Midler revisits ‘old friends’
Singer re-releasing her star-making album
NEW YORK — Bette Midler is going back to the beginning of her career — the divine beginning.
The Grammy and Emmy Award winner is re-releasing a deluxe version of The Divine Miss M, her 1972 debut album that includes the hits Do You Want to Dance, Chapel of Love, Friends Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.
“They were the songs that launched me, really. They were the foundation on which I built my career,” Midler said. “I’m always happy to sing them because they’re friends. They’re old friends.”
Midler made a name for herself in the early 1970s singing highenergy concerts downtown with Barry Manilow as her pianist. In vintage clothing and with her bawdy personality, she breathed new life into old songs and made torch songs scalding.
“She was, and is, the most brilliant performer we have in my lifetime,” Manilow said. “When it came to the music, her taste in songs and her choices were so odd — what was on the radio those days was nothing like what she wanted to do. Her taste was very much my taste.”
Midler and Manilow put together a solid hour of music and one night lured Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun to a swanky midtown nightclub to hear it. “The audience was so crazy that at the end of the show they carried her out on their shoulders,” Manilow recalled.
Midler soon signed with Atlantic and released The Divine Miss M based on her act. She won a best new artist Grammy in 1973 and went on to get two more, plus four Golden Globes and three Emmys.
She admitted to being a little shocked revisiting the platinum-selling album that made it all possible 44 years later: “It’s just unbelievable the way that time passes. And yet I still look fabulous. What can I say?”
Midler was hands-on with the re-release by Rhino Records, including selecting the bonus disc of singles, outtakes and demos. There are five unreleased recordings, including Mr. Freedom and I, and an alternative version of Superstar.
The power and pizzazz of The Divine Miss M was one reason Blake Shelton asked Midler to mentor his picks on The Voice this season. In a segment already taped, she advised them to take the stage with authority. “They get really brilliant voices, but they’re … not personality-driven,” she said. “The old school is to be able to do it all and to be a compelling presence on the stage.”
Midler returns to Broadway this spring in a revival of the musical Hello, Dolly! Demand for her is big — the box office took in $9 million the day tickets went on sale.
“I’m in training. I can honestly say that. I know there’s a lot of expectations and people are looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to it, too, but I have a lot of weight on my shoulders,” she said. “I want to make sure my i’s are dotted and my t’s are crossed.” The Associated Press