"Brandy" is a 1971 hit for songwriters Scott English and
Richard Kerr. It reached number 12 in the UK Singles Charts,
but the fast-tempo version was a flop in the United States. In
1974, recorded by Barry Manilow as "Mandy", the song was
Manilow's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and
Easy Listening charts, and his first gold single.
The suggestion that Scott English wrote the song about a
favorite dog is apparently an urban legend. English has said
that a reporter called him early one morning asking who
"Brandy" was, and an irritated English made up the "dog" story
to get the reporter off his back.
In the three years between English's 1971 recording and
Manilow's, Looking Glass had a hit song with "Brandy (You're a
Fine Girl)" in 1972. Therefore, to avoid confusion, when
Manilow decided to make his record, he changed the title to
"Mandy". It was Clive Davis who suggested that Manilow record
the song. Manilow originally recorded it as an up-tempo
bubblegum pop tune similar to English's original, but he and
the producer reportedly hated the way it turned out; thus, he
sang it as a ballad and was much more pleased with the results.
It was Manilow's first hit single and the first song on Clive
Davis' Arista Records label (formerly Bell Records) to hit the
Billboard Hot 100.
There have been several other notable cover versions,
including Andy Williams (1975), Richard Clayderman (1994),
Johnny Mathis (1997), Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (1997),
Bradley Joseph (2005), Raymond Quinn (X Factor runner-up 2006),
Donny Osmond (2007).
The song was also a hit for the Irish group Westlife.
"Mandy" was the second single released from their album
Turnaround.