GayWired.com – 10.23.03
Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
By Pete Zorn
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.
