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

David Pomeranz David Pomeranz (born February 9, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theater. He is also an ambassador for Operation Smile, a foundation dedicated to cleft lip and palate and a member of the Churc ...

that became a top 10 hit for

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

in 1976. It was first recorded by

the Carpenters The 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 distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

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 peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and 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 stati ...

. 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 three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' 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 curve 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 curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

'' sessions in 1975, but it had been shelved as there were "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 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 musician who was the lead vocalist and early drummer of the highly successful duo the Carpenters, formed with her older brother Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard. Wi ...

–

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

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 us ...

* Richard Carpenter – backing vocals, keyboards *

Joe Osborn Joe Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Jim Gordon –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

*Tim May –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

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 pop and country 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 h ...

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

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist, piccoloist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 50 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop ...

(flute), 1976, Romeo & Juliet (Columbia) * Dee Dee Sharp Gamble, 1977, What Color Is Love (Philadelphia International) * Ray Fisher, 2023, Forever Fanilow - Harriet, 2024, Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again

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