Barry Manilow's Mission to Save Music

It's hard not to be a "Fanilow," a Barry Manilow fan.

And even though he's changed over the years in appearance and age -- from a young man in leather pants and feathered hair, to a sophisticated gentlemen in tails and coat on stage -- he's still been my main musical man.

Ever since I saw him perform Copacabana at the Hollywood Bowl when I was 4 years old, he's been the one musical performer who's managed to make me happy my entire life.

I had the opportunity to see the Palm Springs resident in Vegas last week performing at the Paris Hotel and Casino to a packed room. His magical gift could still be seen in the audience members, who, regardless of their age that ranged from 10 to 80 years old, still couldn't help singing and dancing in their seats, transformed under the spell of Barry.

While on stage, Barry talked with the audience a bit about how music and arts programs in the schools are so severely lacking these days. He noted how budget cuts over the past decade have taken the emphasis off of cultural curriculum and furloughs have hit teachers hard in all of academia, but most specifically music and the arts.

He started a foundation called The Manilow Music Project to help out with this epidemic and urged the audience to let people know about this. The project collects, repairs and donates used instruments and money to schools all over the nation to assist their musical programs and the teachers who are elemental to their existence.

He's even donated right here in the valley. In 2009, he handed out $500,000 in musical instruments to middle and high schools in the Palm Springs, Coachella Valley and Desert Sands school districts.

You can donate instruments or cash through the foundation. His website even lets people know when their donations can result in free tickets to his shows.

I love that Barry is a man committed to giving other kids the same opportunities he received as a young man. Without a great music teacher who believed in him early and access to great instruction, who knows where he would be today and where I would be without his influence.