Bette Midler - Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook

It's nice to see Bette Midler putting her spin on an American classic after less-than-convincing detours through adult-contemporary cheese. This tribute focuses on Rosemary Clooney in the early to mid-1950s--so we don't get any of the fabulous Nelson Riddle material--but it's a fairly strong offering. It was produced and arranged by Midler's old musical director, Barry Manilow--who actually dueted with Clooney on a couple of songs in the 1990s and here replaces Bing Crosby on the duet "On a Slow Boat to China." Mostly, the CD is about hits: "Hey There" and "White Christmas" are done in straightforward manner, while Linda Ronstadt fills in for Rosemary's actual sister Betty on a slinky version of "Sisters." Happily, Midler plays "Come On-A My House" down instead of up (the old Bette would have milked its comic aspect) but the singer lets loose on "Mambo Italiano." That's pretty much the only time the Divine Miss M peeks out from behind Clooney's elegant persona, and it's a delight. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Amazon.com

Bette Midler does herself proud reprising these classic Clooney tunes.

For whatever reason this was one disc that I had simply never even noticed before. While perusing the audio rack at my local library I happened upon "Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook". It was a rainy Saturday and I decided that this would be the perfect day to crash and check out some CD's. I am so glad that I did because as it turns out that this disc is a real keeper.
Released back in 2003, "Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook" features 11 of the legendary singers most popular songs. Of course I was curious as to how the producers would approach this material. And while I was pretty sure that Bette Midler had the pipes to pull it off I wondered if this would be an album that I would only listen to just once or something I would be eager to enjoy again and again. After hearing this disc but once I can say without equivocation that I would definitely fall into the latter category. Furthermore, I can attest to the fact that there really is not a bad track on this album. There are fresh new arrangements of Clooney favorites like "This Ole House", "Memories of You" and "Hey There". A really pleasant surprise was Bette's marvelous duet with producer Barry Manilow on the old Kay Kyser hit "On A Slow Boat To China". And speaking of duets, much to my surprise my favorite cut on this disc just has to be the remarkable duet with Linda Ronstadt called "Sisters". This tune was originally recorded by Rosemary and her sister Betty Clooney and appeared briefly on the charts back in 1954. Rosemary Clooney also performed the song in the classic Bing Crosby holiday film "White Christmas". Now the very idea of Bette Midler attempting the Mitch Miller inspired pop hits "Come On-A My House" and "Mambo Italiano" seems rather improbable but Bette Midler manages to pull it off with grace and style and makes these silly little songs all her own.
Unfortunately, there is only about 31 minutes worth of music to be had on "Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook". The problem is that everything on this disc is so good that it leaves you longing for more. It certainly would have been nice to hear Bette Midler's remarkable voice on tunes like "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)", "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "Half As Much" to name but a few. That being said "Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook" is a first rate production. Indeed, this is a disc I can see myself playing frequently in the future. As a matter of fact I will be ordering my copy as soon as I finish this review. Very highly recommended! August 30, 2008

Bette Midler

Bette Midler delivers some Great music. She is an artist that has tried just about everything (and has won Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards) Seeing her Live at Caesars Palace in Las Veges in 'The Showgirl Must Go On' is going to be my treat to myself ... saw Cher perform at Caesars, she was Great as always.
... Bette Midler's last tour, 'Kiss My Brass', earned $74,347,404 from 77 shows, played between December 10, 2003 to May 1, 2005 and sold 739,462 tickets (Billboard Boxscore) "Bette" CBS/TV sitcom ended the 2000/01 TV season at #79 (Nielsen Media Research ratings from Entertainment Weekly 6-1,2001) Bette Midler's strength and courage remind me of Senator Hillary Clinton's: In the 2008 Presidential Primary race, Hillary Clinton not only earned more votes than any of her rivals, she earned more votes than any Presidential Primary candidate in History. August 9, 2008

Music Lover

Bette and Barry back together again! They make great music together! Rosemary Clooney is smiling from heaven! Midler's voice provides the great range and emotional sentiment of Rosemary's songs. The duet with Linda Ronstadt for "Sisters" was outstanding and joyful. The production of the cd by Barry Manilow is genius! Bette and Barry were meant to make music together!
Kimberly June 14, 2008

Bette Midler sings Rosemary Clooney

I don't believe this C.D. was available in shops in Australia and having found it on Amazon, I'm delighted. Have been a Bette fan for over 20 years and, being older, appreciate her renditions of songs heard when I was quite young. The Manilow arrangements are extremely authentic....in all, great entertainment from one of my favourites. February 29, 2008

Excellent..a must add to any collection

I think this is Bette Midler at her best! She gives a subtle and yet powerful rendition of Rosemary Clooney's works.

I highly recommend this. January 19, 2008

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