Tori Amos Hearts Bette Midler

Undented.com
Amos’ Idols: Bette Midler, Bette Davis
By MAGGIE BURBANK
Dec. 18, 2009

If given the choice, Tori says her ideal sing-along buddy would be Bette Midler, who starred in “The Rose” in 1979 and sang the legendary song of the same name.

“How great to have a sing-along with her?” Amos asked. “She always was to me, just a performer, you just wanted to go wherever she was going. And, that’s the thing about great entertainers.”

In her teens, Amos became obsessed with another famous Bette – Bette Davis. Amos tried out acting in high school, and years later edged out an unknown Sarah Jessica Parker in a Kellogg’s Just Right cereal commercial.

But it was her music career that took off, and seven years later her solo debut “Little Earthquakes” was released to critical acclaim and success. By the time she released “Under the Pink” in 1994 she had become a force in the music world.

“There’s this jungle called ”˜Women in Music,’ and the women that come before you they have their machetes and they clear a path,” says Amos. “Joni Mitchell cleared a lot of brush away with her machete in the ’60s to make room for so many who have come after her.”

The limited second disc to “Under the Pink” called “More Pink” included a cover of Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” a song Amos says she wishes she had written herself.

“Joni Mitchell influenced bands of that time. It wasn’t as if she had to be as loud as the band she inspired. They understood. It was about how powerful her content was.”

As the metaphorical machete changes hands over the years, at her core, Tori Amos will remain the girl with her “huge, black, gorgeous creature.”