Barry Manilow‘s 1978 disco hit sounded like a glittering night out at a world-famous club. However, the song was a chilling story wrapped up in a dance beat.
“Copacabana (At the Copa),” written by Manilow, Bruce Sussman, and Jack Feldman, told the story of Lola and her lovers Tony and Rico. The fictional smash became a Top 10 hit, ranking at No. 8 in August 1978 on the Billboard Hot 100.
However, as millions took to the dance floors, many weren’t really listening to the story’s dark lyrics. The song’s genius lay in its happy beat, which hid a story that ended in one of the characters’ murders.
In an interview reprinted by the website Trent Moorman Writing, Manilow explained just how the now-legendary song came to be. He revealed that the entire track sprang from a spontaneous poolside conversation at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, where he realized no major pop song had ever claimed the iconic name of the legendary New York City club.
He explained, “I was on vacation at the Copacabana Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. There were ashtrays and towels that said ‘Copacabana.’ Bruce Sussman and Jack Feldman, the guys who wrote the lyrics, took longer with it, writing the story.”
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At first, “Copacabana” appears to be a feel-good story about a showgirl named Lola and her bartender boyfriend, Tony. But things take a dark turn fast when a brawl breaks out, a gun goes off, and Tony ends up dead.
Thirty years into the future, Lola is heartbroken, drinking alone, and completely losing her mind. However, the song’s infectious melody keeps the story moving, as listeners move through the tragedy of Lola’s life without realizing its sad turn.
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Songfacts reprinted Manilow’s quotes from the liner notes of his Even Now LP, where the song was featured among other original tunes such as “Can’t Smile Without You,” “Even Now,” and “Somewhere in the Night.” The entertainer shared, “I remember putting the lyric on the piano’s music stand, punching the ‘record’ button on my tape deck, and writing the song in less than 15 minutes.”
Sussman said that the success of “Copacabana” was a surprise to everyone connected to the LP. He said, per Songfacts, “We thought we were writing the novelty cut for Barry’s Even Now album. ‘Copacabana’ surprised everyone, certainly us, and especially Arista Records, for they were faced with the first of Barry’s hits that was forced off an album.”
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He continued, “This put Barry in the unique position of having three hit records in the Top 40 at once. It earned him his first, and believe it or not, only, Grammy award, his first gold single for a song he composed, his first international hit record, and the first song to inspire projects in other media (a made-for-TV film and a stage musical). So much for novelty cuts!”
The “Copacabana” television film aired in 1985, with Manilow as Tony and Annette O’Toole as Lola. A stage musical based on the song debuted in 1994 at London’s West End and later toured the United States.
It takes a special kind of songwriting magic to turn pure heartbreak into the ultimate feel-good dance anthem. Barry Manilow gave fans a catchy disco classic, but he also left behind one of the greatest hidden story songs in pop music history.
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