Richard Amsel a nationwide artists’ talent search; the artist was 22 at the time. Amsel quickly found popularity within New York's art scene, and his illustrations caught the attention of Barry Manilow, then a young singer/songwriter named who was working with Bette Midler, a newly emerging entertainer in cabaret clubs and piano bars. Manilow introduced the two, and it was quickly decided that Amsel should do the cover of her first Atlantic Records album. The cover, for "The Divine Miss M" proved to be one of the most ubiquitous of the year. More album covers and posters soon followed, as did a
Bette of Roses Bette of Roses Bette of Roses is the eighth studio album by the American singer Bette Midler, released on Atlantic Records in 1995. It became Midler's final album for the label, twenty-three years after the release of her debut album "The Divine Miss M" (Midler was transferred to Atlantic's sister label Warner Bros. Records for her next two albums, then left the Warner group completely in 2002 when she signed with the Sony-owned Columbia Records). The title "Bette of Roses" is a play on one of the tracks, "Bed of Roses". "Bette of Roses" was Midler's first full-length studio album