Barry Manilow and subsequently as a producer on both her debut and sophomore record albums "The Divine Miss M" (1972) and "Bette Midler" (1973). as well as act as her musical director on the eventual tour mounted for the former. In 1973, Manilow was nominated for the Album Of The Year Grammy Award for his production role on 'The Divine Miss M'. Manilow worked with Midler from 1971 to 1975. After the Featherbed singles failed to impact on the music charts, in July 1973, Bell Records released the album, "Barry Manilow", which offered an eclectic mix of piano-driven pop and guitar-driven rock
Bette of Roses of "To Deserve You" proved to be one of the biggest commercial successes of her musical career as the track became a major dancefloor hit in the US in early 1996, reaching #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Midler can be seen performing two tracks from the "Bette of Roses" album ("To Comfort You" and "Bed of Roses") in her 1997 "Diva Las Vegas" concert film. The "Bette of Roses" album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2001, six years after its original release. It was certified Silver by the BPI (UK) in 2013. Bette of Roses