Tag Archives: Bette Midler

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2025: Day 1

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Happy December, everybody!!! Welcome to 25 Days of Christmas Music!

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

We have officially arrived at the Christmas season so what better way to celebrate this festive time of year than with a daily countdown of great holiday songs to usher in the big day. All are welcome here even if you are not a fan of this genre or you do not observe the holiday. Great music of any kind should be enjoyed by all. I would love to hear about your favorite Christmas songs, so please share them with me in the comments.

Today is birthday #80 for The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler. Born December 1, 1945 in Honolulu, Hawaii, the future Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy and Tony Award winner moved to NYC 60 years ago in 1965 and landed an off Broadway role the same year. By 1970, she started singing at the Continental Baths inside the Ansonia Hotel & met Barry Manilow, who became her piano accompanist. He also produced her first album, The Divine Miss M, released in November 1972. It gave her three hits & introduced her talent to the masses, leading to a 50+ year career as an entertainer in music and acting.

Her first movie role was in 1979’s The Rose, which earned her an Oscar nomination. That movie and 1988’s Beaches crossed over into chart success as well (the latter gave her a #1 record for one week in 1989 with “Wind Beneath My Wings”). She has acted in countless other movies, on Broadway and on several TV shows, including a self-titled sit-com of her own in 2000. Midler also closed out a huge chapter in television history with her poignant rendition of “One For My Baby” as Johnny Carson’s last guest on his final show in May 1992. Her performance at Yankee Stadium during the “Prayer For America” following 9/11 is still considered one of the most touching moments of the event.

She has released 14 studio albums (and a spoken word album, Mud Will Be Flung Tonight, in 1985), four soundtracks and two live albums. She has worked with artists like Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Mick Jagger, Darlene Love, Linda Ronstadt and others. Midler also paid homage in song to two of her favorite performers with two albums-Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook in 2003 and Bette Midler Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook in 2005.

Bette Midler circa 1978. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Midler and her family circa 2022 (L-R): Husband Martin Von Haselberg, their daughter, Sophie von Haselberg Guinness and Midler. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Midler will also celebrate her 41st wedding anniversary this month with husband Martin von Haselberg. The couple wed on December 16, 1984 and their daughter, Sophie, was born in November 1986. She has followed in her mother’s footsteps and started acting in 2015.

October marked the 30th anniversary of The New York Restoration Project, the non-profit Midler started in 1995 on the belief that “nature is a fundamental human right”. The group has been cleaning up parks and community gardens in the five boroughs ever since. According to the group’s website, the NYRP has “built and refurbished more than 350 community green spaces”.

In 2017 at age 72, Midler starred in her first leading role on Broadway in “Hello, Dolly” which earned her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She has more than earned her status as a NYC patron, an American treasure and a legendary performer.

Happy birthday, Bette Midler.

Barry Manilow (L) and Midler (R) circa 1972. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Midler (L) and Manilow (R) circa 1998. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Midler’s 2006 holiday album. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bette Midler: “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” (2006, written by Irving Berlin).

Bette Midler: “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (1972, written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince

Bette Midler: “All I Need to Know” (1983, written by Barry Mann, Tom Snow and Cynthia Weil).

Bette Midler: “Hey There” (2003, written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

Music Monday: June 30, 2025

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

They say losses come in threes. After saying goodbye to Sly Stone and Brian Wilson earlier this month, now we say goodbye to English musician, songwriter and vocalist, Mick Ralphs.

The founding member and lead guitarist of Bad Company died on June 23, 2025 at the age of 81. He was a member of Mott The Hoople before joining Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke and Boz Burrell (1946-2006) to form one of the biggest & most successful supergroups in music history. Ralphs wrote and co-wrote many of Bad Company’s biggest hits, including their debut single, “Can’t Get Enough”, along with “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Simple Man”, one of my top favorites from the group.

At least Ralphs was aware that Bad Company was finally inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s Class of 2025. But because the band’s nomination was decades overdue, his honor will now be added in the posthumous category which is an absolute shame. It will make the ceremony this November quite bittersweet for Ralphs’ family and his two surviving bandmates, Rodgers and Kirke.

Michael Geoffrey “Mick” Ralphs: March 31, 1944 – June 23, 2025.

“And you fly away today
And you fly away tomorrow
And you fly away
Leave me to my sorrow“.

Top: Bad Company circa 1974 (L-R): Boz Burrell, Mick Ralphs, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke. Bottom: Kirke, Rodgers and Ralphs circa 2012. Both pictures courtesy of the band’s website. (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

The Guess Who released their sixth album, American Woman, 55 years ago in January 1970. The title song hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks in May of the same year. My favorite song of theirs was the Top 5 hit they had the year before. The band re-recorded it after it originally appeared on their 1969 album, Canned Wheat.

The 1970 release was also the last to feature singer, songwriter, guitarist & founding member Randy Bachman, who went on to form Bachman–Turner Overdrive in 1973.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Leon Russell’s self titled debut was released 55 years ago on March 23, 1970. The first track remains the best known song of his career as well as his most beloved one. It has been covered over 200 times by such acclaimed artists as Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Willie Nelson and Ray Charles, who won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1994 for his version. Russell died in 2016 at the age of 74 after a nearly 60 year career.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

The Carpenters first #1 song was released on May 14, 1970. It reached the top spot in the country on July 25 where it stayed for four consecutive weeks. The album by the same name followed in August 1970. It started the brother-sister duo’s reign as one of the top selling artists of that decade and Karen’s legacy as one of the best female singers of all time.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Closer to Home by Grand Funk Railroad was released 55 years ago on June 15, 1970. It was their third album and peaked at #6 in August 1970 thanks to the power of the title track, one of my favorite songs by the band.

Overall they had four Top 10 hits & two #1 hits (“We’re An American Band” on Sept 1973) and “The Loco-Motion” in May 1974. Another cover-“Some Kind Of Wonderful”-peaked at #3 in Feb 1975.

My other favorite song from GFR is from their ninth album release in December 1974, All the Girls in the World Beware!!! The single was released 50 years ago (on March 24, 1975) & peaked at #4 in June 1975 as the band’s last Top 10 hit.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bette Midler had a Top Five hit in the country 45 years ago. It was the title track from her 1979 film debut which was released as a single in March 1980, peaking at #3 in June of that year. The soundtrack also includes a fabulous cover of Percy Sledge’s #1 hit from 1966, “When A Man Loves A Woman”.

Midler won The Golden Globe For Best Actress for her performance along with a Best Actress Oscar nomination for the role which started her career as a leading lady. The Divine Miss M will celebrate birthday #80 this December.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

And it was 40 years ago-June 28, 1985-that “St. Elmo’s Fire” was released. It was another film aimed at the younger crowd following the teen-centered hit movie by John Hughes, “The Breakfast Club”, which came out just four months earlier. The second film, which featured two of the same stars-Judd Nelson & Ally Sheedy, who played doomed couple, Alec & Leslie-along with four other “Brat Packers”, was written & directed by Joel Schumacher. The movie was a look at life through the eyes of seven recent Georgetown graduates who were now in the real world with all its problems that were no longer cushioned by the subtext of college.

During the scene where Leslie is moving out of the apartment she shared with Alec, he is carefully monitoring which albums she is taking from their collection. When he shouted, “No Springsteen is leaving this house!”, I felt that. I loved this movie from my first watch and still get lost in it to this day. And two of its stars-Rob Lowe and Demi Moore-would keep the 80’s vibe going in yet another installment of 20-something angst, 1986’s “About Last Night”.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bad Company: “Seagull” (1974, written by Mick Ralphs and Paul Rodgers).

The Guess Who: “No Time” (1970, written by Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings).

Leon Russell: “A Song For You” (1970, written by Leon Russell).

The Carpenters: “(They Long to Be) Close to You” (1970, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.)

Grand Funk Railroad: “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)” (1970, written by Mark Farner).

Grand Funk Railroad: “Bad Time” (1974, written by Mark Farner).

Bette Midler: “The Rose” (1979, written by Amanda McBroom).  

David Foster: “Love Theme from St. Elmo’s Fire (Instrumental)” (1985, written by David Foster).

Stay safe & well.

Music Monday: October 28, 2024

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

1940s Halloween

Halloween display circa 1940’s-1950’s at a Five & Dime store. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Spooky season is upon us, so in that spirit (get it?), I made myself a small Halloween-esque playlist countdown perfect to listen to while I carve my jack-o-lantern:

5. Boz Scaggs: “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” (2003, written by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers).

So many great versions of this show tune, most recently by Rufus Wainwright for “The History Boys” soundtrack (2006), but I have adored Boz’s voice forever so his cover has my heart.

4. Annie Lenox: “I Put A Spell On You” (2014, written by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins).

Yes, I love Bette Midler’s version from “Hocus Pocus” and Nina Simone’s jazzy cover of this song, but Lennox gives it soul which is always at the top of my list.

3. Donovan: “Season Of The Witch” (1966, written by Donovan and Shawn Phillips).

I am woefully late to this party (this song is from 1966!). I discovered it on an episode of “House” (S3 E11) and could not believe the song I was enjoying was by the folk singer who sang “Jennifer Juniper”. Wonders truly never cease.

Witch circa 1940s

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

2. Ella Fitzgerald: “Witchcraft” (2007 (recorded circa 1960), written by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh).

It is by Lady Ella. Enough said.

1. Bobby “Boris” Pickett: “Monster Mash” (1962, written by Leonard Capizzi and Bobby Pickett).

Because the kid in me would not have it any other way.

Have a happy Halloween, everyone!

Womans World 1912 pumpkin cover

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Stay safe & well.

25 Days Of Christmas Music 2022: Day 7

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Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the countdown.

Day 7 2022

A sweet vintage Christmas card image found on Pinterest. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

There is no denying that George Clooney is a huge movie star & celebrity. But he was not the first member of his family to achieve stardom. His aunt, the transcendent and beautiful Rosemary Clooney, defined musical excellence as a vocalist first as part of a duo with her sister, Betty, in 1945 and then as a professional singer recording music in 1947.

Her own TV show and movies followed (including 1954’s “White Christmas” also starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen) and numerous hits and albums leading to her place as the premier “girl singer” for six decades. Her influence & reverence shine through fans like Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Linda Ronstadt, Diana Krall and many others. But Clooney described her role rather succinctly in her second biography, Girl Singer: “I’d call myself a sweet singer with a big band sensibility”. The rest of us described her with one word: great.

“Rosie” as she was affectionatelt dubbed, married three times, twice to actor José Ferrer with whom she had five children: actor Miguel Ferrer (1955-2017), Maria, Gabriel, Monsita, and Rafael. Today’s song is from Clooney’s 1996 Christmas album, named for her most famous & well known movie. But anything this woman sings is perfection, making her holiday music one of the best parts of this season.

“Frosted window panes
Candles gleaming inside
Painted candy canes on the tree
Santa’s on his way“. 

Rosemary Clooney circa 1954. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)


Rosemary Clooney: “Christmas Waltz” (1996, written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne).

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

Until next time, happy listening!!!

Music Monday: October 31, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to another edition of Music Monday.

Happy Halloween to all!!!

(Pinterest image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I always salute this spooktacular holiday with one song, but this year I think it deserves two. That is because 2022 saw the release of “Hocus Pocus 2” and even though I have not seen it yet, I think any movie that stars Bette Midler deserves to be celebrated. She recorded the first of today’s two songs for the original film which premiered in 1993. The track has also been covered in great fashion by Annie Lennox, Nina Simone, Bryan Ferry and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson in Disney’s “Hocus Pocus”. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Our second spotlight tune is the quintessential song of the holiday and has been ever since it was released 60 years ago in 1962. Even if you do not embrace the scary side of this holiday (or wish to skip it all together) this is an amusing tale about characters that are usually seen in a very frightening way enjoying themselves with a dance that is all their own. A fabulously fun novelty song if ever there was one.

Hope you all enjoy this last day of October, however you choose to spend it.

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bette Midler: “I Put A Spell On You” (1993, written by Jalacy J. “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins).

Bobby “Boris” Pickett: “Monster Mash” (1962, written by Leonard Capizzi and Bobby Pickett).

Stay safe and well.

Music Monday: May 23, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.

Music Monday

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Two of the biggest songwriters this country ever gave us were born in May. Their songs were staples on the radio in the 1960’s & 1970’s and continue to inspire “anyone who has a heart”.

Lyricist Hal David was born on May 25, 1921 in New York City. Almost eight years later, his collaborator, Burt Bacharach was born May 12, 1929 in Kansas City, Missouri. David started writing songs in the 1940’s for bandleaders like Guy Lombardo and Sammy Kaye while also contributing lyrics to the 1951 movie soundtrack of “Two Gals And A Guy”.

Bacharach was raised in Queens, NY and studied classical piano before discovering his love for jazz music. He received a degree in music in 1948, then served two years in the United States Army in the early 1950’s. After his tour of duty he worked as a pianist for Vic Damone before touring Europe in 1956 as the part time music director for actress Marlene Dietrich’s nightclub shows. In 1957 Bacharach met David at The Brill Building in NYC. That same year the duo had their first hit together, a #1 country song, “The Story Of My Life” by Marty Robbins.

After a number of successful collaborations over the next several years, Bacharach & David made their partnership official in 1963. That move & their work with today’s singer started the songwriting duo’s reign as two of America’s most treasured composers. They won every award out there including the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1970 for “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” from Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

Oscars

Bacharach (L) and David (R) at the 1970 Academy Awards Ceremony. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Fans of their music include Herb Alpert, Bette Midler, Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross, Elvis Costello and a myriad of others including The Ambassador Of Cool, Isaac Hayes. He did a glorious 12 minute soulful/psychedelic/funk inspired cover of today’s song on his 1969 release, Hot Buttered Soul.

In a previous post about this song I wrote:

Years later I heard today’s song, written by this prolific duo, and I absolutely swooned.  The singer is not one of my favorites but her work with this extraordinary writing team was a powerful force in the 1960’s.  Her voice is so soft and pretty, and delivers a great vocal to a gorgeous arrangement.  It is the best of what a sad love song should be:  succinct, poignant, evocative and leaving you begging for one more note.  I love so many Bacharach & David compositions (“Anyone Who Had A Heart”, “This Guy’s In Love With You”, “One Less Bell To Answer”, “A House Is Not A Home” “The Look Of Love” to name a few) but this one I adore.

David died in 2012 at the age of 91. Bacharach turned 94 years young on May 12. Together they wrote a chapter of music history that remains unmatched. And today’s track remains my favorite from their remarkable partnership.

“If you see me walking down the street
And I start to cry each time we meet
Walk on by
Walk on by“.

Burt Hal

L to R: Hal David, Dionne Warwick & Burt Bacharach in the studio circa 1964  (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Dionne Warwick: “Walk On By” (1964, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David).

Stay safe & well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 433

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

May blog 2021

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Today we remember one of the finest female big band singers of all time. Rosemary Clooney was born 93 years ago on May 23,1928 in Kentucky. She started performing with her sister, Betty, and in 1945 they won a radio contest that awarded them a singing spot on a Cincinnati radio station. A year later Rosemary was singing with The Tony Pastor Band. By 1951 she had her first hit, “Come On-A My House”, produced by Mitch Miller. More hits and acting parts followed including her role in “White Christmas” opposite Bing Crosby & Danny Kaye.

She spent many years fighting addiction & mental health issues until she was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1968. She fought her way back to the career she loved as a “…a sweet singer with a big band sensibility…” which is how she described herself in her second autobiography, 1999’s “Girl Singer: An Autobiography”.

A year after Clooney’s death in 2002, Bette Midler released a tribute album, Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook, produced by Barry Manilow. In 2005 Clooney’s daughter-in-law, Debby Boone, released her own salute with Reflections of Rosemary.

Today’s song is from the musical “The Pajama Game” & was a #1 song for Clooney in 1954. Sam Cooke did a glorious cover of this track in 1960 and it is probably my favorite male version of this tune. But Clooney’s is the absolute best there is. As was she.

“Won’t you take this advice I hand you like a mother
Or are you not seeing things too clear
Are you too much in love to hear
Is it all going in one ear and out the other“.

rosemary-clooney-1-d12-c12

Rosemary Clooney circa 1952. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Rosemary Clooney: “Hey There” (1954, written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 400

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

May 2021 blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Today we remember R&B singer Luther Vandross who was born 70 years ago today on April 20, 1951 in New York City. When he was a teenager he was inspired to become a singer after seeing Dionne Warwick in concert. In 1967 he lost four Amateur Night competitions at The Apollo Theatre but came in second place twice with his first vocal band, Shades Of Jade.

By the 1970’s Vandross was doing backup vocals for the likes of David Bowie, Bette Midler, Chaka Khan, Carly Simon & Donna Summer, amongst others. By 1981 he was signed to Epic Records and released his debut album, “Never Too Much”, the same year. He wrote all the songs except for one cover track & also produced the record himself. For the next 20 years he was one of the biggest voices in music.

He died too young at age 54 in 2005 after suffering a stroke in 2003. But his legacy still resonates through songs like “Dance With My Father”, the wedding favorite “Here And Now” and a glorious cover of a Burt Bacharach-Hal David tune that Vandross made all his own.

“A room is a still a room
Even when there’s nothing there but gloom
But a room is not a house and a house is not a home
When the two of us are far apart
And one of us has a broken heart“.

Luther

The 1981 debut album by Luther Vandross, Never Too Much. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Luther Vandross: “A House Is Not a Home” (1981, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 392

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

May 2021 blog

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

I do not consider myself a full fledged “Fanilow” since I only like a handful of his songs and let’s face it, he recorded a heck of a lot more than a few tunes in his day. But I am not a hater, either, nor can I forget that in the early 1970’s Barry Manilow was the pianist & musical director for The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler.

But I do remember the first track I ever heard by him. I completely swooned over the lyrics, especially the line “You kissed me & stopped me from shaking”. He performed it during his first US television appearance in March 1975 on the show he wrote the theme for, “American Bandstand”. It was the first #1 hit of his career, hitting the top spot for one week on January 18, 1975. All these years later, I still find it enchanting.

“I’m standing on the edge of time
I’ve walked away when love was mine
Caught up in a world of uphill climbing
The tears are in my mind and nothing is rhyming“.

Manilow 1

Manilow 2

Top (L-R_: Barry Manilow and Bette Midler circa 1973. Bottom (L-R): Manilow and Midler circa 2003. (Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Barry Manilow: “Mandy” (1974, written by Richard Kerr and Scott English).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.

Let’s Take A Moment Day 248

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Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

kurt v

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

It’s funny how certain dates follow people throughout their lives. For example, on November 7, 1972 The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler’s debut album, was released. Not only did it get a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year but Midler won the Best New Artist Award for that record. On the same date in 1979, Midler’s movie, “The Rose” came out. It gave her a top five hit with the song of the same name (Day 50) and earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

I cannot remember the first time I saw Midler. I believe it was on a TV variety show before I saw an HBO special of hers based on her nightclub act from the 1970’s. But that is the one that stuck. I was completely taken with her voice, her fearless & commanding stage presence and her comedy. And as fabulous as the up-tempo songs were, it was the ballads that completely captivated me. When I heard her debut album, I fell in love with her cover of one of Leon Russell’s most beautiful songs. It was co-written by Bonnie Bramlett of “Delaney & Bonnie” fame who sang the original version in 1969 featuring Eric Clapton on guitar. Swoon.

This song was a hit for The Carpenters in 1971 and it was that interpretation that led to Chris Farley and David Spade’s unbridled emotional sing along in the 1995 movie, “Tommy Boy”. Karen Carpenter’s version is heartbreakingly beautiful without a doubt, but with the increased tempo of the chorus you are given a chance to breathe. Midler’s cover just crushes you from start to finish. It is not just her sadness that is palpable but her agony as well, especially by the end of the track. It is simply sublime.

“Long ago, and, oh, so far away
I fell in love with you before the second show
Your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear
But you’re not really here, it’s just the radio“.

Bette

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

Bette Midler: “Superstar” (1972, written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.