Diane and Ed met through a Barry Manilow fan club. After dating for a
short time, Ed proposed to her with Barry Manilow's music playing in the
background and they got married on his birthday. They have a son named
Barry ... and they have high hopes for him.
"My son is a musical
prodigy," says Diane. "When Barry was a little over 2, he heard his Dad
playing a Barry Manilow song on the piano. He went over and he was
trying to play it. We knew that he definitely had some musical talent."
They took Barry to his first Barry Manilow
concert when he was 3 1/2 years old, and they started him with piano
lessons at 4.
"I think that my son, Barry, has the ability to be
the next Barry Manilow," says Ed. "He's really shy and that really
bothered me, but put him onstage in front of thousands of people and he's like this totally different kid."
"Music, music, music. My gift is my uniqueness, my
individuality," says 13-year-old Barry. He can play almost 1,000 songs
from memory and he writes, arranges and sings his own music, although
most of his interest lies with singing Barry Manilow songs. "When I'm,
playing music, I become trapped within the song."
Although Barry loves his music, his parents say that other kids and
parents are jealous of his talent and they taunt the family. "The
bullying started because of all the attention that Barry was getting,"
explains Ed. "The other kids in our neighborhood have vandalized our house.
We can't even go for a walk around the block because they'll say smart
remarks to my wife or Barry. When Barry wins competitions, it gets
really ugly," Ed says. "Parents can say some very mean things: 'Stop
peddling your kid.' 'What, are you living your dream through your kid?'
'He's not even that good.'" Ed defends himself saying, "I did not push
my son into music."
"My parents have never pushed me to do anything that I didn't want to
do," explains Barry. "People have accused my father of being a stage
dad and that really makes
me angry because that is not true. They are the chauffeurs, they're my
roadies, but that's it." Barry acknowledges that it's hard when others
make these comments. "Having a gift for music, sometimes it can get kind
of lonely," he says. "There are times, because of the harassment, I
thought, 'What if I never played music?' I can't help but think how
normal my life would be."
Diane turns to Dr. Phil for help. "How can I share my son's
talents with the world without him being persecuted by his peers?" she
asks.
Subject: Re: what are the top 10 non-metal albums you would recommend? 
