Barry Manilow 'Still Not 100 Percent' Recovered From Bursitis Surgery

by UInterviewJune 21, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

Music legend Barry Manilow, who celebrated his 69th birthday earlier this month, has not completely recovered from surgery he underwent for bursitis of the hip last December. “I’m still not 100 percent,” Manilow told The Kansas City Star. “I’m pretty close — 85 to 90 percent, but I’m doing great.”

Manilow, who started a long series of weekend tours in March, was admitted to a Los Angeles hospital in December to repair torn abductor muscles in both of his hips, the result of a lifetime of stage performing. "That's what you get when you jump around to Copacabana for 30 years! Wish me luck," Manilow jokingly told USA Today at the time. Manilow performed his 1,000th concert at the Las Vegas Hilton the night before he went into surgery.

Despite the slow recovery from hip surgery, Manilow is maintaining his signature level of optimism and gratitude. “I am so grateful I’m still here and I still have an audience who’s interested in hearing what I have to say and in listening to my music,” he said. “I know when I get on stage people want to hear the songs they grew up with. Those songs have turned into more than pop ditties. They’ve become huge memories. They mean so much to me, you’ll never hear me phone them in. I’ll be happy to sing those songs for the rest of my life."