The bit about "Mandy" being about Manilow's dog is an urban myth. It was originally written as "Brandy" in 1971 by Scott English.
Barry Manilow recorded it under the title name of "Mandy" in 1974 to avoid confusion with the Looking Glass hit "Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)."
Songwriter and original performer Scott English said he was woken by a phone call from a reporter, wanting to know who "Brandy" was.
"I would have said anything to get rid of him," said English, "So I spat out the first thing that came to mind: It was about a dog like Lassie and I had sent her away - now you go away!' And I hung up on him."
Find out more trivia about this track on SongFacts.com.
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