Bette Midler on how she used to hate singing: “It used to be torture. I am completely different. I like to sing now. I didn’t always used to. It used to be really, really hard. Absolute torture sometimes. I love everything about it now,” she says. “I enjoy learning the songs, and shaping them into a version, learning the harmonies. “Gypsy” was her emotional rescue. I kind of stretched my voice a little bit. I worked very hard, and it really opened a lot of doors in my singing voice that I hadn’t had before. Once I got hold of that process, that newer, stronger voice, it really excited me,” she says. Actually, that’s the reason I went on the road. I got this new technique and I was really anxious to see if it made a difference with the old music.” (1993, Hartford Courant) – Bette Midler
