Bette Midler to 1969, she played the role of Tzeitel in "Fiddler on the Roof" on Broadway. After "Fiddler", she joined the original cast of "Salvation" in 1969. She began singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the Ansonia Hotel, in the summer of 1970. During this time, she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow, who produced her first album in 1972, "The Divine Miss M." It was during her time at the Continental Baths that she built up a core following. In the late 1990s, during the release of her album "Bathhouse Betty", Midler commented on her
Jackpot! The Best Bette Jackpot! The Best Bette Jackpot! The Best Bette (known as The Best Bette in Europe) is a compilation album of recordings by American singer Bette Midler released on September 23, 2008. The album release was originally set to coincide with Midler's current Las Vegas show, "Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On" which debuted on February 20, 2008 at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, but was postponed to April, then August 26, and later to the actual September release. After some thirty-five years in showbusiness and having recorded some twenty albums for Atlantic Records/Warner Music and three for Columbia Records/Sony