Copacabana Barry Manilow: The Story Behind Lola and Tony
Copacabana Barry Manilow is a three-act drama hidden inside a disco single.
A showgirl named Lola, a bartender named Tony and a gunshot all fit into one song.
It peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 and won Manilow his only Grammy.
Below are the Rio hotel chat behind it, the plot, the players, the charts and the musical it became.
Barry Manilow in a 1975 press photo from the William Morris Agency.
Image credit: William Morris Agency press photo, December 15, 1975, public domain in the US, via Wikimedia Commons.
Copacabana Barry Manilow: From a Rio Hotel to a Story Song
A Question in Rio de Janeiro
Wikipedia says the song grew from a chat between Manilow and Bruce Sussman at the Copacabana Hotel in Rio de Janeiro.
They wondered whether anyone had ever written a song called "Copacabana".
Manilow knew the name from the other Copacabana, the New York nightclub he had visited often in the 1960s.
He asked Sussman and Jack Feldman to write the story, and then he wrote the music.
Wikipedia adds that singer and dancer Lola Falana inspired the song's famous lyric.
The Record at a Glance
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Writers | Barry Manilow, Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman |
| Producers | Barry Manilow and Ron Dante |
| Recorded | July 1977 |
| Released | June 1978, Arista Records |
| Parent album | Even Now (third single) |
| B-side | A Linda Song |
| Length | 5:46 album version, 3:58 radio edit |
| Genre | Disco and samba |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
The song also appeared on the soundtrack album of the 1978 film Foul Play.
Hear Copacabana Barry Manilow
Press play, then count how long it takes the congas to pull you onto the dance floor.
The jukebox has a spot for Copacabana in Listen Now if you want to keep going afterward.
The rest of the decade's disco-flavored pop sits in our guide to 70s disco music.
Lola, Tony and Rico: The Plot
Three Acts in Under Six Minutes
The song tells a complete story, which is rare for a single that was built for dancing.
Wikipedia summarizes the plot like this:
- Lola is a showgirl at the Copacabana, and Tony is her sweetheart and the club's bartender.
- Rico, a wealthy man, pursues Lola, and Tony steps in when Rico gets aggressive.
- The fight ends with a gunshot, and Tony dies.
- Thirty years later the club is a discotheque, and a middle-aged Lola still sits at the bar in her showgirl costume.
The Cheerful Tune Over a Sad Ending
The verses move at a bright, almost bouncy pace.
Then the last verse flips the mood, and the joyful chorus keeps playing underneath it.
Wikipedia says Lola has lost her youth, Tony and her stability by then.
If a happy-sad contrast is your thing, the Mood Song Matcher can find more 70s songs that do it.
The Sound: Disco, Samba and a Studio Band
A Latin Beat in a Pop Song
Wikipedia quotes Cash Box on the sound: "a Latin beat, congas and added percussion, strings and horns make it unusual".
That mix of samba rhythm and disco pulse is what separates Copacabana Barry Manilow from the ballads he was known for.
The album version runs 5:46, and the radio edit trims it to 3:58.
Who Played on It
Wikipedia lists the original personnel:
- Barry Manilow on vocals and acoustic piano.
- Bill Mays on keyboards and Mitch Holder on guitar.
- Will Lee on bass, Ronnie Zito on drums and Alan Estes on percussion.
- Artie Butler on orchestration.
- Ginger Blake, Laura Creamer and Linda Dillard on backing vocals.
Manilow is covered at length in our list of Barry Manilow songs.
On the Charts: Number 8 in the US, Number 2 in France
The Honest Number
Copacabana Barry Manilow peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, according to Wikipedia.
It never reached number one there, and it does not appear among this site's weekly Hot 100 number ones.
It did better on some other charts, and the table shows how far it traveled.
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| France | No. 2 |
| Canada (Dance/Urban) | No. 2 |
| Canada (Adult Contemporary) | No. 3 |
| Belgium (Ultratop) | No. 5 |
| US Adult Contemporary | No. 6 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | No. 6 |
| Canada (RPM 100 Singles) | No. 7 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | No. 8 |
| US Dance Club Songs | No. 15 |
| Germany | No. 23 |
| New Zealand | No. 37 |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
Wikipedia also lists number 22 in the UK and number 21 in Ireland on the 1993 to 1994 charts.
Year-End Ranks
This site's Billboard data ranks Copacabana Barry Manilow at number 74 on the 1978 year-end Hot 100.
Wikipedia lists these other 1978 year-end positions:
- US Cash Box Top 100: number 82.
- Canada (RPM): number 52.
- Belgium: number 51.
- Australia (Kent Music Report): number 76.
- Netherlands: number 92.
See where it sits beside the year's other hits in our top songs of 1978.
Peaks of twelve Barry Manilow hits, from each song's Wikipedia article. Copacabana sits at number eight.
Certifications
Wikipedia's certification table lists three awards:
| Country | Award | Units |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 1,000,000 shipments |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 400,000 |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Gold | 15,000 |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
For another random pick from the decade, try the Random 70s Song Generator.
Legacy: A Grammy, a TV Movie and a West End Musical
Manilow's Only Grammy
Copacabana earned Manilow his first and only Grammy Award, for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, in February 1979.
Wikipedia also calls it his first gold single for a song he wrote or co-wrote.
Barry Manilow in November 1979, photo by Alan Light, licensed CC BY 2.0.
From Single to Musical
In 1985 Manilow, Feldman and Sussman expanded the song into a full-length, made-for-television musical, also called Copacabana.
Wikipedia says that film was later developed into a two-act stage musical.
| Version | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Made-for-television musical | 1985 | Many new songs and an expanded plot |
| West End stage musical | Later | Two years at the Prince of Wales Theatre, then a UK tour |
| US touring production | Later | Toured the United States for over a year |
| The Muppet Show, Liza Minnelli | 1979 | Performed on a 1979 episode |
| Kylie Minogue | 2008 | Performed on the KylieX2008 tour |
| Harvard Din & Tonics | 2024 | A performance that led to a viral TikTok video |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
Wikipedia says more than 200 productions of the stage show have been staged worldwide, so the story of Copacabana Barry Manilow wrote has outlived the single.
It is one of the 1978 hits worth revisiting on Music of the 70s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote Copacabana by Barry Manilow?
Barry Manilow, Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman wrote Copacabana, according to Wikipedia.
Manilow wrote the music, and Feldman and Sussman wrote the lyrics.
Manilow and Ron Dante produced it, and it came out in June 1978 as the third single from the album Even Now.
What was Copacabana's peak on the Billboard Hot 100?
Copacabana peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, according to Wikipedia.
It reached number six on the US Adult Contemporary chart and number two in France.
This site's year-end data ranks it number 74 for 1978, and it is not among the weekly Hot 100 number ones.
What happens to Lola and Tony in Copacabana?
Tony, a bartender, dies in a fight over Lola with a wealthy man named Rico, and the fight ends with a gunshot.
Thirty years later the club is a discotheque and Lola, now middle-aged, still sits at the bar in her showgirl costume, having lost her youth, Tony and her stability.
Did Copacabana win a Grammy?
Yes, Copacabana earned Barry Manilow his first and only Grammy Award, for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, in February 1979, according to Wikipedia.
It was also his first gold single for a song he wrote or co-wrote, and the RIAA later certified it Gold in the United States.
Was Copacabana made into a movie or musical?
Yes, in 1985 Manilow, Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman expanded the song into a made-for-television musical also called Copacabana, according to Wikipedia.
It was later developed into a stage musical that ran for two years at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End, followed by a UK tour.
Sources
- Copacabana (song), Wikipedia, for the writers, release details, the Rio hotel story, the plot, personnel, chart peaks, year-end ranks other than the Billboard Hot 100, certifications, the Grammy, the adaptations and the covers.
- Even Now (Barry Manilow album), Wikipedia, for the album the song appears on.
- Barry Manilow, Wikipedia, for background on the artist.
- This site's Billboard year-end Hot 100 data, for the number 74 year-end rank, and its weekly Hot 100 data, for the absence of Copacabana among the number ones.
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