Melissa Manchester
Photos courtesy MWSU
St. Joseph, Mo. — Grammy Award-winning singer Melissa Manchester will headline Missouri Western State University’s Centennial Art Series.
Manchester will sing at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 18 at the historic Missouri Theater in downtown St. Joseph.
Her career began when the native New Yorker signed her first publishing deal at age 17. Soon, she was backing up Bette Midler as a founding member of the Harlettes and studying songwriting with Paul Simon at New York University.
Manchester soon launched a solo career to critical praise and commercial success. Her recording of the Peter Allen/Carole Bayer Sager anthem “Don’t Cry Out Loud” delivered her first Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance in 1979, and she won the award in the same category four years later for “You Should Hear How He Talks About You.” Two of her songs, “Through the Eyes of Love” and “The Promise,” were nominated for Academy Awards in the same year.
Manchester’s songs have been recorded by Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield, Allison Krauss, Stevie Nicks, Kenny Loggins and Barbara Streisand. She has written songs for major movies and has appeared in films and television.
Earlier this year, she released her first new album in more than a decade, the self-made “You Gotta Love the Life,” with a variety of songs performed with legendary artists such as Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Keb’ Mo’, Dionne Warwick, Dave Koz and Joe Sample in one of his last recordings.
Tickets are now on sale at www.missouriwestern.edu/centennial-arts. All proceeds will benefit the Missouri Western State University Centennial Capital Campaign.
Earlier in the day, Manchester will be the featured speaker at the YWCA Women of Excellence Awards in St. Joseph.