''Bette'' is a self-titled studio album by American singer

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden Gl ...

. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on October 10, 2000 in the United States to coincide with the premiere of her her self-titled CBS sitcom. Midler covered songs on this album written by artists like

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...

and Kirsty MacColl, mixed with cover versions of classic soul and R&B songs from the 1970s, including " Shining Star", " Love T.K.O." and "

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". Upon release, the album only reached number 69 on US ''Billboard'' 200, and Warner Bros. subsequently dropped Midler from its roster in 2001 because of declining record sales. A maxi-single with several remixes of " In These Shoes" was released to promote the album. It reached number eight on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Dance Music/Club Play Singles and number 14 on the

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charts.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

editor William Ruhlmann rated the album four out of five stars and called ''Bette'' "an excellent album to tie in with the premiere of her network television show. Was seems to conceive of Midler as a kind of pre-rock, neo-

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performer, frequently putting her into mid-tempo pop arrangements of old R&B ballads ..Fans of the bawdy Bette and the bathetic Bette may be disappointed, but the rest of her followers will enjoy the balance and consistency of this collection." Richard Abowitz, writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'', noted that ''Bette'' "finds Midler backed by her touring band, working ballads and vamps with a distinctive style perfected over decades of performing. Midler's secret weapon has always been her ability to pick material, and ''Bette'' is no exception."

Chart performance

''Bette'' debuted and peaked at number 69 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. This marked Midler's lowest-charting album by then, resulting into Warner Bros. subsequently dropping her from its roster in 2001 because of declining record sales. By October 2003, the album had sold 226,000 copies in the United States, according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

Track listing

Personnel

* Produced by Don Was * Recorded and mixed by Ed Cherney * "Bless You Child" produced by Don Was and Rick Nowels * "Nobody Else but You" (from the Columbia TriStar Television series ''Bette'') produced by Marc Shaiman and Don Was Band * Drums – Sonny Emory * Bass – Reggie Hamilton * Piano, Fender Rhodes, B3 –

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* Keyboards, piano – Larry Cohn * Guitar – Mike Miller * Guitar – Dwight Sills * Percussion –

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Additional musicians: * Drums –

James Gadson James Gadson ( James Edward Gadson; born June 17, 1939) is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B. He is also a singer and ...

* Bass – Abraham Laboriel * Guitar – Mark Goldenberg,

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, Tim Pierce,

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* Keyboards – Jamie Muhoberac, Rick Nowels, Greg Kurstin, Marc Shaiman * Trumpet – Mark Isham, Darrell Leonard, Jerry Hey, Gary Grant * Tenor saxophone – Plas Johnson, Joe Sublett, Dan Higgins, Jerry Vivino * Baritone saxophone – Gary Herbig * Trombone – Eric M. Jorgensen * "Bless You Child" programming – Charles Judge, Wayne Rodrigues * Background singers – Hilard "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, Cynthia Bass, Harry Bowens, Carlos Cuevas, Donna De Lory, Cleto Escobedo II,

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

, Mirley Espinoza, Nikki Harris, Don McCrary, Howard McCrary, Leon McCrary, Arnold McCuller, Esther Nicholson, Martin Padilla, Melanie Taylor, Maria Vidal * "Nobody Else but You" arranged by Marc Shaiman and Jimmy Vivino * Project coordinator and contractor – Shari Sutcliffe * Assistant to Don Was: Jane Oppenhemier * Recorded at

Cello Studios United Western Recorders was a two-building recording studio complex in Hollywood that was one of the most successful independent recording studios of the 1960s. The complex merged neighboring studios United Recording Corp. on 6050 Sunset Boule ...

in Hollywood, CA;

Chung King Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...

in New York, NY;

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

in Hollywood, CA and Sony Music Studios in New York, NY * Mixed at Record Plant in Hollywood, CA * "Nobody Else but You" mixed at Sony Music Studios in New York, NY * Assistant engineers – Alan Sanderson, Elliott Blakey, Dave Ashton, Alex Olsson, Katie Teasdale, Tulio Torrinello Jr. and Andy Manganello * Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, CA * Mark Isham appears countesy of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

* Art direction and design – Linda Cobb * Photography – Greg Gorman (cover) and Norman Jean Roy * Hair – Robert Ramos * Make-up – Eugenia Weston * Stylists – Michael Eisenhower, Bob Sparkman

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2000 albums Albums produced by Don Was Albums produced by Rick Nowels Bette Midler albums Warner Records albums