The Wall Street Journal
Speakeasy
Oct 21, 2014 MUSIC
By ERIC R. DANTON
Bette Midler’s past few albums have focused on songs made famous by Peggy Lee and Rosemary Clooney, along with a collection of holiday favorites. She takes a different tack on the classics on her upcoming release, covering songs by iconic girl groups on “It’s the Girls!” Speakeasy today premieres one of them, Midler’s version of the Chiffons’ hit “One Fine Day.”
Midler stays faithful to the original, written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, letting her formidable voice ring out over candy-coated backing vocals and a classic early ’60s girl-group arrangement loaded with piano, strummed acoustic guitar and sharp drums.
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“Kids always used to say they were going to run away and join the circus. I always wanted to run away to join a girl group,” Midler says by email. “”˜One Fine Day’ is just one of those songs, for me, that immediately brings up the same happy feelings as when I first heard it.”
Midler’s latest is the 14th studio album in a career that began in the theater and has encompassed roles on Broadway in shows including “Fiddler on the Roof,” singing in a New York City bathhouse and movie roles, along with three Grammys, four Golden Globes, two Oscar nominations and more than 30 million albums sold. She had a No. 1 hit in 1989 with “Wind Beneath My Wings,” which appeared on the “Beaches” soundtrack and won a Grammy for record of the year in 1990.
“It’s the Girls!” is due on Warner Bros. Records on Nov. 4. What do you think of Midler’s version of “One Fine Day?” Leave your thoughts in the comments.
