"You Gotta Love the Life," the title song from Melissa Manchester's new album, was Most Added in its first week at Smooth Jazz radio, BDS reports. The propulsive, horn-fueled track celebrates the life that Manchester embarked on some 40 years ago, when she got her start as a founding member of Bette Midler's Harlettes. The young singer was also studying songwriting with Paul Simon and envisioning a solo career. While "You Gotta Love the Life" is Manchester's most autobiographical song to date, it's also an anthem for anyone with the hunger to perform and the tenacity to weather the extreme ups and downs that are par for the course in show business. "You Gotta Love the Life" can be purchased HERE and streamed HERE. Manchester just finished shooting the official video for the track; details to follow.

 

With her new album, Manchester celebrates not only more than 40 years as a GRAMMY-winning performer and songwriter, but a renewed independence and vitality - qualities that also shine in her live show. Reviewing one of her March 2015 performances at Feinstein's 54 Below, The New York Times' Stephen Holden said, "she effused the high spirits of someone who had shed a heavy weight and was still dizzy with her freedom and sense of possibility." Manchester will return to 54 Below this fall for another multi-night run. The New York City native, who now resides in California, was blown away by the warm welcome she received from fans during her first engagement at the club and, in appreciation, is offering a special 15 percent discount for the November 5-7 dates. Tickets are available HERE. On December 16, she will perform at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, CA. See below for her full itinerary.

 

You Gotta Love the Life, which is available HERE, is Manchester's first studio album in a decade and her first-ever independent release. Billboard observed "magic moments on the album include guest appearances by Al Jarreau on 'Big Light' and Keb' Mo', who plays guitar on 'Feelin` For You.' 'Other End of the Phone,' which features Dionne Warwick, is the final lyric the late Hal David ever wrote and features one of the last recorded performances by keyboardist Joe Sample." M Music & Musicians praised her "smoky vocals" and Goldmine noted, "[Manchester] has never sounded more vibrant or enthused." "It's a beautiful collection showcasing her musical diversity, distinctive songwriting and stunning voice," said Rage Monthly. "Don't cry out loud for Melissa Manchester. The music industry changed, but the Grammy-winning '70s and '80s pop star has changed with it," observed the Miami Herald while PopCultureClassics.com hailed it as "one of the finest albums of her illustrious career."

 

U.K. producer Liam Keegan - known for his remixes of Rihanna's ''Diamonds,'' Demi Lovato's ''Cool For The Summer'' and Sia's ''Chandelier'' - will release his dance remix of "Big Light," Manchester's duet with Al Jarreau, this Friday, October 16. "Big Light,"which Melissa penned with John Proulx, marks Manchester's first recording with Jarreau since "The Music of Goodbye," their duet for the 1985 Academy Award-winning film Out of Africa, although the longtime friends have since toured together. View the official video for"Big Light" HERE.

 

Manchester is collaborating with Tony Award winning playwright Rupert Holmes("The Mystery of Edwin Drood") and Oscar nominee Sharon Vaughn on Sweet Potato Queens: THE MUSICAL, which will be given its world premiere at Houston's Theatre Under The Stars' TUTS Underground in March 2016. The musical is loosely based on the life-story of #1 New York Times best-selling author and SPQ founder, Jill Conner Browne. Tickets are available HERE.

 

"Open Spaces and Gas Stations," Manchester's co-production with Canadian songwriter James Collins, is currently bubbling under the Top 100 Anglophone chart in Quebec and is being spun at radio stations in the Philippines, New Zealand and Scotland. It can be streamed HERE and purchased HERE. Manchester will appear on "Breakfast With Gary and Kelly," airing live on Orange County, CA radio station KSBR on October 31, and on "The Michael Parlett Radio Show" on November 1.

 

Top 10 hits like "Midnight Blue," the GRAMMY-nominated "Don't Cry Out Loud" and the GRAMMY-winning "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" established Manchester as a solo artist. Her songs have been tapped by motion pictures, netting her two Oscar nominations, and recorded by such artists as Barbra Streisand, Dusty Springfield, Alison Krauss and Roberta Flack. Manchester has appeared on both the large screen in movies (For The Boys) and small screen in television (Blossom), as well as the stage. She is an honorary artist in residence at Citrus College, where she recorded the new album. Manchester also teaches at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. In fact, her students at USC inspired her to take an independent route withYou Gotta Love the Life, which was financed with an Indiegogo campaign.

 

MELISSA MANCHESTER - UPCOMING TOUR DATES:

2015:

10/22 - Pocatello, ID @ Stephens Performing Arts Center   

10/23 - Boise, ID @ Sapphire Room 

10/24 - Boise, ID @ Sapphire Room

11/5 - New York, NY @ 54 Below 

11/6 - New York, NY @ 54 Below 

11/7 - New York, NY @ 54 Below (7:00 pm & 9:30 pm shows)

12/12 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  

12/16 - Beverly Hills, CA @ Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

12/18 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  

12/19 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  

12/20 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel 

12/24 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  

12/27 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor Hotel  

2016:

2/5 - Edmond, OK @ University of Central Oklahoma

2/6 - Edmond, OK @ University of Central Oklahoma

2/18 - Naples, FL@ Theatre Zone

2/19 - Naples, FL @ Theatre Zone

2/20 - Sanibel, FL @ Big Arts

2/23 - Palm Beach, FL @ Royal Room @ Colony Hotel

2/24 - Palm Beach, FL@ Royal Room @ Colony Hotel

2/25 - Palm Beach, FL @ Royal Room @ Colony Hotel

2/26 - Palm Beach, FL @ Royal Room @ Colony Hotel

2/27 - Palm Beach, FL @ Royal Room @ Colony Hotel

 

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