By admin 
Introduction
The year was 1970, and the air in the basement of New York City’s Ansonia Hotel was thick with more than just the scent of chlorine and expensive perfume. It was a “Sexual Xanadu,” a subterranean world of steam and liberation known as the Continental Baths. Here, amidst the humidity that constantly threatened to warp the ivory keys of his baby grand piano, a young, unknown Barry Manilow was forging a career in one of the most unconventional venues in music history. This wasn’t the polished stage of a Las Vegas residency; this was a high-stakes, raw, and visceral performance space where the audience wore nothing but white towels and the expectations were sky-high.
The gravity of this period in Manilow’s life cannot be overstated. He wasn’t just a pianist; he was the musical architect for a burgeoning force of nature named Bette Midler. Together, they became the “Bathhouse Betty” and “Barry” duo, a pair that would eventually dominate the global charts. Manilow was paid a mere $75 a night to provide the soundtrack for a community that was, at the time, operating in the shadows of a society that had yet to decriminalize their existence. The Continental Baths offered a safe haven where gay men could dance, socialize, and witness the birth of two icons. The atmosphere was a chaotic blend of high art and hedonism, with the “Olympia Blue” swimming pool serving as a backdrop for some of the most influential cabaret performances of the decade.
The technical challenges were immense. Manilow often spoke of the struggle to keep his instrument in tune as the steam from the adjacent saunas seeped into the cabaret lounge. Yet, the emotional resonance of those nights provided a training ground like no other. The audience, despite their lack of attire, was described by Manilow as “the best audience in the world”—attentive, passionate, and deeply appreciative of the melodic complexity he brought to the room. It was here that he learned the art of the “Hold Time,” capturing the attention of a crowd that had plenty of other distractions just a few feet away in the darkened hallways of the bathhouse.
This era served as the crucible for his legendary production style. It was in this basement that he arranged the tracks for Midler’s debut album, The Divine Miss M, a project that would eventually earn them Grammy recognition and launch them into the stratosphere of pop culture. The investigative truth of the Continental Baths is a story of grit and artistic survival. It reveals a man who was willing to ignore the stigmas of the era to pursue his craft, proving that brilliance isn’t born in the spotlight, but in the steam-filled trenches of the underground. As we look back from 2025, the “Towel-Only” debut remains the most shocking and essential chapter in the Manilow legacy.