Barry Manilow Christmas concerts to benefit 25 Palm Springs area nonprofits

Barry Manilow has had an incredible year. In addition to completing a sold-out run at Radio City Music Hall; opening his second Broadway musical, “Harmony”; and being honored at Carnegie Hall by The New York Pops; the composer and recording artist recently performed his 637th show at the Westgate Las Vegas, beating Elvis Presley’s previously held record for most appearances on the same stage.

But that’s not all. He also has a new Christmas single rising up the charts (a cover of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”) and a Christmas special, “Barry Manilow’s A Very Barry Christmas,” airing Dec. 11 on NBC and streaming the following day on Peacock.

Manilow’s record-breaking career spans seven decades. He has sold 85 million albums, charted 13 No. 1 hits and won two Emmys, a Grammy and a Tony.

A long-time philanthropist, the performer has also raised money for hurricane relief after both Hugo (1989) and Katrina (2005) as well as supported numerous charitable organizations, including the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, the Elton John AIDS Foundation and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, to name just a few.

Just a few.

His foundation, The Manilow Music Project, supports music education in schools by donating instruments, providing grants and scholarships and helping young musicians gain access to excellent education. To date, the project has distributed more than $10 million in instruments and funds.

Locally, Manilow has raised millions of dollars for Coachella Valley charities over the past 20 years and is gearing up to add to that with his annual Christmas concerts at the McCallum Theatre.

“A Gift of Love VI” kicks off Dec. 12 and comprises five shows.

“We choose 25 local charities, and we give them a lot of seats and all the money that we make,” Manilow tells The Desert Sun. “It goes right to each of the charities. I don't get paid for any of those shows. My band and the crew, of course, does but I don't because it's a charity show.”

The 25 charities benefiting this year are AAP – Food Samaritans, ACT For MS, Angel View, Animal Samaritans, Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, Boo2Bullying, Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley, Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs, College of the Desert Foundation, DAP Health, Desert Symphony, Guide Dogs of the Desert, Jewish Family Service of the Desert, LifeStream Blood Bank, Loving All Animals, Manilow Music Project, Martha’s Village & Kitchen, McCallum Theatre Education Institute, Negro Academic Scholarship Fund, Oswit Land Trust, Palm Springs Search & Rescue, Paws & Hearts, Safe Schools Desert Cities, The Judy Fund and The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens.

The idea of giving back has been on Manilow’s mind from the beginning of his career. “I always thought that as soon as I start making money, I would start giving it away,” he says. “I think that's what everybody does — or at least I hope that when you get lucky as I did, you start helping people.”

In addition to his Gifts of Love, the composer has long given his fans the gift of his music. This includes three Christmas albums. This year, he had planned to do a fourth.

“I was going to make a full Christmas album, but this year just exploded and I didn’t have enough time to finish it,” he says. “I went into the recording studio and recorded three of the Christmas songs that I was going to put on an album, and one of them was Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’ which everybody loves.”

Manilow’s legions of fans will love his spin on the modern classic. “When I listened to the Mariah Carey version, it's kind of like that Phil Spector Wall of Sound record, and I didn't want to do that. So I came up with a different angle on the song and a different arrangement. We released it (Nov. 3), and it's moving up the charts really quickly. It's a big surprise.”

Despite his amazing and busy year, Manilow says he has no plans to retire. “They'll have to drag me out of not working. I love working and I'm not stopping. I'll certainly keep doing (“A Gift of Love”) every year. I will. As long as I can still walk and talk and sing, I'll be doing it every year.”

A Gift of Love concerts will take place Dec. 12, 13, 15, 16 and 17. Tickets are available at agol6.com.

As the philanthropy editor at The Desert Sun, Winston Gieseke writes about nonprofits, fundraising and locals who give back, like his beloved dog Ernie Banks, who volunteers weekly at the local cancer center. Reach him at winston.gieseke@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Barry Manilow Christmas concerts benefit Palm Springs area nonprofits