Barry Manilow Reimagines a 1992 Ballad as He Returns From Cancer Surgery with New Preview of What a Time

Barry Manilow has returned with a quietly pointed revision: today he releases “Another Life 6 2026,” a new take on a song first cut in 1992. The single is the final preview of What a Time, his 33rd studio album and his first collection of nearly all-original songs in almost 15 years, due June 5.

Barry Manilow at Clive Davis and the Recording Academys Pre-GRAMMY Gala at The Beverly Hilton on February 01, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Gilbert Flores/Billboard

Co-written by Andrew Hill and Preston Sturges and arranged by Manilow alongside longtime collaborator Michael Lloyd, the 2026 version leans into the songs original wistfulness while deepening its nostalgic register. Manilow first recorded “Another Life” for the 1992 box set The Complete Collection and Then Some; while the track was never pushed as an official single, it still reached No. 33 on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart then. He was in his late 40s at that recording; he is now in his 80s and has recently faced a significant health challenge, which the timing of this rerecording inevitably reframes.

The new single arrives in the wake of Manilows first public appearance since surgery for lung cancer. On April 23 he accepted the American Advertising Federations Presidents Award at the Hall of Fame gala in New York City, a nod to the ad work he did before his recording career took off.

What a Time marks a return to original material for Manilow; his last mainly original LP was 2011s 15 Minutes, which debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. The albums lead single, “Once Before I Go,” landed at No. 25 on Billboards Adult Contemporary chart in February, extending an unusual streak: this is the sixth consecutive decade in which Manilow has placed multiple top 30 hits on that chart, a run that began with “Mandy” in November 1974. That song not only hit No. 1 on Easy Listening and the Hot 100, it also earned a Grammy nomination for record of the year.

Manilows latest record is notable less for flashy reinvention than for the company hes kept. What a Time stitches together cross-generational collaborators: Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Dave Cobb sit alongside Manilows longtime co-writers Bruce Sussman and Adrienne Anderson. The result reads like a strategic effort to bridge erasto make a set that can sit in contemporary playlists while remaining unmistakably Manilowian.

Theres a small historical through-line here, too. In early 1976 Arista Records president Clive Davis conceived a Grammy party to spotlight Manilows nominationan event that has since become an annual industry ritual. Its a reminder of how Manilows career has been as much about cultural positioning as it has about steady hitmaking.

With recovery still in progress, Manilow has said he plans to tour throughout 2026. For scheduling and ticket information, see Manilows website.