EXCLUSIVE: Looks like he made it! Barry Manilow kicks The King off his Throne as he performs his 637th Vegas concert beating Elvis Presley’s record for the longest running show
- Barry Manilow broke records last night as the longest running show in Vegas beating Elvis Presley
- The octogenarian delighted fans at the Westgate Resort Hotel on Saturday night with his energetic performance
- Now the Copacabana singer has signed on for another run of Vegas shows in 2024
Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, who boasts a career spanning seven decades, beat Elvis Presley’s record for the most performances with his 637th show at Westgate Las Vegas.
The Brooklyn-born crooner, 80, announced on September 23 that he had signed up to perform in another run starting February 2024. The record was established by Elvis at the iconic International Theatre inside the hotel.
In homage to the King, Manilow donned a leather jacket and belted out Elvis’s hit song Hound Dog, which received a standing ovation.
Turning to his early beginnings in music, Manilow told the audience how his grandfather inspired him to become a musician.
‘Grandpa wouldn’t give up. Every Saturday afternoon, he would take me across the Brooklyn Bridge and into 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 spritely as he ran across the stage throwing red scarves to his adoring fans
In a tribute to the late crooner, he sang the hit Hound Dog and earned a standing ovation
From 1969 until his death in 1977, The King would perform 636 shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in month-long stints of two a night (pictured on stage in 1975)
‘It wasn’t so much the singing part that I liked, it was the music. Even at that young age, I kind of understood it. If you ask my musician friends, they say the same thing: I was terrible at sports and maths but I kind of understood music.’
When asked what keeps him motivated to perform night after night in 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 about me.’
In 1969, Elvis began a seven-year residency at the Westgate, which was at the time called the International Hotel.
He performed on the same stage as Manilow in front of 1150 people, completing a staggering 631 shows before his untimely death in 1977.
At the time, Elvis’s residency at the hotel made him one of the highest-paid performers in the history of Las Vegas. The last show he performed at the hotel was on December 12th, 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 remodeled shortly after Manilow’s 1985 debut.
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 September 23 performance to Victoria’s Voice Foundation, the eponymous charity named after hotel owner Jackie Seigal’s daughter
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 crooner also announced that he had signed up to perform in another run starting February 2024
Seigal told DailyMail.com that Maslow ‘will continue to break his own record everyday’
Former beauty queen Jackie is married to Westgate owner David Siegal and is most well-known for starring in the reality series Queen of Versailles.
The show was about the construction of their 90,000-square-foot Orlando, Florida mansion, inspired by the Palace of Versailles in France. A second series airs next year.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Jackie spoke fondly of Barry Manilow and his support for Victoria’s Voice, which is a foundation that shines a light on the drug epidemic.
The charity is named after her daughter, who suffered a fatal overdose at just 18 years old.
‘Barry has been a great support to Victoria’s Voice. We are so excited he’s signed on for another year – now he’s broken the record for the most performances of any performer on our stage,’ she said.
‘He will continue to break his own record every day. I’m so excited about his support for Victoria’s Voice and helping with the awareness of the drug epidemic me casa is his casa he always welcomes in my Versailles in the Sky.’
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