Gay bathhouse (陣屋)" were built in the 1970s. Singer Bette Midler is well known for getting her start at the famous Continental Baths in New York City in the early 1970s, where she earned the nickname Bathhouse Betty. It was there, accompanied by pianist Barry Manilow (who, like the bathhouse patrons, sometimes wore only a white towel), that she created her stage persona "the Divine Miss M." On getting her start in bathhouses, Midler has remarked: Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [when I got my start singing at the gay bathhouses].
Friends (Bette Midler song) Friends (Bette Midler song) "Friends" (also titled "(You Got to Have) Friends") is a 1973 hit single by Bette Midler. It was written by Buzzy Linhart and Mark "Moogy" Klingman. In the United States, the song reached #9 on the Adult Contemporary chart and reached #40 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. A version of "Friends" was recorded by one of the song's co-writers, Buzzy Linhart. More of a rock sound than a pop sound, Linhart's version had an alternative title, "(You Got to Have) Friends". Bette Midler was one of Linhart's close friends during the early 1970s. While rehearsing