Bette's
PRESS & REVIEWS For
Bette Midler Sings the
Rosemary Clooney Songbook
If Bette Wins, The Grammy Goes To Ms. Clooney
January 21, 2004, By Tamara Conniff
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Bette Midler considered withdrawing herself from this year's Grammy competition because her tribute album "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" is nominated for best traditional pop vocal album against Clooney's live album "The Last Concert."
For Midler, who is not only a fan of Clooney's but also was her friend, there is no contest. "Why would you give (an award) to a tribute when you have the original?" she asks.
Midler talked it over with Barry Manilow, who collaborated with her on the album and, upon his suggestion, decided that if she does win, she will give the award to Clooney's family. "In her entire career, Rosemary never won a Grammy," says Midler, whose three career Grammys include the 1974 trophy for best new artist. "I would want her family to have it."
Clooney died June 29, 2002, after a long battle with lung cancer.
The two Clooney albums will face tough competition from Tony Bennett and k.d. lang's "A Wonderful World," Rod Stewart's "As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook: Volume II" and Barbra Streisand's "The Movie Album." All the nominees in the category represent a renewed interest in standard songs geared to a 40-plus record-buying demographic. Stewart's release has already sold more than 1.6 million copies, and Midler's tribute debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on about 71,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan, making it the biggest opening week of her career.
Manilow approached Midler with the project after having a dream in which Midler sang Clooney's songs against a 1950s backdrop. No one was more shocked than Midler to be reunited with Manilow, given the pair's historic disagreements while working together in the early 1970s. "I didn't expect him to go back into the studio again with me," Midler says. "When he called, I was shocked and happy. The album was a great labor of love. We really wanted to honor her."
This year is shaping up to be a stellar one for Midler. Her Kiss My Brass tour, her first in four years, is likely to gross $50 million by the end of its four-month run in March, organizers say.
"Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" was released under a one-album deal with Columbia. Midler says that, for the moment, she's not thinking of her next album but trying to stay in the moment and take things "a day at a time" and focus on the tour.
Kiss My Brass features Midler backed by a horn section for the first time as well as an LED screen displaying short films made specifically for the tour. She says the show is filled with "laughs and tears" and takes the audience from "Wind Beneath My Wings" to songs from her 1979 Janis Joplin-inspired film "The Rose."
Midler was late coming to the rehearsal process because of her upcoming film "The Stepford Wives." While there was, reportedly, ample arguing on the set of the film, Midler says she had a great time working with the ensemble cast, which includes Nicole Kidman, and she considers director Frank Oz "a genius."
After 40 years in showbiz and a reputation for being a perfectionist, Midler says she's not a diva. "No, I'm divine."
Bette the singer
By Baby A. Gil, The Philippine Star - 12/19/2003
Bette Midler is such a wonderful actress people often forget she is a great song artist, too. Think Wind Beneath My Wings from the movie Beaches or In My Life from the soundtrack of For the Boys. Maybe it is because she is an actress that she is able "to locate the heart of a song and touch the heart of the listener." That is how Barry Manilow, who played piano for Bette during their early days, describes her in his note on the cover of the album Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook.
Produced by Barry and Robbie Buchanan, the album has Bette paying tribute to one of the greatest girl singers of all time. Barry continues, "Rosemary Clooney also had this gift. When I was thinking about who we could pay tribute to and at the same time, reinvent these splendid songs Rosemary first introduced to the world, Bette was my first .and only choice."
When I was a child, long before I became aware of Ella or Billie or Peggy, there already was Rosemary. She must have been my mother's favorite because the radio seemed to play her songs all the time and one of my earliest memories was hearing my Mom humming Tenderly around the house. Then I saw White Christmas and maybe because she looked good in that red costume, I thought she was the star of the movie and not Bing Crosby. I came to appreciate her more as I grew up, marveling at the sureness of her tones, that unique catch in the throat in her singing, the warmth in her voice. I enjoy listening to Ella and the other females in that esteemed company but Rosie's CDs gets played more often in my room.
Bette does not sound like Rosie but she comes close. She radiates sincerity in every word and I get goosebumps listening to the beautiful songs they chose to include in the album, each one rearranged and mixed to perfection. You'll Never Know, This Ole House, On a Slow Boat to China, a rousing number where Bette duets with Barry, Hey There, Tenderly, Come On-A My House, Mambo Italiano, Sisters, a duet with another girl singer I admire a lot, Linda Ronstadt, Memories of You, In the Cool, Cool Cool of the Evening and White Christmas.
The only gripe I have about this album is that there are only 11 cuts. I want more. I want more Rosie songs sang by Bette and produced by Barry and Robbie. Where are Half as Much, Love You Didn't Do Right By Me, Mixed Emotions or Count Your Blessings. I am sure they could have even thought of doing something new to reinvent Rosie's Botch-a-Me. But when you think of all the love and artistry that went into every song, I say 11 is more than enough.
I am sure lots of you out there will enjoy this one.
Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
Dec. 12, 2003, CD Review: Washington Blade, By WINNIE MCCROY
Like Bette Midler, this album is short and sassy.
Perhaps the best of the bunch, the Divine Miss M joins Barry Manilow, everyone’s favorite gay icon and her original piano player and musical director, to pay tribute to one of the first divas of cabaret in “Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook.” Clooney died in June 2002.
Columbia Records’ quality compilation starts slow and steady, with Clooney’s “You’ll Never Know,” and “This Ole House.” The set picks up when Midler croons “On a Slow Boat to China” with her trademark harmonies. And it positively sizzles mid-album, when she belts out very urban renditions of “Come On-A My House,” and “Mambo Italiano.”
In addition to her duet with Manilow on “On a Slow Boat to China,” Midler teams up with Linda Ronstadt on “Sisters.”
The album ends on a sweet, though not syrupy, note with “White Christmas,” which Clooney originally recorded in 1954.
CD Review: Out.com
Midler’s tribute, with arrangements and even some vocal help from her old pal and bathhouse accompanist Barry Manilow, isn’t a substitute for Clooney’s originals but will stand beside them nicely. The selections focus on Clooney’s 1950s pop songbird era, when she recorded some fine tunes that were worthy of her talents (“Tenderly”), some silly novelties that weren’t (“Come on-a My House”), and some that have become such a part of our cultural—and camp!—sensibilities that they defy criticism (“Sisters”). Midler does pretty well with songs from all these categories. Her performance of “Tenderly” is outstanding—passionate and heartfelt—and she’s appropriately torchy on “Memories of You” but is not quite as warm as Clooney on another great ballad, “You’ll Never Know.” She’s fine on the novelties “Come on-a My House” and “Mambo Italiano,” although we didn’t really need to hear those songs again; much more fun are her rollicking rendition of the pseudogospel “This Ole House” and her humorous banter with Manilow on the swinging “Slow Boat to China,” a highlight of the disc. Of course, no Clooney homage would be complete without tunes from the movie White Christmas, and Midler’s excellent versions of “Sisters” with Linda Ronstadt and the title carol, including its oft-deleted verse, will remind fans why they loved the flick in the first place and may inspire the uninitiated to check out Rosie and Bing this holiday season. And if this disc inspires listeners to pick up some Clooney recordings, both the pop stuff from the ’50s and her later work as a gifted jazz interpreter, so much the better—you Bette! Trudy Ring
BETTE MIDLER SINGS THE ROSEMARY CLOONEY SONGBOOK
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Even though numerous record companies are re-releasing Clooney's songs, Midler's efforts and apparent understanding of the "popular" songs Clooney made famous in the 1950s bring an energy to what might have been thrown away as dated in the rush to applaud and appreciate the late singer for the jazz that made her popular in the late 20th century. Songs that saw brief shining moments are recreated with bright arrangements and a sense of fun that makes "Mambo Italiano," "This Ole House," and "Come On-A My House," perfectly palatable to people who pooh-poohed and put-down their parents' generation and the singers who sang for them.
Bette Midler, the divine Miss M, continues to show us what a well-trained voice and slick professionalism can accomplish. If the accent needs to be sharp, it is. If the tone is country, then her voice carries just enough country to pull it off. And if a nudge and a wink are required, she pulls it off. Best of all, Midler sounds like she is having fun doing it.
And the pair of songs lifted from the film "White Christmas," including title song and the duet "Sisters," have new arrangements. Adding Linda Ronstadt to the duet was an inspired choice as their voices mesh while adding excellent shading to the notes. - LARRY ROBERTS
Carl F Gauze, Ink19.com
Here's a quick gift idea for those relatives who don't wear black exclusively or have fewer than five piercings. Many of you know that Rosemary Clooney was one of the great voices of the mid-20th century, and mastered most of the post-war styles from Broadway to Country to Lounge. One of the great voices of the late-20th century, Bette Midler, teams with Barry Manilow and an enormous orchestra to perform some of Clooney's best songs. The combination of Midler's vocals and Manilow's piano playing place these covers in beautiful, lush arrangements, while preserving most of the original impact of Clooney's styling. Every song is a stunner, even if you're not in tune with this retro vocal styling. Pour yourself a Sapphire Martini and drop this in the player. You'll groove to the Broadway sounds of "You'll Never Know" or the fakey pastiche of "Mambo Italian," or pretend you're at the classiest Hoedown east of 6th avenue with country standard "This Ole House."
These are standards, or very close, written by Irving Berlin and Hoagie Carmichael and a handful of lesser know but vitally significant American song writers. Your parents, and theirs as well, listened to this sound, and there's nothing short of global warming or the RIAA that will keep your great grandchildren from buying this record when they reach "that certain age." Yeah, you'd rather be caught voting Republican than buying anything with Manilow on it, but it's for Mom. Secretly, you'll love it too, and drop it in the music rotation for that classy New Year's party you've always wanted.
"Bette
Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook"
by
Miriam Di Nunzio - Chicago Sun-Times, November 16, 2003
What a glorious tribute indeed to one legend from another. Not a misstep along the way, as Midler's much-matured and deeply rich vocals faithfully take charge of some of Clooney's most beloved melodies from 1951-58.
On board for the sweet, sweet ride is her long-ago arranger-piano player -- one Barry Manilow -- who co-produced and arranged the whole fabulous shebang. Manilow also adds his vocal chops to a playful "On a Slow Boat to China" which aptly showcases the dynamic duo's ability to have fun with a song and with each other's artistic sensibilities.
With an 84-piece orchestra in tow, Midler is bold and brassy on "Come On A My House" one moment, and tugging at your heartstrings on "You'll Never Know" the next.
There's no stopping her by the time she gets to "Mambo Italiano," which plays out like the sexy, jazzed romp it was born to be. She's a spitfire on the big band duet of "Sisters" with Linda Ronstadt. And her sweetly intimate turn "White Christmas" would have melted Irving Berlin's heart. Brava, Bette!
Retrovision
: The Divine Miss C : Bette Midler is the Rose — Clooney, that is
By
Keith A. Joseph - Cleveland Free Times - Wednesday, November 05, 2003
BETTE MIDLER DOES NOT HAVE many admirers in the almost exclusively heterosexual domain of jazz guardians. The only reference she rates in Will Friedwald's book Jazz Singing is as an “attitude-heavy harridan.” That's because the jazz boys have little tolerance for camp and will brook no subversion in their divas. They expect them to fall into one of two categories: the icy, preferably blonde, purveyors of ennui and regret (Peggy Lee) and the exquisitely tuned singing machines (Ella Fitzgerald).
Midler comes with no jazz pedigree. Never a band singer, never honed her craft in smoky dives, never beaten by a hot-tempered trumpeter, no drug busts, no breakdowns and no egomaniac driving her into the booby hatch.
Instead, she chose to control her own destiny. She started her career playing one of Tevye's daughters on Broadway and went on to spread gay euphoria at the Continental Baths. She managed to make the Andrews Sisters' “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” a hit all over again when the rest of the pop world was busy “Stayin' Alive.”
Before the iron curtain of sexual mores collapsed, all show-biz dames were divided between red-hot mama whores and virginal girls next door. Midler took her cue from the former. She appropriated Sophie Tucker's vaudeville bawdiness and artfully blended it with Mae West's ability to satirize sex without seeming smutty. Vocally, she upgraded Lotte Lenya's defiant Teutonic growl into Americana. The secret of the Divine Miss M's success is that under all the ersatz raunch, you can sense the wink of a shrewd Jewish bourgeois matron performing party tricks. She can silence a heckler with “Shut your hole, honey — mine makes money” without alienating the Kiwanis Club contingent.
Her career has been a roller coaster ride. In her concerts she essayed a madcap mermaid. On screen she's played everything from a coked-out rock diva ( The Rose ) to a loquacious Jacqueline Susann ( Isn't She Great ). There was also a failed TV series and an attempt to climb Mt. Everest when she played a gloriously sung but far too likable Madame Rose in a TV version of Gypsy .
Now, reunited with her former musical mentor, Barry Manilow, she's focused her attention on another Rose. Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook (Sony/Columbia) would strike a Retrovisionist as being as perverse as Madonna doing an MTV tribute to Doris Day. Yet where Madonna is like one of those Gypsy strippers eternally hunting for a gimmick, Midler is an inspired artist trying to solve a riddle: How does a professional floozy pay homage to one of the most wholesome singing sweethearts of the 1950s? It's a dizzying paradox. The most natural model for the gravel-voiced, Hawaiian-born Jewish bombshell would be the world-weary, post-nervous breakdown, zaftig Clooney of the '70s.
Midler and Manilow, however, have focused on the novelty-singing, ultra-sincere den mother of the Eisenhower years, when Clooney was Bing Crosby's earnest Yuletide consort, the Mitch Miller songbird who inspired middle-aged bridge players to mambo, and club ladies to weep into their Jell-O molds.
The first thing the shrewd Barry and Bette do is to undo the mayhem of Mitch Miller, Clooney's maniacal Svengali, whom Friedwald characterizes as “the genius par excellence of bad music.” The strategy of the album entails achieving just the right balance of knowing when to spin kitsch into camp, and when to revere Rosie.
Midler transforms Clooney's hit “Come On-A My House” from a Cub Scout bribe into early-'60s Lesley Gore bubblegum. “Mambo Italiano” is updated into '70s disco-lite, with which one can envision Midler livening up a gay cotillion. Clooney and Crosby's original duet of “On a Slow Boat to China” was destroyed by Sy Oliver's overly busy and hurried arrangement, which annihilated Frank Loesser's fine melody. The New Age remake of the duet with Manilow is sexier and wiser; it sounds like a seductive vamp kidding her gay best buddy with mock flirtation. Most importantly, the song is simplified and the melody restored.
When it comes time for the more serious numbers, Midler reveals her earth-mother side by rendering the plangent WWII ballad “You'll Never Know” in the past tense and turning it into an elegy to the recently departed Clooney. “White Christmas,” sung with the rarely heard verse, is as open-hearted and direct as Irving Berlin intended it.
Midler has pulled off a sly bit of retro subversion by creating an album warm and nostalgic enough to delight the listeners of any geezer radio station and also, naughtily enough, to please the irony queens at the local piano bar.
"Bette
Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" (Columbia Records)
By
Greg Morago - The Hartford Courant - October 28, 2003
Rosemary Clooney had to be talked into recording "Come On-a My House" in 1951. It turned out pretty well. More than 50 years later, Bette Midler had to be talked into recording the same song on a tribute album to Clooney. It, too, turned out to be pretty good.
Darn good, in fact. "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook," a project that friend Barry Manilow had to persuade Midler to cram into her busy schedule, is a labor of love that bursts with appreciation for the talents of one of the classic singers of the 20th century. Clooney died last year, leaving the American standards with one less (and there are precious few) interpreter. And what an interpreter. Clooney touched songs such as "You'll Never Know," "Hey There," "Tenderly" and "White Christmas" and made them as much a part of the American experience as baseball and apple pie.
Those songs are among the Clooney hits that Midler deftly handles on the songbook, a joyous and touching (sometimes heartbreakingly beautiful) recording that reunites the saucy chanteuse with her original piano accompanist and musical director (Manilow produced Midler's first two breakthrough albums). She finds truer meaning in the novelty song "This Ole House," giving it an almost contemporary country reading. She shows she has a great ear for the period with "On a Slow Boat to China" and "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening." Gorgeous new arrangements for "Hey There" and "Tenderly" make Clooney classics sound fresh and lushly cinematic.
Whether Midler finds gold with her "Songbook" remains to be seen. But listening to her sing "White Christmas" not only brings back Clooney; it brings a tear to the eye, and when was the last time an album did that?
Bette
Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
GayWired.com
- By Pete Zorn - October 23, 2003
Some sage once said the life is a circle and everything eventually returns to where it began. So, I guess it shouldn't come as a shock that Bette Midler returned to her recording roots to teaming up once again with Barry Manilow.
Manilow was her arranger in the early New York days of her career and produced her first two albums: "The Divine Miss M," which won her the first Grammy for best new artist in 1973, and "Bette Midler," the platinum follow-up.
They toured, they recorded, and they fought. Eventually the feuding led to the professional breakup. But, despite the disagreements, they each held one thing in common: a love for Rosemary Clooney, the big band singer with the big voice. Clooney owned the 1950s. She, who died last year, was brilliant lyric interpreter, with fine timing, skillful and intelligent phrasing.
Manilow says the idea to do a retrospective album came to him in a dream.
"It was the 1950s in my dream, and Bette was singing Rosemary Clooney songs," Manilow told Billboard. "Bette and I hadn't spoken in years, but I picked up the phone and told her I had an idea for a tribute album. I knew there was absolutely no one else who could do this."
Midler says, "The concept was absolutely brilliant. I loved Rosemary. I had a lot of respect for her, and I missed Barry. And those songs are magical."
Thus, "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" was born.
Although he does sing on one of the album's tracks ("A Slow Boat to China"), Manilow mainly sticks to behind-the-scenes roles as producer and arranger; the spotlight remains on Midler's still strong, spunky, and affecting vocals.
Midler turns her sights on such Clooney signature numbers as the touching ballads "Hey There," and "Tenderly," as well as the humorous hits "Come On-a My House" and "Mambo Italiano."
The love that both Midler and Manilow have for Clooney is evident throughout the album. And, even though most of Miss M's fans had never heard of George Clooney's famous aunt, it doesn't matter. This music is timeless, and Midler has found herself another amazing album.
Bette
Midler • Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook (Columbia)
An
Advocate.com - October 21, 2003
It began, as many a lark has, with Barry Manilow. It was his idea to revisit the canon of the late Rosemary Clooney and to recruit onetime cohort Bette Midler as the vocalist, leaving him free to act as the project’s chief producer. It was a logical fit all around: Besides sharing their own storied past, both performers were personally acquainted with Clooney, and Manilow contributed to Clooney’s Sings the Lyrics of Johnny Mercer album. Midler, for her part, was an apt choice of reinterpreter, bringing her well-honed versatility to songs that require alternating measures of tenderness and gusto.
Given the talent involved, The Rosemary Clooney Songbook could have been a true masterwork of schlock, but M&M refrain from pouring on the syrup too thickly. Midler shines most brightly doing straight takes on the ballads “You’ll Never Know” and, in particular, “Memories of You,” where she glides up to the high notes as if on a cloud. But she also fares well with some of the retooled songs, downshifting Clooney’s romp through “This Ole House” to a more subdued reading that better suits the wistful lyrics, and later adding more up-tempo zing to “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening.” The two duets bring an extra sense of fun to the proceedings: “Sisters” features Linda Ronstadt’s voice twinning naturally to Midler’s, and “On a Slow Boat to China” is a chance for Manilow to trade vaudevillian banter with Ms. M between verses, minus the generational gap of singing styles that characterized Clooney’s original with Bing Crosby.
When the album does go astray, song selection usually is the culprit. “Mambo Italiano” and “Come On-a My House” are kitschy novelties that simply haven’t aged well, and when the haunted-house harpsichord solo drops on the latter, you have to wonder if Hocus Pocus 2 is in the offing. And even though the album is just shy of 31 minutes as it is, another remake of “White Christmas” is inevitably redundant, regardless of who’s singing it. Some too might be dissatisfied with the pastel arrangements—mostly Manilow’s—which don’t match up to the brassier aspects of Midler’s persona. But truthfully, that beats the alternative of overdoing it, especially on a tribute that only means to be—and is—sweet, lighthearted, and thankfully devoid of irony.
THIS
IS BARRY'S ALBUM
Divine
Miss M back with album, tour
By
Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY - October
17, 2003
NEW YORK — The latest Bette Midler CD is not a Bette Midler CD, at least, not according to Midler. "This is Barry's record," she insists.
That would be Barry Manilow, who produced Midler's breakthrough album 31 years ago and recently returned to the studio with her for the first time since the 1970s.
The result of that reunion, Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook, entered the chart at No. 14 last week, marking the Divine Miss M's highest chart debut in 13 years.
Though Midler was a longtime admirer of Clooney, who died last year of lung cancer, it was Manilow's idea to have his old friend, accompanied by a full orchestra, cover material that Clooney recorded back in the '50s.
"When Barry and I first worked together, we fought like cats and dogs," Midler recalls. "We were always at each other's throats because we're both control freaks. But this time, I was grown-up enough to say, 'This is your baby.' I just sang."
In addition to co-producing and co-arranging, Manilow sings and plays piano on the winking On a Slow Boat to China. Other tracks range from traditional pop classics, such as You'll Never Know and In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening, to the bouncy novelty tunes Mambo Italiano and Come On-a My House.
"Whether she liked a song or not, she sang it like it was the greatest thing ever written," Midler says of Clooney, whom she knew personally.
"She was full of human kindness that showed in her music. When I first met her, she made me feel like I was a long-lost cousin. Then I discovered she was like that to everybody.
"She kept going through health problems and everything, and she didn't let you see her sweat. It's really hard to sing her kind of material. You need a beautiful voice and a good ear and breath control, and you have to know what the lyric is about. But she came from the generation of people who made it all look effortless."
Midler will tackle Clooney's repertoire live beginning Dec. 10, when she launches her Kiss My Brass tour, which is scheduled to hit 40 cities before wrapping in mid-February. "I made my name performing live, and I think I do well in that arena," she says. "It can be stressful, but it never lets me down."
In contrast, Bette, her short-lived CBS sitcom in 2000, was "a source of tremendous frustration," she concedes. "I went into it without knowing what was required, and I never really discovered how to make it work. I was so unhappy that I couldn't be around people without screaming about how upsetting it was. So I shot myself in the foot. But everybody makes mistakes. Mine was a very expensive one, and I take responsibility for it. It's just not my field."
Midler hasn't forsaken big-screen acting, though. She'll appear next year in a new version of The Stepford Wives, co-starring Nicole Kidman, Glenn Close and Matthew Broderick.
"The movie has been updated, so now it's a comedy. It's still haunting and horrific, but very funny, too."
Behind the scenes, Midler continues to work on behalf of the New York Restoration Project, an organization she founded in 1997 to restore neglected public spaces, and to raise 16-year-old daughter, Sophie, who could be following in her mother's footsteps.
"For a long time, I told her if she ever went into show business I would kill her," Midler says. "But about two years ago, I said, if you really want to, you can. She plays classical piano, she's a good singer, and she just loves the music business. She wants to be part of it."
Asked to define her own role, the show-biz veteran says, "I'm an entertainer. For a long time, I'd say I was an actor. Then, when I couldn't get a job acting, I said I was a singer. But basically, I take what comes my way and make some work on my own. And fortunately, I'm still having fun with it."
Midler
reprises Rosemary Clooney, and boy, can she swing (and sing)
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch - Brian Q. Newcomb - 10/16/2003
On the big screen, Bette Midler has played thoroughly modern, often larger-than-life characters. However, it's been clear since her 1972 debut, "The Divine Miss M," that her best musical efforts find their roots in the popular music of a bygone era. When Midler "Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook," she not only pays tribute to the late, great singer, she also recovers what has always been her mainstay.
In her liner notes, Midler, 58, calls Clooney "one of the great American voices of the last century, full of warmth, sincerity and truth. Her intonation was impeccable ... she radiated intelligence and good humor, and boy, could she swing." With some detours over the years, folks might say these same things about Midler.
Reunited with piano player and producer Barry Manilow, Bette emphasizes
Clooney's early hits from the first half of the 1950s, including two from her appearance with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in the film "White Christmas." Although Manilow and Midler have sought to bring fresh arrangements, most of "Songbook" emphasizes the traditional pop-jazz big-band sound that was Clooney's forte.
Midler is respectful and at times restrained as she moves through solid interpretations of winners such as "This Ole House," "Tenderly" and "Memories of You." She duets with Manilow, who fills the Bing Crosby role on "On a Slow Boat to China," and with Linda Ronstadt on "Sisters."
But mostly its Midler, downplaying her own diva divinity in favor of honoring Clooney's memory, which is served best on the jazzy "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," "Come On-a My House" and the Latin swing of "Mambo Italiano." "Songbook" won't give you your fill of either Clooney or Midler, but it's a fine collection that demonstrates the power of treasuring the past.
Seattle Gay News - Oct. 10, 2003
It makes perfect sense for Bette Midler to immerse her divine self into a catalog of songs by the late, great Rosemary Clooney. She's essentially one of her followers. With the help of old friend Barry Manilow, who produced her first two breakthrough albums, Midler settles right into a string of the Girl Singer's hits, all originally recorded in the 1950's.
Midler's perky persona makes a delightful presence on the sprightly "Come On-A My House" and the zesty "Mambo Italiano," which features a high-kicking arrangement by Manilow and Robbie Buchanan, who also serve as co-producers for this fine, timely tribute. When she isn't getting cheeky with Manilow, as in the Bing Crosby/Clooney bopper "On a Slow Boat to China," she's singing shoulder to shoulder with Linda Ronstadt on "Sisters." The album's finest moments are Midler's down-home, bluegrassy version of "This Ole House" and her glistening touch to Crosby's nostalgic "White Christmas," which Clooney repolished in 1954.
Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook is a soaring success in two ways. First, it provides a glorious avenue for Midler to strut her pop-to-showtunes vocal expertise. And second, it packs in plenty of va-va voom in an homage to a singer who put style and class on an out-of-reach shelf. Given the chance to do a legend justice, Midler simply marvels.
Come
on-a give-a listen
Orlando
Sentinel - Published October 3, 2003
I haven't bought a new Bette Midler album in a while. The first ones were much the best, still fun to listen to after all these years, especially anything live (Live at Last in 1977, Mud Will Be Flung Tonight in 1985).
But I like her new CD, Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook.
Bette and her producer, Barry Manilow, were on Today Wednesday talking up the CD and performing -- doing two of the best cuts from the album, "Come On-a My House" and "On a Slow Boat to China" (they might have done more, but I didn't watch Today's third hour).
"Slow Boat," by the way, has this fun couplet: "Out on the briny/ Where the moon's big and shiny."
Two of the album's cuts don't work ("Hey There," "This Ole House"), but it's interesting that two others, better others, are songs that Clooney had said she didn't much care for: "Come On-a My House" and "Mambo Italiano."
Midler has always liked songs, usually more obscure ones, that have tricky or eccentric lyrics, so both "House" and "Mambo" fit that bill as does "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening."
Both Midler and Manilow had known Clooney for years. Manilow, who said he was thrilled when Clooney recorded "When October Goes," a Johnny Mercer lyric that he set to music, came up with the idea of the tribute album and got in touch with Midler. The two first hooked up when he was her pianist at her famous and infamous gig at the Continental Baths in New York. Later, famously, they had something of a falling-out, but both said they had a fine time doing the Clooney album.
Another of Clooney's good singer friends was Linda Ronstadt; she and Midler duet on "Sisters," the Irving Berlin song Rosemary sang in the movie White Christmas.
The album begins and ends with beautiful ballads: "You'll Never Know" and "White Christmas."
Billboard Magazine Review
BETTE MIDLER
Album Title: Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
Producer(s): Barry Manilow, Robbie Buchanan; Genre: POP; Label/Catalog Number: Columbia 90350; Release Date: Sept. 30
Source: Billboard Magazine - Originally Reviewed: October 12, 2003
Standards have never been this much fun. "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook," a tribute to the late singer's 1951-1958 heyday, reaches far beyond the typically maudlin collection of golden oldies, injecting humor and sarcasm into a crafty selection of chestnuts. The production role of Midler's original arranger, Barry Manilow (with Robbie Buchanan) is essential, with his persuasive versatility showcased on the lush "Tenderly," the bare-bones album opener and 1952 No. 1 "You'll Never Know" and the subtly folky "This Ole House." But the best moment comes in Midler and Manilow's duet "On a Slow Boat to China" (originally recorded with Clooney and Bing Crosby), which frolics like the good old daysClooney's and Midler/Manilow's. "Songbook" is yet another milestone album in the career of one of pop culture's most enduring entertainers. Clooney must be swinging from on high.
AMG.com - Matt Collar - 4 out of 5 stars
Cabaret icon Bette Midler reunites with her old piano partner Barry Manilow for the first time in over 30 years to toast one of their mutual idols on Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook. Clooney was one of the top jazz/pop vocalists of the '50s whose clear, bright tone, impeccable melodicism, and smiling, girl-next-door image came together to make classics out of tunes like "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" and "Hey There" — both covered here. In that tradition, Midler's plucky blonde persona and genre-crossing style and Manilow's modern day blend of Mercer and Porter make this album work — most of the time. Mostly what you get is the Divine Miss M and "Mister Manila," as Midler affectionately refers to Manilow, returning to their '70s New York roots on "On a Slow Boat to China," a solid and classy version of "Sisters" with Linda Ronstadt taking the Betty Clooney role, and a very Dixie Chicks-esque contemporary bluegrass reworking of "This Ole House." Least of all, you get limp, hip-hop-lite arrangements of "Come On-A My House" and "Mambo Italiano," which only serve to drain the songs of any swing and makes the twee-period lyrics all the more cloying. Nonetheless, Midler — who can carry a tune on personality alone — sounds elegant and alive here and Manilow's classy orchestral arrangements frame the proceedings with the urbane glow of nostalgia for a time — be it the '50s or the '70s — when a big band, a great song, and blonde with a nice voice were all you needed for a good time. — Matt Collar
Rosie, Bette's way
By T.L. Ponick, Washington Post - Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook, Sony Music
Rosemary Clooney, who lost her life to lung cancer in 2002 at age 74, was proof positive that America is the land of the second chance.
After a meteoric rise to musical fame culminating in her appearance with Bing Crosby in 1954's hit film "White Christmas," the blond, fresh-faced girl singer from Kentucky made a string of hit recordings and married film star Jose Ferrer seemingly out of the blue. Hardly pausing for breath, she cranked out five babies in short order and also landed her own TV show, but her personal wheel of fortune took an abrupt downward spin in the 1960s.
With her marriage on the rocks, the demanding pressures of TV, movie, radio, and recording appearances soon drove her to an overdependence on tranquilizers and prescription drugs. The violent death of her friend, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was gunned down in a Los Angeles hotel only a few yards away from the singer, sank her further into a deep, clinical depression, and she retired from showbiz for years.
After many years of therapy, and buoyed by a successful 1976 tour with Bing Crosby — the Old Groaner's last — Miss Clooney gradually returned to the limelight, resurrecting her career, this time as a surprisingly successful jazz artist and song stylist. Once again she had a string of successful recordings and CDs on the Concord label and won respect among a new generation of fans both here and abroad.
Actress-singer-camp diva Bette Midler now revives the first half of Miss Clooney's career with the new CD, "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook." This re-imagining of Rosie's greatest hits gets a big assist from Barry Manilow, who has vividly re-created arrangements for most of them, giving them the right dash of contemporary panache without obliterating their distinctive Eisenhower-era flavor.
For those of us who grew up mainlining on 1950s TV variety shows, this disc is a pleasant blast from the past. Each and every track was once a bona fide hit in its day. From the sentimental "You'll Never Know" to the still risque "Come On-a My House" — Miss Clooney's bizarre breakthrough hit — it's surprising how well this songbook wears. The tunes are still spiffy, and the lyrics actually convey complex adult emotions, something lost on today's infantilized music moguls and mavens.
Bette Midler is no Rosemary Clooney. Her voice lacks the depth, the nuance, the subtle shadings — indeed, the authority — of the older diva, particularly in the disc's concluding arrangement of "White Christmas," the greatest holiday schmaltz classic of all time.
Still, Miss Midler is a trooper, and she clearly holds Miss Clooney in high esteem. Drawn out, richly melodic vowels, crystalline enunciation, hard consonants and Midwestern "r's" were all part of the Clooney arsenal, and Miss Midler replicates these vocal characteristics with astonishing faithfulness. It's the sustained notes that Miss Midler has a harder time with.
Miss Midler does a workmanlike job on classic ballads such as "Hey There" and "Tenderly." However, she's at her best in upbeat, jazzy novelty songs like the aforementioned "Come On-a My House," — which retains the weird harpsichord riffs of the original — as well as "Mambo Italiano," "This Ole House" and the sublimely silly "Sisters," where she gets an effective assist from Linda Ronstadt.
Miss Midler's reverently retro CD re-creates bygone days that weren't nearly as drab and lifeless as tendentious post-'60s social history pretends. True Clooney aficionados will still prefer to find original recordings of these '50s classics in second-hand racks or in new compilations. Still, for a new generation, this album could be the missing link to a less in-your-face, more optimistic and melodious past — a time when lyrical adult songs and the artists who sang them conjured up for a more innocent youth a magical sense of the richly emotional life that would soon be theirs.
Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
Reviewed by CHUCK ARNOLD, PEOPLE
It's hard to imagine anyone who would have been better for this Rosemary Clooney tribute than the Divine Miss M. With just the right combination of swing and sass, Midler perfectly captures the spirit of the pop-jazz chanteuse, who rose to fame in the '50s and died at 74 last year. The disc reunites Midler with Barry Manilow, who produced her first two albums. Manilow coproduced this CD, plus he sings and plays piano on a playful, punchy version of "On a Slow Boat to China." Midler seems to be having a blast with these faithful yet fresh renditions, making Clooney classics like 1951's "Come on-a My House" inviting once again.
Rating: 3/4 Stars
Bette
does Clooney (Rosemary,
that is):
Midler
tackles '50s songbird's hits -
thanks,
she says, to a Barry Manilow dream
By JIM FARBER, New York Daily News - September 28, 2003
Bette Midler has become obsessed with preservation.
Several years ago, the star initiated local programs for composting ("Who knew it could be such fun?"), city parks ("The one we cleaned up under the George Washington Bridge is to die for") and roadways (the famous "Adopt a Highway" program).
Now Ms. M plans to preserve an endangered form of music. Her new record, "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook," released this week, salutes the grand dame of saloon songs, who died in June 2002. Midler tackles the legendary singer's '50s hits, like "Come On-a My House" and "Mambo Italiano," with an actorly wit and zest.
According to Midler, 57, the idea for the project came from Barry Manilow, the producer of her first two albums, with whom she hadn't worked for 30 years. "He said it came to him in a dream," she says with ironic wonder.
Manilow promised Midler the moon to participate.
"Barry said, 'I'll get you top-drawer arrangers and you don't have to do any of the heavy lifting. Just show up and sing,'" Midler explains. "Normally, I have to find the material, get involved in the arrangements and the mixing. It eats up your whole life. This was so easy."
INTIMATE SOUND
That's appropriate, given Clooney's role as the queen of vocal ease. "She was in that Frank/Bing school, where they make it look effortless," says Midler. "But when you try to sing that stuff you see it's hard. You have to have so much breath control and confidence.
"She had a very intimate sound," Midler continues. "She would pull you into a lyric and into the experience of the song. She didn't do runs the way they do now. But she stated the song simply. It was a very pure experience to listen to her."
Clooney, the aunt of movie star George (see cover story), hit her commercial peak in the early '50s, when her comforting sound keyed into the culture at large. Her breezy maternal style was as suited to the Eisenhower era of leisure as more raucous styles of singing were to the fractious '60s, the decade that pushed her aside.
Midler's music has straddled both eras. "I didn't understand the pop scene the way people did on the mainland," explains the singer, who grew up in Hawaii. "We just heard these voices over the radio. We didn't know who the people were. So either the voice spoke to you or it didn't. The quality of [Clooney's] voice really came through to me. I sang her songs, even as a little girl."
She met Clooney a few times in the '80s. "Her humanity was almost the same as her singing," Midler says. "She would wrap you up in this loving hold."
Midler felt less warmth for Manilow after the last time they worked together. "When he left me in the '70s, I was really livid," she says. "But, after a while, I had to give him his due. He was making hit records and I was up and down with this really checkered career."
She says they mended their friendship in time, but they avoided working together. "Two careers - two really stubborn people," Midler says of Manilow and herself.
Last year, she found herself without a record contract for the first time, after three decades with the Warner Records group. "I met with the new head [of Warners], Tom Whalley. We had a very nice meeting and then I was let go," she explains. "I thought 'Oh, that's kinda creepy.' I was pretty upset."
SHEDDING WARDROBE
She considered going the indie-label route when, she says, "this project just fell in my lap." Manilow got Midler a Columbia Records contract and they cut the album fast. The freshness shows. The arrangements sound contemporary without seeming tarted up. And they've pulled off the most crucial trick for a project like this: to make the songs swing.
"Barry chose arrangers who would bring something new to the material, but who were also respectful," Midler says.
Ideally, she would love to play a rare series of concerts of this music. Though she has scheduled a regular fall arena tour (called "Kiss My Brass") and is finishing her film part in the "Stepford Wives" remake, she hopes to pull off a show one day called "Five Nights - One Dress."
"I'd play Carnegie Hall for five nights in the same outfit," she says, laughing. "I'd just sing for a change - no flying around onstage in a fish tail."
Meanwhile, she plans to play host to a Halloween charity event, headlined by Donna Summer, at Roseland to benefit her parks charity. And the preservation instinct doesn't end there. Before our interview ends, the subject of the likely-to-shutter Bottom Line comes up.
"Oh," Midler says with a sigh. "There's gotta be a way to do something about that, don't you think?"
Bette, Barry salute Rosemary
on new CD
Cincinnati
Post - September 12, 2003
In one of the first of what is sure to be many tribute albums to be recorded honoring the late Rosemary Clooney, Columbia Records will release "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook" on Sept. 30.
The album will reunite Midler with her original piano accompanist and musical director, Barry Manilow, who produced her first two breakthrough albums.
"I couldn't be more delighted," said TV host, author and Post columnist Nick Clooney, Rosemary's brother, who lives in Augusta, Ky. "They were all three friends.
"Rosemary was a great admirer of both Bette and Barry for their contributions to American pop music during their era, and the same was true in reverse. Bette and Barry saw Rosemary as a leader in American classic pop's benchmark era."
Columbia Records says the album, produced by Manilow and Robbie Buchanan, "pays tribute to one of America's great women of traditional pop and vocal jazz, recasting the brilliance of her material and artistry in shimmering new hues for aficionados of Ms. Clooney, who passed away on June 29, 2002, as well as for a new generation of music fans."
"I have loved Rosemary Clooney for as long as I can remember," wrote Midler in her notes for the album.
"She possessed one of the great American voices of the last century, full of warmth, sincerity and truth. Her intonation was impeccable; she never sang a false note. -- She radiated intelligence and good humor, and boy, could she swing!"
Midler's enthusiasm for the project is echoed by Manilow: "When I was thinking about who could pay tribute to -- and, at the same time, reinvent these splendid songs which Rosemary first introduced to the world -- Bette was my first ... and only choice. We had a ball, just like the old days. Better than the old days. I'm so thankful that she agreed to do it."
...
Nick Clooney said he generally liked the selection, although he admitted they weren't all Rosemary's favorites. (She didn't like singing or being known for "Come On-A My House" and she didn't care for "Hey There.")
Still, Clooney said, the tribute album is a great honor, especially since Rosemary, Barry and Bette all had been friends.
If there was one song Clooney would add, he said, "It would be 'When October Goes,' since it was recorded by both Rosemary and Barry. It would be nice if Bette could sing it, too."
This will not be the first Rosemary Clooney album issued since her death, but it will be the first tribute album.
Following Clooney's death in 2002, an album of one of her live performances, in Honolulu, was released. Clooney's longtime manager, Allen Sviridoff, surprised Concord Record executives with tapes of her performance with the Honolulu Symphony Pops, recorded Nov. 16, 2001. The live recording was her last.
"As it turns out, this show for Rosemary was one of the best performances she had done," said John Burk, Concord executive vice president. Called "The Last Concert," the performance includes such songs as "Sentimental Journey," "Ol' Man River" and "You Can't Take That Away From Me."
An Excerpt from Bette on Larry King Live November 26, 2003
KING: Why the Rosie Clooney songbook?
MIDLER: Barry Manilow, who had -- who I hadn't talked to in a long time, called me up out of the clear blue, and he said, I had a dream that you and I made an album of -- that was a tribute to Rosemary Clooney. We both loved her. And in fact, one of the last times I saw him was at her -- a dinner honoring her at the Society of Singers (ph). And we had -- right after that, we did a television show. We did -- I had to do the "Roseanne" show, and that was the "Roseanne" show where we had our last falling out. So he was in there with me and Rosey. I mean, I had -- the night before we had that falling out...
KING: The last falling out with whom?
MIDLER: I had a falling out with Barry because I had gone -- he had -- I had to do this Roseanne Barr show, and I said -- my associate at the time said to Roseanne's people, Don't give her any surprise. She doesn't do well with surprise. Don't surprise her. So Roseanne, of course, had a surprise, and it was Barry, with all my old girls, all my old harlots (ph) singing. And I was so stunned because I realized this was going to be -- I was going to have to sing, and she had told me that I didn't have to sing, and I wasn't prepared.
So I was very upset. And he was -- when he saw me get upset, he got -- he got angry at me, and he said, You know, in life you have a -- you have choices to make. You can either choose to be happy or you can choose to be angry, and you made the wrong choice, and I don't want to see you anymore, words to that effect. And I was, like, Oh, my goodness! I was devastated. And I called him several times, and I said, I really do apologize and I'm...
KING: But they told you you weren't going to sing.
MIDLER: I know that. But you know -- but he was right. He was right. This is -- you know, this is the hand you've been dealt. Deal with it. What's the point of getting mad about it? So he didn't -- he was -- you know, he was very sort of gruff with me, and I didn't see him for a long time. Then he called me out and said, I had this dream. And I thought, Oh, Barry's calling me! He remembered me! He's not mad at me anymore! And I was so glad that he was -- I didn't care what he said.
KING: Why Rosey...
MIDLER: If he'd said, We're going to sing the Genghis Khan songbook...
KING: Why Rosey Clooney? Why not Billie Holiday? Why not Dinah Washington?
MIDLER: Well, because, you know, that -- we both adored her, and we had -- the last -- one of the last times I saw him was at that Society Singers' dinner honoring her. So we were all kind of interconnected. We would talk about her. He and I would talk about her. We shared reminiscences. We...
KING: One singer to another, what was her greatness?
MIDLER: She had tremendous interpretive skills. She had a wicked sense of humor.
KING: Oh, yes.
MIDLER: She had a tremendous spirit. She had an indomitable spirit. She also was -- she was kindness personified. I mean, she was truly kind. And this is a relatively cutthroat...
KING: It hurt her.
MIDLER: Yes.
KING: Being nice.
MIDLER: Yes. She was still kind. She had not lost her humanity. But one of the greatest things she had of all was that instrument. You cannot deny that that was one of the great instruments...
KING: And it didn't leave her.
MIDLER: Never, never, never. And I mean, even at the end, she was still swinging. She was still singing beautifully. She was still interpreting great, great classic songs.
KING: No voice like it, right?
MIDLER: Really none.
KING: She had that throaty sound.
MIDLER: Really none. Really none. It had so much promise, and you know, it promises sex and it promised love, but it also promised comfort and maternal -- it really was quite an instrument.
KING: How about the arrangements? They were -- were they Manilow's or...
MIDLER: He -- those were -- well, he did all the sketches. He's quite a computer whiz. He's a genius on the computer, and he loves it. I mean, I can't do anything on the computer except get my e-mail. And he sits down at this computer, and he did all the sketches for all the charts. And he came to town, to my house in New York, and he said, I want to play these for you. And played them for me, and I -- I would say, Oh, I like this, or That's too long or I can't hold that note that long or this -- That's the wrong key.
And he took it away. He took the sketches away, and he brought -- gave them -- he parceled them out to Ray Ellis (ph), who arranged my favorite album ever, the greatest album ever made, for my money, which was called "Lady in Satin," a Billy Holiday record with songs...
KING: So he arranged...
MIDLER: So he gave -- he gave -- George Calendrelli (ph), Patrick Williams and -- and Ray Ellis. And then Barry did a -- had his hand in a couple, and Robbie Buchanan (ph).
KING: And you got Linda Ronstadt to sing "Sisters" with you.
MIDLER: Yes. But I have to tell you, it was such a lovely project because, you know, it was -- it had stardust all over it from the beginning. You know, there was him. I got to be his friend again. There was her. I got to honor her. I got to have these beautiful arrangements from -- arrangements that I didn't -- you know, that -- I mean, I always, my whole life, wanted to meet Ray Ellis, and then I got to, you know? And Linda Ronstadt -- to sing with Linda Ronstadt -- it was really a lovely...
KING: This is a true labor of love.
MIDLER: I have to say so. And it was, like, two days. I mean, it was, like, two days. I came in, I sang all the tracks and I went home. So it was, like, Oh, my goodness. Not only stardust, but also...
KING: It's a great listen. "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook." And Bette's our special guest. And when we come back, we're going to take your phone calls. Bette Midler and co-star Shelley Long duke it out in the morgue over a body that's supposed to be the boyfriend they shared. Then again, maybe it's not him after all. Here's a scene from "Outrageous Fortune."
*****
KING: Back to the calls. We go to Augusta, Georgia -- Augusta, Kentucky, hello.
NICK CLOONEY, ROSEMARY CLOONEY'S BROTHER: Hi. This is Nick Clooney. How are you, Larry?
KING: Rosie's brother, George's father, who going to run for Congress, right?
CLOONEY: Well, forget that. It's not about me. I want to talk about Bette. I've got to tell you. I haven't had a chance to talk to you, Bette, since the album came out. All of us in the family are so thrilled...
MIDLER: I am so...
CLOONEY: What you did. You are astounding. You know, you surprise me. I knew you would do well with all of this, but the balance that Rosemary sort of owned. You know? You did a wonderful, wonderful job with and we love it.
MIDLER: I'm so happy to hear that. That's really fabulous. That's such good news, because I was so frightened.
KING: You're crying, Bette.
MIDLER: It's very moving, because I was so terrified what the family would think.
CLOONEY: Well, we are thrilled. You and Barry and Linda, of course, all great friends of Rosemary. What could be better as kind of a -- as a monument of this stage? I must -- of her memory. And you've just done wonders, all of Rosemary's kids. I don't speak for anybody generally, especially not my wife of 44 years, but I do speak for all of the family when I tell you that we're very proud of what you've done and we're very greatful for what you've done.
KING: Nick, how great of you to call in. I was telling Bette how I knew your sister, Betty.
CLOONEY: You bet. I know.
KING: Knew the Clooneys back...
CLOONEY: All those years. Betty and Rosemary and I thought Betty was the best of us. And when you did "Sisters" with Linda I must say that that set me down for a few moments.
MIDLER: Oh my god. Thank you so much.
CLOONEY: Don't want to take all of your time. I just wanted you to know that the Clooneys all love you.
KING: One quick think, how's George doing?
CLOONEY: Why that rascal is still taking my calls.
KING: Going to get him married ever?
CLOONEY: You know, I can't get grand kids out of him. I got them out of my daughter Adith (ph), 2 of them, who are the world's only 2 grandchildren of course. And I'm now working on George. But you know? He seems to be doing fine without my advice.
KING: And good luck with the Congress thing.
CLOONEY: Bless you.
MIDLER: Bye. That's sweet.
KING: No special number, just called in.
MIDLER: That's great. I'm sorry. I'm really moved.
KING: It's ok. I understand. When the family -- hey. It's the brother.
MIDLER: Yes. That means a lot to me.
The Billboard Interview
October 18, 2003
Rosemary Clooney Tribute Provides New Showcase For Midler
BY CHUCK TAYLOR
NEW YORK - Barry Manilow recalls waking from a dream earlier this year with Bette Midler on his mind.
"It was the 1950s in my dream, and Bette was singing Rosemary Clooney songs," Manilow says with a smile. "Bette and I hadn't spoken in years, but I picked up the phone and told her I had an idea for a tribute album. I knew there was absolutely no one else who could do this."
Midler says, "The concept was absolutely brilliant. I loved Rosemary. I had a lot of respect for her, and I missed Barry. And those songs are magical."
CULTIVATED VOCALS
The resulting "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook," released Sept. 30 under a one-album deal with Columbia, is a loving tribute to the cherished singer, who died June 29, 2002.
It also showcases some of the most intimate and cultivated vocals of Midler's lengthy career.
The set has obviously connected with fans, too. "Songbook" debuted at No. 14 on this issue's Billboard 200, boasting her biggest opening week ever, with 71,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
For Midler, the timing couldn't have been better. Her longtime contract with Atlantic ended in 2000, and Midler hadn't made a record in a couple of years. "It was time," she says.
"I'm a big believer that coincidences happen for a reason. I just decided it was meant to be; there was no reason to pluck the idea to death and think it to dust," she explains.
Shifting easily from reverent elegance to a loose, frolicsome swagger, the 11-track disc—Midler's 19th—covers Clooney's heyday, from 1951 to 1958.
It includes her No. 1 Hot 100 hits "Hey There" and "This Ole House," along with "Sisters," originally recorded with Clooney's sister Betty and now a jamming big-band duet between Midler and Linda Ronstadt.
For Clooney's pairing with Bing Crosby on "On a Slow Boat to China," Manilow sings playfully with Midler. She also daintily covers "White Christmas," from the 1954 film starring Clooney and Crosby.
"These are great songs to sing, with really good lyrics, great charts and fun melodies," Midler says. "It was a wonderful experience."
"Songbook" opens a new chapter for the world-class entertainer. Her 35-year sojourn in show business has taken her from New York's bawdy bathhouses to an Academy Award-nominated role as a drug-addled blues rocker in 1980's "The Rose."
From there, it was double Grammy Award wins for song of the year with power ballads "Wind Beneath My Wings" (1989) and "From a Distance" (1990).
In all, Midler has earned four Grammys, three Emmys, a Tony, three Golden Globes and nine American Comedy awards and has been nominated for two Oscars. Her worldwide album sales total more than 14 million, according to Columbia.
FULL CIRCLE
The new project brings Midler full circle. Manilow was her arranger in the early New York days, and he produced her first two albums: "The Divine Miss M," which won her the first Grammy for best new artist in 1973, and "Bette Midler," the platinum follow-up.
"Barry was with me for the whole ride up," Midler says. "We didn't talk about what was happening to us at the time. We just kept doing this date and that date. We never once stopped to say how amazing it all was."
The two perfectionists also gained infamy for their fuel-injected disagreements. Midler smiles, remaining at ease, and recalls, "Epic battles. Very stressful times. We argued a lot, especially during the live shows.
"There were also some wonderful times, but we ended badly. He sort of stomped off—really to start his own career—and I said, 'Ah, let him go,' " she adds, waving her hand.
"I was pissed off, and I didn't want to confront what had happened," Midler says. "I figured that if Barry was irreplaceable, I couldn't go on."
Manilow adds, "We're both high-strung and passionate and opinionated." And 30 years later, he remains a man with a clear vision: "I put the 'p' in prepared," he says.
His design for "Songbook" began with demos, which Manilow would take to Midler's house: "Little by little, we began to crawl into it."
"He knew exactly what he was doing," Midler continues. "Barry would say, 'This is how I hear it,' and then I'd say, 'I would add two more bars here, the brass is too early here.' "
With co-producer Robbie Buchanan, Manilow then assembled an 84-piece orchestra in Los Angeles and recorded the bulk of the instrumentals in three days.
Midler rehearsed and then stepped in to record her vocals in only two days.
"Two days!" Midler exclaims. "I tell you, Barry took all of the agony out of it. He chose the material, hired the band, called the arrangers, booked the studio, did the mixes. It was like I was the girl singer—like Rosemary was at one time.
"Truth be told, it was a great relief," she adds. "Barry is a very musical man, he has great taste and he's a tremendous arranger and piano player. And he's lots of fun."
After the experience, Midler says she never again intends to agonize over a recording note by note.
"It's just not that precious. It's music, not cancer research. It's meant to give joy and to have a certain amount of spontaneity and fun behind it. I think I had gotten uptight, and Barry kind of told me off until I was able to let it all hang out, to swing along with the band," she says.
ONLY ONE BETTE
Of course, a central goal was to conjure the magic of Clooney's original songs while gently stamping them with Midler's signature.
"I didn't want to annoy anybody by taking on these songs," she says. "But these arrangements are more contemporary. The tempos are quicker. And I added my own humor and sarcasm."
Manilow adds, "There is only one Bette. She's just as inventive and creative and as talented as ever. She can act a song and make it her own. She was able to interpret these songs so uniquely that you always know she's there.
"And her voice sounds so beautiful on this album. There's a maturity since we last worked together that's energetic and fun."
For Midler, there was also the self-conscious edge that came from being friends with Clooney. The two met in the early 1980s at the Fairmont in San Francisco, where the latter was performing.
Midler remembers, "She was kind enough to see me backstage, and we just sat down and started talking and kept on for a couple hours. She was as lovely as they came—generous, warm, affectionate, with no attitude. She put me at ease immediately."
Manilow also knew Clooney; they met at a surprise birthday party for her hosted by Midler. She dueted with him on "Green Eyes" for his 1994 album, "Singin' With the Big Bands."
To share the experience, Columbia is executing a marketing campaign to open "Storybook" to adult consumers.
In the midst of filming Paramount's anticipated remake of the 1970s cult classic "The Stepford Wives" (co-starring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close and Faith Hill), Midler made stops at "Today," "The View" and "Late Show With David Letterman" during release week. Manilow accompanied her on piano.
The label also relaunched bettemidler.com, which currently promotes the album but is scheduled to cover her career history in the near future.
In addition, lifestyle, women's and gay Web sites were targeted for streaming and contests.
"There is a void in the marketplace for this kind of music," says Rocco Lanzilotte, VP of creative marketing for Columbia.
"From the first moment I heard it, I knew it was a pot of gold, the way it was orchestrated, the production, the choice of songs and Bette's voice," he says.
Midler will bring the "Songbook" to life with her upcoming Kiss My Brass tour of North America. It opens Dec. 10 in Chicago and is scheduled to run through February. The tour, her first extended run in four years, comprises 40 dates so far, including two nights at New York's Madison Square Garden.
DIVA DEVOTION
For Manilow, the creation of "Songbook" with Midler is a dream come true and marks the latest in a line of creative endeavors with some of the world's most-prized divas.
Previous collaborations with Dionne Warwick and Nancy Wilson garnered Grammy nominations.
Just before reteaming with Midler, he produced (with Eddie Arkin) Diane Schuur's "Midnight," an album of original songs co-written by Manilow for the jazz great.
Manilow is pleased with this latest experience. "Bette is still funny as hell and inventive and just a doll to work with," he says. "We laughed, and we learned a lot from each other."
And, he adds with a wink, "We're still talking to each other afterward."
Midler says, "We had a fabulous, fun-filled time. This album makes me very happy. If Rosemary could hear it, I think she'd say, 'Nice try, kid.' "
Bette on THE TODAY SHOW September 30, 2003
Bette’s tribute to Rosemary Clooney
The ‘Divine Miss
M’ re-visits songs of the past to celebrate
the music of one of the
greatest pop and jazz singers of the 20th century
Sept. 30 — For more than three decades, she’s given new meaning to the word “Divine” with her work in music, movies, and television. With her latest project, Bette Midler pays tribute to one of her idols. NBC’s Katie Couric reports.
BETTE MIDLER FIRST made a name for herself with salutes to the big band music of the ’40s.
And now the “Divine Miss M” is once again re-visiting songs of the past, this time celebrating the music of one of the greatest pop and jazz singers of the 20th century — the legendary Rosemary Clooney.
“I’d always loved her. I met her in the early ’80s in San Francisco and she was wonderful to me.
One of America’s most beloved entertainers, Clooney hit the big time in the early ’50s, and kept on singing until shortly before her death from lung cancer last year, at the age of 74.
Midler says, “Her voice was really a beautiful voice. It was honey and she had tremendous intonation. She also really swung.”
She adds, “She was very intelligent. She had a great sense of humor. And I think that all those things — it was a wonderful package.”
“Bette Midler sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook” — features 11 classic hits including, “Hey There.”
Bette Midler: “‘Hey there&ldots; you with the stars in your eyes.’ I love that one too.”
Katie Couric: “I love that song.”
Midler: “You’re going to make me cry! When I was a kid, I used to sing along with her when that song came on the radio, I love ‘Come On To My House’ because...”
Couric: “Well that is so quintessential Rosemary Clooney. Wasn’t that pretty much her theme song? Or&ldots;”
Midler: “Yes, it was. It was the first song she had a hit on. It was her first number one record. It was great to sing that.”
Couric: “Well, I love listening to the CD. And I’m just curious what your favorite song is.”
Midler: “I like all the duets. Linda Ronstadt is on the record.”
Couric: “I love that song. And I know every word.”
Midler: “I know.”
Couric: “That’s such a fun song and with Linda Ronstadt.”
Midler: “With Linda Ronstadt, who I always wanted to sing with.”
Couric: “And you did, ‘White Christmas.’”
Midler: “I did ‘White Christmas,’ and I was terrified. It’s one of the most important Christmas songs there is. And everyone has taken a crack at it, and it’s hard.”
Couric: “Why is that so hard to sing?”
Midler: “It’s hard because — it’s hard because she — when she sang it, she made it almost impossible for anyone to sing it any better than she did.”
Couric: “Really?”
Midler: “Yes. I really feel that.”
The project is also a reunion of sorts — for the first time since the ’70s, Bette’s back in the studio with the man who helped make her famous — her former piano player and musical director — Barry Manilow.
“He called me up out of the blue and he said, ‘I had a dream’ and I said, ‘pardon me?’ and he told me that he had this dream that I did a — that I sang these Rosemary Clooney songs. And that he was the producer. And when he said that, it just went like this everything just kind of fell into place. He’s a terrific producer, a great arranger, and a great friend.”
Couric: “When it came to picking songs that — was it hard because you must have had so many to choose from?
Midler: “I let Barry do that. He was very, very precise about what he wanted. And it’s the first time really in my career that I didn’t — fight. That I didn’t answer back. And I’m a big in answering back.”
Couric: “Can I write down the date and time here?” (Laughter)
Midler: “But this time, I was so tired of putting my two cents in. I said, ‘Barry, whatever you say.’ And he was right.”
Couric: “You guys have a very cute exchange before you sing, ‘Slow Boat to China.’”
Midler: “Yeah.”
Couric: “Which is very funny where you guys kind of play around — was that his idea? Your idea?”
Midler: “That was his idea. And I was really glad that we did it. And it’s very much like what we are because the original duet was Bing and Rosemary. And it’s very kind of flirtatious. But I said, ‘Barry, I don’t want to flirt with you. You know, I really miss you as a musical director. I think you’re so fantastic.’”
Couric: “But I don’t want to go to bed with you. And vice-versa!”
Midler: “I’m a married woman!” And he said, ‘well, we should make it about that, then.’ And we finally buried the hatchet. Because you know, I never actually said to him, you know, “I was so furious with you when you left me.’ He left me to have his own career.”
Couric: “And how can he be mad? I mean, look what he did when he left.”
Midler: “Well, he’s not mad. I’m mad.” (Laughter)
Couric: “Oh, sorry!”
Midler: “I was the one that was P.O.’d and I was mad for a long time. Because I thought, how could he leave me? And then I saw what he did, and I’m, well, well, he had a career!”
Couric: “The nerve!”
Midler: “The nerve! The crust! It was a big career. And he’s still going strong. And he’s had a great time. He’s had a great time, and he’s earned everything. He really has.”
Singing isn’t her only passion eight years ago, Bette started a group called the New York restoration project — created to help clean up parks, gardens and other open spaces throughout New York City. Since then, the group has raised millions of dollars to keep New York green.
Midler: “People deserve — and need — really, for their own mental health a place to recreate themselves. A place to be calm, and a place to sort of sit in nature. Because nature really is the thing that gives you — that recharges your battery.”
Bette says her tribute to Rosemary Clooney most definitely recharged her creative batteries.
Midler: “I think it’s a terrific record. I had the best time. I hope she’s looking down and having a big smile because it was an incredible life. It was an incredible career. But the main thing was that she was — she was a very successful human being. She was a big soul. And that counts for a lot.”
Midler's CD tribute to Rosie is a winner
Nick Clooney - Cincinnati Post - October 1, 2003
Many of you reading these words are friends and fans of my late sister Rosemary. I have good news for you.
The fiery singer and actress Bette Midler was also a friend and fan of Rosemary's. She, unlike the rest of us, was in a position to do something about that respect and affection.
As it happens, her one-time pianist and longtime collaborator Barry Manilow was Rosemary's fan and friend, too.
They have produced what I stubbornly continue to call an album which is a salute to Rosemary and her music. It is called "Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook." It is on Columbia Records, it is available as of today, and it is terrific. Run, don't walk, to get it.
Bette and Barry picked a wide range of Rosemary's songs. Obviously, they picked some that were their personal favorites, but they did not neglect Rosemary's biggest hits.
Bette's saucy treatment of "Hey There" would have had Rosemary's full approval. And the way she approached "This Ole House" would have made the writer of the song, Stuart Hamblen, very happy. As I have pointed out in this corner before, Mr. Hamblen never thought Rosemary gave it quite the country touch he envisioned. He did, however, cash all the royalty checks. Bette gives the folk tune its full country due.
Throughout this fine album, Bette did Rosemary and the rest of us the great favor of not trying to copy her. Frankly, no one can do that, anyway.
Instead, Bette is Bette, which is quite a remarkable thing to be. The arrangements are uniformly excellent. They evoke the originals without ever mimicking them.
Something surprised me. When I saw the list of songs on the label, I assumed Bette would be most comfortable with the tempo and novelty hits. What blindsided me was her excellent -- dare I say sweet? -- treatment of Rosemary's trademark "Tenderly."
How to handle the duet "Slow Boat to China" with Bing Crosby? Just call on the talents of producer Barry Manilow.
How to handle the duet "Sisters" with our sister Betty Clooney? Just call on the talents of Linda Ronstadt, the most recent star of the Rosemary Clooney Music Festival in Maysville.
Incidentally, personal thanks to my colleague at The Post, Wayne Perry, who got his hands on an advance copy of the album -- er, CD -- and sent it to me. I have nearly worn it out.
If one may be allowed a professional observation, Miss Midler seems to be in excellent voice for this session, as good as I have heard in years.
Bette and Barry have chosen a couple of selections from an early album of Academy Award-winning songs, including the opener, "You'll Never Know."
Miss Midler, always courageous, does not even shrink from pop music's third rail, "White Christmas."
All in all, it is a wonderfully satisfying exposition of the gifts of Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Linda Ronstadt and many top-notch musicians, all tipping the hat to the talent and life of Rosemary Clooney.
Perhaps only one mild disappointment. As some of you know, Mr. Manilow was a friend of the widow of the premier lyricist of his day, Johnny Mercer. Ginger Mercer drew Barry's attention to one of the poems Johnny left behind, a powerful evocation of life's twilight years. Barry put music to it worthy of the giants of the classical pop era and the result was a poignant masterpiece, "When October Goes."
Barry took the song to Rosemary and I believe it one of the three best recordings of her later period. It would have been a great salute to that remarkable extension of her career into her mature years. But that is a wish, not a criticism.
Go out and buy it. That's what I'm going to do, to send to friends. Then sit down and listen with someone you love. That's what I am doing right now.
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