"Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" is a song written by

David Pomeranz David Pomeranz (born February 9, 1951) is an American singer, composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theatre. He is also an ambassador for Operation Smile. Solo career Born and raised on Long Island, Pomeranz expressed interest in music from ...

that became a top 10 hit for

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

in 1976. It was first recorded by

the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...

in 1975, but their version was not released until 1994 on their 25th anniversary CD, '' Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration''. Pomeranz also recorded the song for his 1975 album It's in Every One of Us (Arista Records).

Barry Manilow version

Manilow released his recording, a single from the album ''Tryin' to Get the Feeling'', in 1976. It charted in the top ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 10. His take also hit number 1 on the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. An alternate version, including the original bridge, nearly a minute longer, appears on '' The Complete Collection and Then Some...''. Manilow says the bridge was eliminated in his release for timing reasons, but he tries to include it when performing live ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that "this lush ballad will speak directly to a large audience."

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Carpenters' version

The Carpenters' version of "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" was recorded during the ''

Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

'' sessions in 1975, but it had been shelved as being "one too many ballads". Years later, Richard was looking for the master backing track for " Only Yesterday" and discovered on that same tape the lost, earlier attempt at "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" with Karen's "work lead". (A work lead can easily be identified by such anomalies as Karen flipping a sheet of paper over at about 1:50 into the play time of the song as she sight reads and sings.) Richard felt that the vocal was good enough to finish production and release the song, as he did in 1994, almost 20 years after it was recorded. The Carpenters version includes the original bridge.

Personnel

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was praise ...

–

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Richard Carpenter – backing vocals,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Jim Gordon –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Tim May –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Original David Pomeranz version

Pomeranz wrote the song during a time of stress in his marriage, referring to its ups and downs. He notes that he rewrote the song several times, and that his version, the Manilow version, and the Carpenters version each include different verses.

Additional versions

Gene Pitney Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...

, 1975, Pitney '75 (Bronze) * Stephanie De-Sykes, 1975, (single, 20th Century) *

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...

(flute), 1976, Romeo & Juliet (Columbia) * Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, 1977, What Color Is Love (Philadelphia International)

References

*CD insert – ''Interpretations''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again 1975 songs 1976 singles Barry Manilow songs 1994 singles The Carpenters songs Arista Records singles A&M Records singles Songs written by David Pomeranz Song recordings produced by Ron Dante