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
The World's Greatest Gospel Singer The World's Greatest Gospel Singer The World's Greatest Gospel Singer was Mahalia Jackson's debut album on the Columbia label, recorded in 1954. Original record sleeve, written by George Avakian: "The recordings in this collection were made in the course of two consecutive evenings at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City. For Mahalia's debut on the Columbia Label, Mitch Miller had asked her to prepare some new songs for single record release, and I had hoped to get a start toward making an album of spirituals and gospels songs of her own choice. Mahalia surprised and pleased us mightily.