Bette Midler Divine Miss M," on Atlantic Records in December 1972. The album was co-produced by Barry Manilow, who was Bette's arranger and music conductor at the time. It reached Billboard's Top 10 and became a million-selling Platinum-certified album, earning Midler the 1973 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. It featured three hit singles—"Do You Wanna Dance?", "Friends", and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"—the third of which became Midler's first No. 1 Adult Contemporary hit. "Bugle Boy" became a successful rock cover of the classic swing tune originally introduced and popularized in 1941 by the Andrews Sisters, to whom Midler has repeatedly referred
Songs for the New Depression Songs for the New Depression Songs for the New Depression is the third studio album by American female singer Bette Midler, released in early 1976 on the Atlantic Records label. The album which saw her making her debut as a composer ("Mr. Rockefeller" and the French language "Samedi et Vendredi"), as well as co-producer and sound engineer features contributions from musicians as diverse as soul singer Luther Vandross, Todd Rundgren and Brazilian jazz accordionist Sivuca. "Songs for the New Depression" includes Midler's version of Tom Waits' "Shiver Me Timbers", a duet with Bob Dylan, "Buckets of Rain", and opens with