Barry Manilow and subsequently as a producer on both her debut and sophomore record albums "The Divine Miss M" (1972) and "Bette Midler" (1973). as well as act as her musical director on the eventual tour mounted for the former. In 1973, Manilow was nominated for the Album Of The Year Grammy Award for his production role on 'The Divine Miss M'. Manilow worked with Midler from 1971 to 1975. After the Featherbed singles failed to impact on the music charts, in July 1973, Bell Records released the album, "Barry Manilow", which offered an eclectic mix of piano-driven pop and guitar-driven rock
Songs for the New Depression her discofied take on Frank Sinatra's standard "Strangers in the Night" which became a #7 hit on the US dance charts. Two of the tracks, "Old Cape Cod" and "Marahuana", were originally recorded during the sessions for 1972 debut album "The Divine Miss M" but remixed three years later by producers Lew Hahn and Arif Mardin for "Songs for the New Depression". The album peaked at #27 on the "Billboard" album chart. "Mr. Rockefeller" was sampled by rapper Kanye West on the song, "Last Call", from his debut album, "The College Dropout". The album was released on CD for the