Boodles BonBon
BonBon Video Short – Bette Midler – Come Up And See Me Sometime
By Boodles BonBon
June 20, 2026
The Key Facts
Bette performed “Come Up and See Me Sometime” on:
The David Frost Show — April 7, 1970
The Tonight Show — August 12, 1970 (paired with “Am I Blue”)
These are the only documented performances in the verified concert/TV chronology.
Why this song mattered in her early act
While the sources don’t give direct commentary, we can infer from the context of her 1970 repertoire:
It fit her Mae West–inspired bawdy persona.
“Come Up and See Me Sometime” is the iconic Mae West line, and Bette was already leaning into camp, vaudeville, and sexual innuendo — the DNA of her early Divine Miss M persona.
It aligned with her pre-Atlantic Records nightclub material.
In 1970 she was still performing at the Continental Baths and on TV variety shows, mixing:
Tin Pan Alley
Torch songs
Burlesque humor
Mae West–style vamping
This song fits squarely into that aesthetic.
It predates her signature Sophie Tucker joke routines, but you can see the seeds of that style — the wink, the tease, the “I know exactly what I’m doing” delivery.
Fun Trivia & Context
This was before Barry Manilow became her music director (he joined her in 1971).
So these performances reflect her raw, pre-Divine Miss M stagecraft.
Her 1970 TV spots were crucial in getting her noticed by the New York entertainment world — these appearances helped build the momentum that led to her Atlantic Records signing.
She often paired the song with blues numbers (“Am I Blue,” “C.C. Rider,” “Remember My Forgotten Man”), creating a mini–Mae West meets saloon singer vibe on TV.
The Tonight Show performance (Aug 12, 1970) is one of the earliest surviving records of her leaning fully into camp on national television.
