The Divine Miss M

The Divine Miss M is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Bette Midler, released in 1972 on the Atlantic Records label. The title of the album refers to Midler's famous stage persona. The album was co-produced by Barry Manilow, and includes several songs that since have become repertoire standards, such as "Do You Want to Dance?", "Chapel of Love", "Hello In There", "Friends" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". It was released on CD for the first time in 1990. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1995. A remastered deluxe edition was released in October 2016.

The Divine Miss M
Studio album by Bette Midler
Released	November 7, 1972
Recorded	1971/1972
Studio	Atlantic Recording Studios (New York, New York)
Genre	Pop, pop rock, traditional pop
Length	41:03
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Ahmet Ertegün, Barry Manilow, Joel Dorn, Geoffrey Haslam
Bette Midler chronology
The Divine Miss M (1972) Bette Midler (1973)
Singles from The Divine Miss M
"Do You Want to Dance?" "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" "Friends"

The album was well received by public and critics and was certified Platinum in both United States and Canada.

Background, production and release

Midler began singing in the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in the Ansonia Hotel, in the summer of 1970.[1] During this time, she became close to her piano accompanist, Barry Manilow, who co-produce the album.[2] It was during her time at the Continental Baths that she built up a core following and many of the album's songs were sung by her in her live performances.

The song "Bugle Boy" became a successful rock cover of the classic swing tune originally introduced and popularized in 1941 by the Andrews Sisters, to whom Midler has repeatedly referred as her idols and inspiration, as far back as her first appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Midler told Carson in an interview that she always wanted to move like the sisters, and Patty Andrews remembered: "When I first heard the introduction on the radio, I thought it was our old record. When Bette opened at the Amphitheater in Los Angeles, Maxene and I went backstage to see her. Her first words were, 'What else did you record?'"[3] During another Midler concert, Maxene went on stage and presented her with an honorary bugle. Bette recorded other Andrews Sisters hits, including "In the Mood" and "Lullaby of Broadway".[3] Several tracks were recorded for The Divine Miss M that didn't make the final cut, like: "For Free," "He Was To Good To Me," "Empty Bed Blues," "My Freedom And I," "I Shall Be Released," "Teenager In Love," as well as "Old Cape Cod," and "Marijuana," which were later released on Bette's 3rd album, "Songs For The New Depression."[4] Early promotional DJ copies of the album featured “Hello in There” switched with “Daytime Hustler” but that was altered due to there being three emotional ballads all in the same side.[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Christgau's Record Guide	A–[6]
Q	[7]

The album received acclaim by music critics. Mark Deming from AllMusic website wrote that "while Midler was and is best known for her outgoing stage persona, numbers like "Am I Blue" and "Do You Want to Dance?" demonstrate how much emotional heat she can bring to a torch song, and her interpretations of "Delta Dawn" and "Hello in There" are powerful, moving stuff, portraying their characters with a palpable compassion and nuance" he also said that the album "is her best album" because it "captured the many facets of her musical personality beautifully and showed her quirks were a rich part of what made her music so powerful."[5] Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A– and pointed out that the album and the tracks selected are "a production that suggests its nutty quality without distracting from her voice, a rich instrument of surprising precision, simultaneously delicate and vulgar."[6]

Commercial performance

The Divine Miss M reached the Top Ten on Billboard's album chart and was later awarded a Platinum Disc by the RIAA,[8] It featured three hit singles—"Do You Wanna Dance?", "Friends", and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"—the third of which became Midler's first No. 1 Adult Contemporary hit.[9] In 1973, the album won Midler a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.[10] "Do You Want to Dance?", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and "Friends" were all Top 40 hit singles from the album, with "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" climbing to #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.[9]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do You Want to Dance"	Bobby Freeman	2:44
2.	"Chapel of Love"	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector	2:55
3.	"Superstar"	Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell	5:11
4.	"Daytime Hustler"	Jeff Kent	3:34
5.	"Am I Blue"	Harry Akst, Grant Clarke	5:25

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Friends"	Mark Klingman, Buzzy Linhart	2:50
7.	"Hello in There"	John Prine	4:17
8.	"Leader of the Pack"	George Morton, Barry, Greenwich	3:30
9.	"Delta Dawn"	Larry Collins, Alex Harvey	5:18
10.	"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"	Don Raye, Hughie Prince	2:25
11.	"Friends"	Klingman, Linhart	2:54

2016 deluxe edition disc 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Chapel of Love" (Single Mix)	Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector	2:44
2.	"Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" (Single Version)	Don Raye, Hughie Prince	2:18
3.	"Do You Want to Dance?" (Single Mix)	Bobby Freeman	2:55
4.	"Friends" (Single Mix)	Mark Klingman, Buzzy Linhart	2:59
5.	"Old Cape Cod" (Earliest Recording & Mix)	Claire Rothrock, Milton Yakus, Allan Jeffrey	2:52
6.	"Marahuana" (Earliest Recording & Mix)	Arthur Johnston, Sam Coslow	2:32
7.	"Superstar" (Alternate Recording)	Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell	5:08
8.	"Saturday Night" (Demo)	Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey	3:09
9.	"Mr. Freedom & I" (Demo)	Mark Klingman	3:01

Personnel

• Bette Midler – lead vocals
• Cissy Houston – backing vocals, track: A1
• Tender Loving Care (Renelle Broxton, Diedre Tuck, Beverly McKenzie) – backing vocals, track: A1
• Gail Kantor – backing vocals, tracks: A2 to A4, B3, B4, B6
• Melissa Manchester – backing vocals, tracks: A2 to A4, B3, B4, B6
• Merle Miller – backing vocals, tracks: A2 to A4, B3, B4, B6
• Barry Manilow – piano & rhythm track
• Pat Rebillot – piano, track B1
• Dickie Frank – guitar
• David Spinozza – guitars
• Ron Carter – bass guitar
• Michael Federal – bass guitar, backing vocals track B4
• Ray Lucas – drums
• Kevin Ellman – drums
• Ralph MacDonald – percussion instruments
• Thom Bell – horn and string arrangement, track A1
• Gene Orloff – violin, track B1
• Emanuel Green – violin, track B1
• Selwart Clarke – viola, track B1
• Kermit Moore – cello, track B1
• William S. Fischer – string arrangement, track B1
• Don Arnone – guitar, track B5
• Dick Hyman – piano, track B5
• Milton Hinton – bass, track B5
• Ted Sommer – drums, track B5
• Marty Nelson – vocal arranger, track B5
• Arif Mardin – arrangement, track B5

Production

• Ahmet Ertegün – producer, tracks: A2 to A4, B3, B4, B6
• Barry Manilow – producer, tracks: A2 to A4, B3, B4, B6
• Geoffrey Haslam – producer, tracks: A2 to A4, B3, B4, B6
• Joel Dorn – producer, tracks: A1, A5, B1, B2, B5
• Lew Hahn – recording engineer
• Barry Manilow – musical arranger, musical conductor
• Richard Amsel – cover illustration
• Richard Mantel – cover art direction & design
• Kenn Duncan – backliner photo
• Remixed by: Geoffrey Haslam, Lew Hahn, Bob Liftin
• Remixed at Regent Sound Studios and Atlantic Studios
• Recorded at Atlantic Recording Studios, New York.

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11]	10
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12]	5
Japanease Albums (Oricon)[13]	58
US Billboard 200[14]	9

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15]	Platinum	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[16]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Inside the Actors Studio, 2004
2. Richard Corliss (March 17, 2004). "That Old Feeling: Best Bette Yet". Time. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
3. Sforza, John: "Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story" University Press of Kentucky, 2000; 289 pages.
4. "The Divine Miss M". Bette on the Boards. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
5. Buss, Bryan. The Divine Miss M at AllMusic
6. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: M". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 7, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
7. O'Brien, Lucy (March 1996). "Bette Midler". Q: 116.
8. "Gold & Platinum Searchable database-Bette Midler". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
9. "Bette Midler - Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 18, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
10. "Past Winners Search-Midler". Grammy.com. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4794". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
13. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
14. "Bette Midler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
15. "Canadian album certifications – Bette Midler – The Divine Miss M". Music Canada. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
16. "American album certifications – Bette Midler – The Divine Miss M". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 December 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.