For the past two years, musician Joe Hite has recreated the music of Barry Manilow with his eight-piece band in a tribute to the famed singer/songwriter in a show titled “Daybreak: The Music and Passion of Barry Manilow” to be performed on Thursday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at the Boca Black Box Center for the Arts in Boca Raton.
“I never thought initially that I would be singing the songs of Barry Manilow. However, my good friend Bruce Petersen (of Copa Entertainment) felt that I sounded a lot like Barry and I knew instinctively that the show would work. The band sounds good, and I have been studying and watching Barry Manilow performing in concert often enough to feel that the audiences will capture the excitement of a Barry Manilow concert,” said Hite.
Hite has performed the show four times before in South Florida at Aventura Arts and Cultural Center in Aventura and thrice at Boca Black Box Center for the Arts, not including his upcoming May 29 show. What Hite does impressively is transform himself as Barry Manilow, wearing a wig resembling Manilow’s long hairstyle from the 1970s in creating the Barry Manilow image.
Singer Joe Hite will perform “Daybreak: The Music and Passion of Barry Manilow” on Thursday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at Boca Back Box Center for the Arts in Boca Raton. All photos of Joe Hite are credited to Dan Kazinski Photography.
“This is all about entertaining audiences and delivering the best performance possible. However, I am not an impersonator, and I do not call myself Barry Manilow on stage. What we do impressively on stage is recreate the heyday of Barry in the 1970s, performing his most memorable hit songs in a 90-minute show that feels like watching Barry in concert.”
The show features visual choreography, as Hite performs Manilow hit songs, primarily from the 1970s, both on the piano and standing in the spotlight in choreographed songs, such as “Copacabana.”
“Playing Barry Manilow songs is so satisfying because they are so well-written and fun to play and playing to very large, enthusiastic audiences is always a blast.”
“However, the greatest thing about performing Barry songs for me is meeting the fans after the shows. I hear from the devoted Barry fans about how seeing me perform brought back so many pleasant feelings and memories of seeing Barry Manilow in concert over the years.”
Singer Joe Hite will perform “Daybreak: The Music and Passion of Barry Manilow” on Thursday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at Boca Back Box Center for the Arts in Boca Raton. CREDIT: All photos of Joe Hite are credited to Dan Kazinski Photography.
Hite will perform close to 20 Manilow hit songs. Along with “Copacabana”, Hite is also expected to perform “Can’t Smile Without You”, “Daybreak”, “Even Now”, “I Write The Songs”, “This One’s For You” and “Weekend In New England”, among other Manilow songs.
Given Barry Manilow’s long 50 plus years career performing his music to millions of fans, Hite has learned quickly that a Manilow tribute show never gets stale. The demand to hear Barry Manilow is very high, especially for the baby boomer generation who have listened to Manilow music since 1974.
Manilow, who celebrates his 82nd birthday on June 17, is a resident headline artist in Las Vegas for over a decade.
“Barry does not travel far from Las Vegas and having a choice of spending a lot of money to travel to Las Vegas and watch him in concert, I much prefer to see a Barry Manilow tribute artist in South Florida where I live for a lot less money, especially because Joe (Hite) is so good at recreating the beauty and warmth of the Manilow songs,” said Debbie Manov of Delray Beach who has been a Manilow fan for 50 years.
Aware that he has performed Manilow songs multiple times in South Florida, Hite has changed the shows by adding new musicians and new Manilow songs to keep the show fresh.
“The new musicians that will add to the beautiful sounds will be bass player Val Shaffer and drummer Ian Goodman. I have added two wonderful Manilow songs, the jazzy ‘Brooklyn Blues’ and the romantic hit song ‘The Old Songs’ to the concert set list that will delight the audiences,” said Hite, who has performed Manilow music for over 90 shows in the past two years.
Hite and Manilow both share similar musical skills. Like Manilow, Hite only started to perform as a lead singer late in life. Manilow started to sing on stage at age 30 and Hite first became a lead singer in the “Daybreak” show in 2023. ‘
Hite and Manilow both honed their skills on piano, learned the art of arranging songs and have long careers in music.
Hite was born in Milwaukee and has anchored his career in music there for over 30 years. Along with playing the piano in many bars and other venues in Milwaukee, Hite has worked in many genres of music, including creating the nine-piece Joe Hite Orchestra dance band for corporate events, social occasions and weddings in Milwaukee and elsewhere. Showing his versatility, Hite has also performed as a duo with lead singer Tony Goff in an alternative rock duo called “Slightly Gigantic”, creating many music videos seen on the YouTube channel.
Singer Joe Hite will perform “Daybreak: The Music and Passion of Barry Manilow” on Thursday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at Boca Back Box Center for the Arts in Boca Raton. All photos of Joe Hite are credited to Dan Kazinski Photography.
Hite has also demonstrated the art of songwriting both in creating musical variations in different genres, including creating a music video titled “How To Use Swear Words in Creating Your Songs.”
Hite changed his base from Milwaukee to Tampa four years ago and is proud of all he has accomplished thus far in music.
“I am very happy about using my knowledge and skills in a field (music) which I love. However, performing as the lead singer in a Barry Manilow tribute show was something I would never have done on my own and I am grateful to Bruce (Petersen) and the audiences around the country that love the shows,” said Hite.
Pianist/Singer Joe Hite and his eight-piece band and backup singers star in “Daybreak: The Music and Passion of Barry Manilow” on Thursday, May 29 at 8 p.m. at Boca Black Box Center for the Arts,8221 Glades Road #10 in Boca Raton. Tickets range from $45-63 and can be purchased at bocablackbox.com or by calling 561-483-9036.
