Bette Midler counts singing as only one of her talents; at times, since
1972, when she first came to national recognition, it has seemed to be the least
of her talents.
Still, she has managed to score a number of major hits in a roller-coaster
career as a recording artist. Born in Paterson, NJ, and raised in Hawaii,
Bette Midler early on showed an interest in singing and acting, and by the '60s
she had moved to New York and gotten a role in the long-running Broadway hit
Fiddler on the Roof.
Bette Midler developed a nightclub act that included comedy and singing of a
variety of kinds of material, including show tunes, pop hits, and even a takeoff
on
the Andrews Sisters, and appeared with increasing frequency in New York with
her accompanist,
Barry Manilow. She was signed to Atlantic Records and released The Divine
Miss M (1972), which went gold and included a Top Ten single cover of
the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." Bette Midler (1973) was
similarly successful.
Bette Midler's album sales fell off during the rest of the '70s, though her
records always reached the Top 100 in the album chart. But in 1979 she starred
in the film The Rose, a fictional account of the life of
Janis Joplin, and the title track became a Top Ten hit. 1980 saw the release
of
Bette Midler's concert film, Divine Madness, and her best-selling book, A View
from a Broad. Her next film, Jinxed (1982), however, was a major flop, and
subsequent records didn't fare well.
Bette Midler made a cinematic comeback with Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986),
but it wasn't until 1989 that she had another pop hit, when her version of "Wind
Beneath My Wings" from her film Beaches became a number one hit. This
rejuvenated her singing career, and 1990's Some People's Lives became a Top Ten,
million-selling album, with the song "From a Distance" hitting number two.
Bette Midler's soundtrack album to her 1991 film For the Boys was also a
gold-selling hit.
Bette Midler appeared in a television production of the Broadway musical Gypsy
that produced a charting soundtrack album in 1993 following the release of her
million-selling hits collection Experience the Divine. The gold-selling Bette of
Roses (1995) was her first regular album release in five years. Her 1996 film
The First Wives Club was a major box office success. In 1998, she switched to
Warner Bros. Records and released Bathhouse Betty, which went gold. With film
opportunities drying up, the 54-year-old singer/actress turned to television,
developing a half-hour network comedy series based on her own life. Though it
didn't last long, Bette premiered on CBS on October 11, 2000; six days later,
she released a second Warner Bros. album, also called Bette. ~ William Ruhlmann,
All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Bette Midler for your next corporate or private event.
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