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This is Fresh Air. I'm Dave Davies. Barry Manilope is one of the most successful pop performers of the 70s and early 80s.

He had 25 top 40 hits between 1974 and 83,

including Mandy, I write the songs,

trying to get the feeling again, looks like we made it, can't smile without you,

Copacabana, and I made it through the rain.

Now at the age of 80, he's got a musical on Broadway, titled Harmony.

Manalo wrote the music and his longtime collaborator Bruce Susman, the lyrics.

It's based on the true story of the comedian harmonists,

an all-male group who were international stars in Germany

before World War II, but the group was banned by the Nazis.

Here's a bit of the title song from the musical. Harmony, did we have harmony,

but that's just about all we have.

Suddenly a little harmony and the poverty's not so bad. Then we were porous.

Then we were forest for rested in Berlin, we were, patches on our path.

By pretty hard to leave, when you're in harmony, you're in harmony you're in a trance

Others went marching

Not us we dance

not us we dance Not a sweet dance.

sweet dance.

...