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Manilow worried people would miss deeper meaning of 'I Write the Songs'

Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow attends the Carousel of Hope Ball presented by Mercedes-Benz at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Oct. 11, 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Frazer Harrison | Getty Images 2014

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Today's Morning Edition music is from "I Write the Songs" by Barry Manilow, which was No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart 40 years ago Thursday.

The song was actually written by Bruce Johnston, best known as a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston said it's about the general notion of where music comes from. In his eyes, it comes from God.

At first, Manilow was reluctant to record the song because he felt that if you didn't listen closely to the words you would think he was talking about himself and would sound like an egomaniac.

It won a Grammy Award as the 1976 Song of the Year.