Manilow breaking Elvis’ record with long weekend

I often wonder how Elvis would have managed his social media. “Hello evr’body, lookin’ forward to another #soldout weekend @International #Vegas #thankyaverahmuch #jumpsuit #hounddog #scarves”

The superstar who is on pace to overtake The King’s record of performances in Las Vegas has announced on the socials how he’ll celebrate the event. Barry Manilow is growing the benchmark into a three-day festival running Sept. 21-23 at Westgate Las Vegas.

Manilow is due to break Elvis’ record of 636 performances at International/Las Vegas Hilton from 1969-1976 on Thursday, Sept. 21. This is barring any schedule shifts or postponements, of course. Manilow postponed a show in June because of a stage miscue.

Manilow is amazed he’s on the cusp of snapping this legendary record.

“Being in this room that he sat down in for a residency, just like I have, and to see my name in the same sentence is so amazing to me,” Manilow said in October. “It’s a privilege. He invented a style of music, which is still popular today. How many people can say that?”

The 80-year-old headliner is celebrating throughout the weekend, raising money for several charities and adding special gifts for ticket-holders.

Fanilows should delight in such items as a Collector’s Commemorative Coin, a Copacabana Boa, a Record Breaking Celebration hat, two free drinks (in a collectible cup) at the Copa Bar, and a VIP pass to the Saturday afternoon private screening of the 1985 TV movie “Copacabana.” Manilow portrays ill-fated barkeep/singer Tony in that one.

Join Barry on September 21-23 to raise money for charity and celebrate the record breaking number of shows at the International Theater at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

Each ticket purchased comes with a Collector’s Commemorative Coin, a Copacabana Boa, a Record… pic.twitter.com/UCmn6lrWoE

— Barry Manilow (@barrymanilow) July 7, 2023

Proceeds from the weekend package will benefit Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, Manilow Music Project, Musicians On Call, Three Square food bank, Victoria’s Voice and Youth Villages.

Manilow is performing his second residency production at the International Theater. He originally starred on that stage from 2005-2010, when the hotel was the Las Vegas Hilton. The “Mandy” hit-maker moved to Paris Theater for two years, closing in December 2012. He returned to Westgate in May 2017.

Manilow has sung Elvis songs over the course of his career, and might mine the Presley catalog for his September shows.

“I covered ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ on my ‘Greatest Songs of the 50s’ album, which I like a lot,” Manilow said in October. “I did my own arrangement on it. I could do that. I also do a pretty interesting arrangement of ‘If I Can Dream,’ another great one. I used to do it here when the hotel was the Hilton, and it went over great. I might do one or both of them.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.