The Daily Epic Earworm For December 19, 2025
Everyone gets songs stuck in their heads that just won’t go away. They sneak into your subconscious. They are epic earworms that you find yourself humming uncontrollably, singing in the shower, or tapping the beat to with your foot or ballpoint pen when you should be working. Sometimes they even keep you awake at night. Whether they are current hits, one-hit wonders, movie soundtrack gems, holiday favorites, or songs from your youth, their catchy vocals, riffs, hooks, and choruses seem to linger for days.
Here, those songs find a home, no matter the genre. Here, those epic earworms are revisited, explained, and celebrated. Here, you may find the song that haunts you tomorrow. Here is today’s unescapable song of the day…and the story behind it.
Today’s Epic Earworm: Barry Manilow — “I Write the Songs”
“I Write the Songs is one of Barry Manilow’s biggest hits. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts in 1976, and it was certified gold. It was a major reason that his third studio album, Tryin’ to Get the Feeling, was certified double-platinum. The song won the 1977 Grammy Award for Song of the Year, and it was nominated for Record of the Year. It is really kind of ironic because…
He Didn’t Write the Song
“I Write the Songs” was written by Bruce Johnston of the Beach Boys. Manilow was not the first to record the song, either. Captain and Tennille actually recorded the song first. Daryl “Captain” Dragon was a keyboard player for the Beach Boys from 1967 to 1972, and Toni Tennille was a backing vocalist for the band for about a year. The two recorded the song on their 1975 debut album after leaving the Beach Boys, Love Will Keep Us Together.
Captain and Tennille were not the only ones to record the song before Manilow. David Cassidy also recorded the song for his 1975 album The Higher They Climb. Cassidy was the first to release “I Write the Songs” as a single. It didn’t chart in the U.S., but it was a Top 20 hit on the Irish and UK charts. Manilow’s version came out six months after the other two, but his was the epic earworm that everyone remembers.
Johnston would later record the song himself for his 1977 solo album Going Public. When asked about the song, Johnston has always maintained that the “I” in “I Write the Songs” is God. Manilow almost didn’t record the song because he was afraid that people would not listen closely enough to the lyrics and think that the song was just a big ego trip. However, Arista Records president at the time, Clive Davis, convinced him everything would work out. Looks like he was right.
