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 Midler the PBS educational series "Vegetable Soup." In 1977, Midler's first television special, whose title, "Ol' Red Hair is Back", was a takeoff on Frank Sinatra's "Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back", premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win the "Emmy Award" for Outstanding Special — Comedy-Variety or Music. Midler made her first motion picture in 1979, starring in the 1960s-era rock and roll tragedy "The Rose", as a drug-addicted rock star modeled after Janis Joplin. That year, she also released her fifth studio album, "Thighs and Whispers." Midler's first foray into disco was a