Bette the singer

Bette Midler is such a wonderful actress people often forget she is a great song artist, too. Think Wind Beneath My Wings from the movie Beaches or In My Life from the soundtrack of For the Boys. Maybe it is because she is an actress that she is able "to locate the heart of a song and touch the heart of the listener." That is how Barry Manilow, who played piano for Bette during their early days, describes her in his note on the cover of the album Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook.

Produced by Barry and Robbie Buchanan, the album has Bette paying tribute to one of the greatest girl singers of all time. Barry continues, "Rosemary Clooney also had this gift. When I was thinking about who we could pay tribute to and at the same time, reinvent these splendid songs Rosemary first introduced to the world, Bette was my first …and only choice."

When I was a child, long before I became aware of Ella or Billie or Peggy, there already was Rosemary. She must have been my mother’s favorite because the radio seemed to play her songs all the time and one of my earliest memories was hearing my Mom humming Tenderly around the house. Then I saw White Christmas and maybe because she looked good in that red costume, I thought she was the star of the movie and not Bing Crosby. I came to appreciate her more as I grew up, marveling at the sureness of her tones, that unique catch in the throat in her singing, the warmth in her voice. I enjoy listening to Ella and the other females in that esteemed company but Rosie’s CDs gets played more often in my room.

Bette does not sound like Rosie but she comes close. She radiates sincerity in every word and I get goosebumps listening to the beautiful songs they chose to include in the album, each one rearranged and mixed to perfection. You’ll Never Know, This Ole House, On a Slow Boat to China, a rousing number where Bette duets with Barry, Hey There, Tenderly, Come On-A My House, Mambo Italiano, Sisters, a duet with another girl singer I admire a lot, Linda Ronstadt, Memories of You, In the Cool, Cool Cool of the Evening and White Christmas.

The only gripe I have about this album is that there are only 11 cuts. I want more. I want more Rosie songs sang by Bette and produced by Barry and Robbie. Where are Half as Much, Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me, Mixed Emotions or Count Your Blessings. I am sure they could have even thought of doing something new to reinvent Rosie’s Botch-a-Me. But when you think of all the love and artistry that went into every song, I say 11 is more than enough.

I am sure lots of you out there will enjoy this one.

Top Albums In The US

From the US, here are the top-selling albums and singles in the Billboard charts. The singles: Hey Ya! Outkast; The Way You Move also by Outkast featuring Sleepy Brown; Stand Up by Ludacris featuring Shawnna; Milkshake by Kelis; Here Without You 3 Doors Down; Walked Outta Heaven by Jagged Edge; Suga Suga by Baby Bash featuring Frankie J; Holidae In by Chingy featuring Ludacris & Snoop Dogg; You Don’t Know My Name by Alicia Keys; Step in the Name of Love by R. Kelly.

The albums: The Diary of Alicia Keys by phenomenal Alicia Keys; Shock’n Y’all by Toby Keith; Closer by Josh Groban; Now 14 by Various Artists; Speakerboxxx/The Love Below by Outkast; Metamorphosis by Hilary Duff; In the Zone by Britney Spears; The Singles by No Doubt; The Very Best of Sheryl Crow by Sheryl Crow; and The Black Album by Jay-Z.

Some notes:

Alicia Keys has hurdled the sophomore jinx. Her second album is a hit. Same with Josh Groban, who is outselling the hip hop acts. Outkast and Ludacris are on a roll. Get a load of those hits in the top 10.

Bad news for Britney Spears. Her new album did not even reach number one. Worse, Hilary Duff is selling more copies and has been in the list for months. Britney’s fans have switched allegiance to the teen diva.

Try not to miss out on those greatest hits collections from No Doubt and Sheryl Crow. You will surely enjoy listening to their hits one after the other.