Dream” opens into George Duke’s smoother production lane. “Restless Love” gathers fuller backing voices around Manchester’s lead. “Thunder in the Night” turns Diane Warren’s late-night estrangement into a stormy lover’s standoff. “Night Creatures” slips back to Duke’s nocturnal studio finish. “Just One Lifetime” resolves the set with a tender vows piece.

A1. “Victims of a Modern Heart” (4:12) – Freeland–Snow
A2. “Mathematics” (3:59) – Walsh–Manchester–Nevil
A3. “Energy” (3:39) – Halstead–Elian–Tunnell
A4. “Shocked” (3:35) – Walsh–Nevil
A5. “All Tied Up” (3:48) – Walsh–Nevil

B1. “The Dream” (4:15) – Livsey–Walsh–Manchester
B2. “Restless Love” (3:39) – Walsh–Manchester–Nevil
B3. “Thunder in the Night” (3:53) – Warren–Page
B4. “Night Creatures” (3:50) – Lind–Page
B5. “Just One Lifetime” (4:02) – Manchester–Snow

Manchester recorded Mathematics across Los Angeles-area studios with producers George Duke, Brock Walsh, Trevor Veitch, Robbie Buchanan, and John Van Tongeren. Quincy Jones served as executive producer on “Mathematics,” “Shocked,” “All Tied Up,” and “Restless Love.”

Mathematics appeared in a sleeve with art direction and design by Larry Vignon and photography by Brian Aris.

MCA lifted “Mathematics” as a 1985 single, which reached No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “Energy” and “Just One Lifetime” followed as later singles. Mathematics reached No. 144 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Discography: