Barry Manilow: "I think every Jewish and Italian boy cannot get out of Brooklyn NY unless he learns how to play the accordion. There's a guard at the Brooklyn Bridge. And you have to play 'Lady of Spain' before you can go over the bridge. Everybody I knew played the accordion - badly."
https://www.npr.org/2023/12/08/1217824491/barry-manilow-reflects-on-writing-songs-and-making-the-whole-world-sing