What Would Be Your Greatest Hits Mix For A Friend?

Mister D:

Stephen posed a good question in the comments section. I’m currently thinking about my mix. I really like Stephen’s but I always add more rock….his is well balaced though and interesting. Anyway, while I shut my hole….look at Stephen’s list. What would yours look like for a friend? And there better be some participation on this!:

Stephen

I made a friend a mix CD of Bette songs (she asked me to as all she knew were the standards i.e. Wind) so I picked a bunch I thought were Bette’s greatest hits.

I wanted to see what everyone thought of my choices:

1) Up! Up! Up!
2) Here Comes the Flood
3) Whose Side Are You On?
4) Drinking Again
5) In The Mood
6) You Can’t Always Get What You Want / I Shall Be Released
7) Daytime Hustler
8) Am I Blue
9) One For My Baby (and One More For The Road)
10) Stuff Like That There
11) For All We Know
12) Long John Blues
13) Those Wonderful Sophie Tucker Jokes
14) My Eye On You
15) Some People’s Lives
16) Keep On Rockin’
17) Martha
18) Let Me Just Follow Behind
19) Buckets of Rain (w/ Bob Dylan)
20) Strike It While It’s Hot (w/ Dan Hicks)

Let him know the answer and then post your mix for a non-BetteHead who only knows her radio stuff. What mix would make them a fan????

Share A little Divinity

22 thoughts on “What Would Be Your Greatest Hits Mix For A Friend?

  1. Lots of variety, and I think that’s the key…and Bette’s music has that beautiful quality so good job Stephen. Here’s what my mix would look like:
    1)From A Distance
    2)Beast of Burden
    3)Midnight in Memphis
    4)Under the Boardwalk
    5)WBMW
    6)Nobody Else But You
    7)Bed of Roses
    8)The Rose
    9)Stuff Like That There
    10)In the Mood
    11)Stay with Me
    12)You Don’t Own Me(First Wives Club)
    13)Bless You Child
    14)Hello in There
    15)Sold My Soul to Rock ‘N Roll

    OMG that was so much fun! Lol

  2. First off, does he have a recording of “Here Comes The Flood?” I want it! I love her rendition of that on Art Or Bust. Also, what’s Martha?? I’ve never heard that one before.

    I actually have a “Bette Midler Starter Kit” that I’ve burned for a TON of my friends. I try to get at least 1 track from every album. I recently burned a “Bette Ballads” CD for my friend who was pregnant. Here’s the tracklist of that one:

    1) Baby Mine
    2) Blueberry Pie (It’s not a ballad, but I thought it was cute for a pregnant girl)
    3) Do You Want To Dance?
    4) Favorite Waste Of Time (I know, it’s not exactly a ballad either. Oops!)
    5) For All We Know (one of my all time favorites!)
    6) From A Distance
    7) Hello In There
    8) I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
    9) In My Life
    10) Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
    11) My Mother’s Eyes
    12) My One True Friend
    13) Rain
    14) Shiver Me Timbers
    15) Skylark
    16) The Folks Who Live On The Hill
    17) The Gift Of Love
    18) The Perfect Kiss
    19) The Rose
    20) Tragedy (such a GORGEOUS song!)
    21) Wind Beneath My Wings
    22) Yellow Beach Umbrella (another one of my all time favorites)

  3. Erik,

    “Martha” is the Tom Waits song Bette sang on SNL in 1979. Check it out in BootTube Betty Videos – a beautiful song and beautiful, poignant performance (Bette said during her performance she was thinking of her mother who had recently passed away). Too bad she never recorded it, though.

  4. Honestly, whether we Bette fans feel that they’re overplayed or not, you cannot have a collection of Bette’s greatest hits without Wind Beneath My Wings, The Rose, and From a Distance.

    And about “Here Comes the Flood,” it should definitely include the medley from Art or Bust of Favorite Waste of Time/Broken Bicycles/Everyone’s Gone to the Moon/Here Comes the Flood… very haunting, but I love it. More songs from No Frills! A very under rated album.

  5. O.K., It’s so difficult to do a mix, cause there are so many beatiful songs!! that chosing 20 it’s not easy!!!. But here you are:

    1.- From a Distance
    2.- Wind Beneath my Wings
    3.- Friends
    4.- The Rose
    5.- Moses
    6.- No jestering
    7.- Mambo Italiano
    8.- Miss Otis Regrets
    9.- Remenber my forgotten man
    10.- Stuff like that there
    11.- Hello in there
    12.- I’m a Woman
    13.- Strike it while it’s hot
    14.- Mary
    15.- Lullaby in blue
    16.- One monkey don’t stop no show
    17.- When a man loves a woman
    18.- What are you doing New Year’s Eve
    19.- Just my imagination (running away with me)
    20.- P.S. I Love You.

  6. Brandon, you’re so right. Even if Wind Beneath My Wings, The Rose and From a Distance are overplayed, you can’t put a collection together without these ones. But I’d prefer to put up some live versions of those songs then…

    Here’s mine

    1. My Knight In Black Leather
    2. To Deserve You (album version)
    3. The Rose live (from Art or Bust)
    4. Cradle Days
    5. Fire Down Below
    6. I’m a Woman
    7. I shall be released
    8. You don’t know me
    9. Beast Of Burden Live (from the tonight show)
    10.Wind Beneath My Wings live (from Yankee Stadium)
    11.Hello In There
    12.In The Mood
    13.Mary
    14.Stay with me (from the rose)
    15.Love TKO
    16.I’ve still got my health
    17.From a Distance (xmas version)
    18.Blueberry Pie
    19.My Mother’s Eyes
    20.Love Me With A Feeling
    21.My Eye On You

    I could go on like forever with this list.

  7. Here’s my list – I left out all the songs from Experience The Divine to create a kind of Greatest Hits Vol.2 🙂 As Jamie said, it’s the variety that makes Bette such an extraordinary singer.

    1.) Delta Dawn
    2.) Uptown/Da doo run run
    3.) Skylark
    4.) Empty Bed Blues
    5.) My Knight in Black Leather
    6.) Love Me With a Feeling
    7.) Midnight in Memphis
    8.) Heart over Head
    9.) Otto Titsling
    10.) I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
    11.) Come On-A My House
    12.) He Was to Good to Me/Since You Stayed Here
    13.) Stuff Like That There
    14.) Bed of Roses
    15.) Fever
    16.) I’m Beautiful
    17.) Lullabye in Blue
    18.) Up! Up! Up!
    19.) Drinking Again
    20.) In The Mood
    21.) Is That All There Is
    22.) This Ole House
    23.) Soda and a Souvenir
    24.) Higher and Higher
    25.) Shining Star

    Okay, the list turned out to be pretty long… It might not fit on one CD – whoops!

  8. I’ve always tried to incorporate one song from each album. I like to mix the highs & lows so the whole mix is a rollercoaster. I also like to limit it to about 18 songs.

    1. In These Shoes
    2. Miss Otis Regrets
    3. Delta Dawn
    4. Superstar
    5. Beast of Burden
    6. I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today
    7. When a Man Loves a Woman
    8. Higher & Higher
    9. On a Slow Boat to China
    10. The Last Time
    11. Perfect Strangers
    12. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
    13. Cradle Days
    14. Hello In There
    15. To Deserve You (Arif Mardin’s Mix)
    16. My Knight in Black Leather
    17. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
    18. Friends

  9. Oy this is hard !!! She is such an amazing artist i cannot stop at only one cd, so my Divine Hits will have 2 cd’s, for the ones who can’t get enough

    CD 1

    1.- Bang You’re Dead
    2.- Superstar
    3.- Storybook Children
    4.- All Of A Sudden
    5.- Do You Want To Dance
    6.- Under the Boardwalk
    7.- Something Your Heart Has Been Telling Me
    8.- Is It Love
    9.- Color of Roses
    10.- Nobody Else But You
    11.- Blueberry Pie
    12.- Sophie Tucker ( from Diva Las Vegas )
    13.- The Rose
    14.- Tenderly
    15.- Bottomless
    16.- You Do Something To Me
    17.- My Mother’s Eyes
    18.- Every Road Leads Back To You

    Cd 2

    1.- Fever
    2.- Wind Beneath My Wings
    3.- Midnight In Memphis
    4.- From A Distance
    5.- Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
    6.- Hello In There ( from The Showgirl Must Go On )
    7.- To Deserve You
    8.- You’re Moving Out Today
    9.- Up! Up! Up!
    10.- Big Noise ( from Divine Madness )
    11.- Married Man
    12.- Somewhere Along the Way
    13.- Chapel Of Love
    14.- Uptown – Dont Say Nothing Bad ( About My Baby ) – Da Doo Run Run
    15.- In These Shoes ( single mix )
    16.- Somewhere in My Memory

  10. Here is my list of songs that I would choose:

    1) Stay With Me (Art or Bust)
    2) Shiver Me Timbers (Divine Madness)
    3) Here Comes The Flood (Art or Bust)
    4) Skylark (album version)
    5) Hello In There (Ol’Red Hair)
    6) I Think It’s Going To Rain Today (album version)
    7) Millworker (album version)
    8) Delta Dawn (album version)
    9) Cradle Days (album version)
    10) When a Man Loves a Woman (album version)
    11) The Rose (Divine Madness)
    12) You Can’t Always Get What You Want/I Shall Be Released (Divine Madness)
    13) Tragedy (album version)
    14) Birds (album version)
    15) All I Need To Know (album version)
    16) Superstar (album version)
    17) Under The Boardwalk (album version)
    18) Fire Down Below (Divine Madness)
    19) This Ole House (album version)
    20) Higher and Higher (album version)

  11. This was fun….thanks Stephen!

    Okay….this is my list. I WILL NOT include anything from Experience The Divine nor Jackpot…my friends know these already by heart. To turn people on to Bette I have to think of my audience of friends….singer/songwriters and rockers. The latter just have no clue about Bette’s early career. Usually I show Art ot Bust and/or Divine Madness…then I have them. Never made a mix before, but this one’s for my friends.

    #1

    1. Keep On Rockin’
    2. Love Me With A Feeling
    3. Martha
    4. Mary
    5. Pink Cadillac
    6. Mother’s Eyes
    7. Rainbow Sleeve
    8. Whose Side Are You On?
    9. Sold My Soul To Rock And Roll
    10. Delta Dawn (Live)
    11. Am I Blue
    12. Uptown Medley
    13. Higher and Higher
    14. Let Me Just Follow Behind
    15. Birds
    16. Up The Ladder To The Roof
    17. Hurry On Down
    18. Make Yourself Comfortable
    19. Big Noise
    20. Cradle Days

    #2

    1. Millworker
    2. I Shall Be Released (Divine Madness)
    3. Pretty Legs (Art or Bust)
    4. The Last Time
    5. Some People’s Lives
    6. For All We Know
    7. Stuff Like That There
    8. One Monkey
    9. Lullabye In Blue
    10. That’s How Heartaches Are Made
    11. In These Shows
    12. Moses
    13. This Ole House
    14. Sisters
    15. My Eye On You
    16. Favorite Waste Of Time
    17. Everyone’s Gone To The Moon
    18. Here Comes The Flood
    19. Stay With Me
    20. Is That All There Is?

    The answer to that last question is NO…..they’ll want more. I might rearrange the order…not sure.

    PS: No Delores…she’s too visual
    PS: Jokes I see as visual and too repetitive once you hear the punchline…so no Soph jokes

    Art or Bust and No Frills….underrated

    Love, Mister D

  12. Wow! I loved looking at everyone’s list! I should have included “Stay With Me” on my list (I still can’t believe it wasn’t on Experience or the new Jackpot CD). Also, after reviewing my list and seeing everyone else’s, I noticed I didn’t include anything from Bette of Roses, Bathhouse Betty, the two songbooks or Cool Yule.

    If I had more room on my list I would have included the following:

    1) Stay With Me
    2) Night and Day
    3) Bottomless
    4) The Last Time
    5) Lullabye in Blue
    6) One Monkey
    7) Laughing Matters
    8) This Ole House
    9) Hey There
    10) Tenderly
    11) Mambo Italiano
    12) Is that all there is?
    13) The Folks who live on the Hill
    15) O Come, O Come Emmanuel

  13. This is a 2 CD set I made as my own “The Very Best of Bette Midler”.

    CD 1
    I’m Beautiful
    Only In Miami
    Just My Imagination
    Do You Wanna Dance?
    Love TKO
    Bed of Roses
    I Never Talk To Strangers
    Birds
    Tenderly
    Somewhere Along The Way (f/ Tommy Flanagan)
    Chapel of Love
    Is That All There Is?
    He Was Too Good To Me / Since You Stayed Here
    This Ole House
    On A Slow Boat To China
    Some People’s Lives
    It’s Too Late
    Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
    I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
    Shiver Me Timbers

    CD 2
    From A Distance
    Lullaby In Blue
    Millworker
    My Mother’s Eyes
    Martha
    To Comfort You
    Ukulele Lady
    Hello In There
    Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
    You Can’t Always Get What You Want / I Shall Be Released
    Wind Beneath My Wings
    One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
    Sweet And Low
    Manhattan
    September
    In My Life
    Shining Star
    Midnight In Memphis
    The Rose
    Friends

  14. Everybody is adding songs, and I want to do it too, cause there are so many I left in the way…… I would add for the second part of the mix:

    1.-This Ole House
    2.-Stay with Me
    3.-Delta Dawn
    4.-Tenderly (album version)
    5.- Millworker
    6.-In the cool, cool, cool of the evening
    7.-Bottomless
    8.-Mele Kalikimaka
    9.-Beast of burden
    10.-No Jinx
    11.- One more cheer
    12.- Somewhere along the way
    13.- Martha (SNL)
    14.- Pretty legs
    15.- I’ve still got my health
    16.- Skylark (Live on Jhonny Carson)
    17.- Here’s that rainy day (duet)
    18.- In these shoes (Live Letterman)
    19.- Night and Day
    20.- Come rain or come shine.

    So much fun chosing the songs!!! I could do even a third one!!!, Ok, Ok, I won’t!!. I like seing other’s people’s choices, such a good idea, thank you!!!.

    Love,

    Eze.

  15. 1.I Know This Town
    2.My Eye On You
    3.Skylark
    4.Do You Wanna Dance
    5.Say Goodbye To Hollywood
    6.Big Noise From Winnetka
    7.Tenderly
    8.All right Ok, You Win
    9.The Rose
    10.Hello In There
    11.Moonlight Dancing
    12.Tragedy
    13.Paradise
    14.Come Rain Or Shine
    15. Is It Love
    16.Martha
    17. Pink Cadilac
    18. New York New York
    19.I Did It My Way
    20.Everybody’s Gone To The Moon

    I loved Bette’s Las Vegas Show, can’t wait to see it again. I was be fantastic if Bette would release new material, whether recorded previously or not. Her new movie was tender and full of angst. Her performance was amazing. It reminded me a little of her performance in Stella.

  16. Here goes my list.

    – Do you wanna dance?
    – For all we know
    – I sold my heart to the junkman
    – Delta dawn
    – Cradle days
    – I never talk to strangers
    – Am I blue?
    – I Shall be released
    – Hello in there
    – Martha
    – God give me strength
    – Higher and Higher
    – One Monkey don`t stop no show
    – Storybook Children
    – I know you by heart
    – Shining Star
    – To deserve you
    – What are you doing New Year`s Eve?
    – Is that all there is?
    – Color of Roses
    – Empty Bed Blues
    – Daytime hustler
    – To confort you
    – Heaven
    – That`s how love moves
    – He was too good for me/Since you`ve stayed here
    – Drinking again
    – One for my baby and one more for the road
    – Here comes the Flood
    – The Rose
    – You can`t always get what you want/ I Shall be Released
    – Stay with me (from Diva Las Vegas)

  17. I LOVE THIS THREAD!!!
    I am a slacker tho….I WANT to do a list , but I swear my fingers could not keep up with my brain! I promise I will try Mr.D! I will write them down first then type them up. I have to figure it out first….as Wendy would say, ” OH MY BETTE!” what to choose, what to choose??!!??!!
    more to come later!!
    oh, and Brandon….I sooo agree. besides WBMW and the Rose, if I could only listen to one Bette song it would be that medley. I think it is one of her best vocal performances ever!! 😀 ( ok, can you guess what my number one will be on my list 😉 )
    much luv
    ANDY

  18. I’M PUTTING THIS UP FOR LUCY!:

    These are the songs that I would put on a compilation CD for a friend (there not in order of preference).

    Is It Love
    Higher & Higher
    To Comfort you
    In the Mood
    Stuff Like That There
    Beast Of Burden Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
    Roses Turn
    Your Moving Out Today
    Let Me Just Follow Behind
    Otto Titsling
    It’s Too Late
    Red
    I’m Beautiful
    Tragedy
    Daytime Hustler
    Billy-A-Dick
    One Monkey Dont Stop no Show
    Do Ya Wanna Dance
    Bed Of Roses
    Keep On Rockn’
    Stay With Me

  19. Mine..

    1. Stay With Me (Diva Las Vegas)
    2. From a Distance W/ Donna Summer
    3. Do you Wanna Dance?
    4. WBMW
    5. The Rose
    6. My Mother’s Eyes
    7. Lullaby in Blue
    8. Friends (each and every version, mix or arrangement)
    9. Delta Dawn
    10. To Deserve You
    11. To Comfort You
    12. September

    XOXOXO

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.