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
Live at Last (Bette Midler album) "Up the Ladder to the Roof", Neil Young's "Birds", Ringo Starr's "Oh My My", the mock lounge act "The Vicky Eydie Show" doing a "global revue" and the song cycle "The Story of Nanette". The album also captures Midler's rapport with - or loving heckling of - the Cleveland audience, a monologue about fried eggs and a part that since has become a staple of her live performances: the raunchy Sophie Tucker jokes. "Live at Last" features two new studio recordings. "You're Moving Out Today", co-written by Midler and Carole Bayer Sager and produced by Tom Dowd was the only