Bette Midler: One Woman Girl Group. The Divine Miss M’s New Album, “It’s The Girls,” Celebrates A Style

New York Daily News
Bette Midler: One Woman Girl Group. The Divine Miss M’s New Album, “It’s The Girls,” Celebrates A Style
A long time lover of girl groups offers her salute
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Sunday, November 2, 2014, 3:50 PM A A A
By Jim Farber

There are plenty of things singer-actress-comic Bette Midler can do. But her new album reveals one thing she can’t.

When she was selecting songs for her disc – a tribute to girl groups – Midler considered a Destiny’s Child track. Until the 68-year-old realized she couldn’t pull it off.

“I tried ”˜Bills, Bills, Bills,’ but the arrangement was too crazy for me,” the singer told The News on the eve of the release of her ladies-first album, “It’s the Girls.”

“I said, ”˜This is nuts. I can’t do it.’ But the song itself is really kind of hilarious and I love the way Beyoncé sings really low on it. It’s amusing and sour and snarky. I’m a fan.”

Midler, a long time curator of female harmony singers, also counts herself a fan of one of the hottest young hit-makers, Meghan Trainor. Which makes sense considering the 20-year -old has revived the classic, finger-snapping, girl group style on her current No. 1 hit , “All About That Bass.”

“I love it!” Midler said of the song. “I had to stop listening to her because I could not fall asleep. It has earworms in it that I couldn’t get out of my heard.”

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Trainor’s smash, and it s new follow up, “Lips Are Moving,” have eased a new generation into the sound Midler salutes on her latest release, out Tuesday.

The 12-song set finds Midler stressing covers from the golden age of girl groups – the ’60s – with zippy takes on songs by the Chiffons (“One Fine Day”), the Ronettes (“Be My Baby” and the Shirelles (“Baby It’s You”).

The youngest song on the record, TLC’s “Waterfalls,” is 20 years old. Mostly, Midler dipped further back – to the girl groups that preceded the shoop-shoop ’60s. There are runs at songs by the Andrews Sisters (“Bei Mir Bist Du Schön“) and the Boswell Sisters (“It’s the Girl”) from the ’30s.

Of course, dedicated Midler fans will remember that she covered the Andrews Sisters’ classic “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” on her very first album, “The Divine Miss M,” back in 1972. Also on her debut, Midler inhabited the ’60s girl-group classics “Chapel of Love” and “Leader of the Pack.”

Girl groups have excited the star since her childhood in Hawaii in the ’50s.

“The very first records I ever played until it wore out was by the Boswell Sisters,” she says. “ ”˜River Stay Away From My Door’ and ”˜It’s the Girls.’ I was so enchanted.”

Midler wanted to cover the Boswells today because “they’re entirely forgotten. But in their day they were as big as Bing Crosby.”

The harmonies of these acts are what first drew Midler. She began to explore those dynamics herself in her formative years. “I was in a little folk group when I was a kid and it was thrilling,” she says. “It’s great to hear music coming at you from both sides.”

The girl groups of the ’60s, such as the Exciters and the Supremes, became the soundtrack of Midler’s youth.

“They’re songs from a happy time, when you’re just setting off on your path,” she says.

Of course, many of the women of the genre had been exploited by managers and producers. “The backstories of these girls are ridiculous,” she says. “The girls who worked for people like Phil Spector really suffered.”

There were internal struggles as well. “In a creative business people fall out,” she says. “People start jockeying for position and they get disenchanted.”

Midler’s album has its own sad side. Many of the tracks stick close to the original, exuberant arrangements, but some go way down tempo to explore darker feelings. She does a total tear-down on Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Come and Get These Memories.”

“You make it sound like I Renee Zellweg ered them,” she says with a laugh.

The serious result gets at the song’s teary core. “The lyrics of the song are sad,” she says. “And, you know me, I love those stark, sad songs.”

The same tone arrises in TLC’s AIDS-warning song “Waterfalls,” which Midler makes sadder still. “It’s a ghetto song about mother s struggling,” she says. “I always loved that song and those girls.”

Even so, the album often tips toward joy. To Midler, that’s what makes the style endure.

“Most people love human voices singing together,” she says. “It’s great fun to watch, and, if you’re a singer, it’s a great way to spend a lifetime.”

Bette Midler: A Timeline

The divine Miss M. has been making music, well, since even before the release of her first record, “The Divine Miss M.” Here are some career highlights:

1972: Releases the Barry Manilow-produced record “The Divine Miss M,” which goes platinum. It won the Grammy for Best New Artist.

1973: Releases “Bette Midler,” which makes it to No. 6 on the U.S. album charts.

1977: Wins an Emmy for a special, “Ol’ Red Hair Is Back.”

1979: Stars in and does the soundtrack for the movie “The Rose,” which was based loosely on Janis Joplin.

1980: Writes her memoir, “Bette Midler: A View From a Broad.”

1985: Sings on the No. 1 hit “We Are the World” (like everyone else in the world).

1986: Nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in “Down and Out in Beverly Hills”; stars in “Ruthless People.”

1988: Midler’s soundtrack for “Beaches” reaches No. 2 on the U.S. chart, thanks to the No. 1, Grammy- winning single “Wind Beneath My Wings.”

1990: “Some People’s Lives,” with the single “From a Distance,” hits six on the U.S. album charts.

1995: Found s New York Restoration Project to help city parks.

1997: Another Emmy for “Diva Las Vegas.”

2000: Creates a sitcom, “Bette,” based on herself. It lasts less than a year, but earns her a Golden Globe nomination.

2003- 2005: Does the worldwide “Kiss My Brass” tour.

2 013: Returns to Broadway for the first time in 40 years in “I’ll Eat You Last,” about Hollywood superagent Sue Mengers.