Bathhouse Betty
Encyclopedia
Bathhouse Betty is the ninth studio album by the American singer Bette Midler
, released in 1998. Bathhouse Betty was Midler's debut album for Warner Bros. Records
, after having parted ways with sister label
Atlantic Records
in 1995 following the moderate commercial success of her album Bette of Roses
.
The title of the album, Bathhouse Betty, refers to Midler's early career when she performed her cabaret shows at gay bathhouse
s like the Continental Baths
in New York which led to her becoming a gay icon
with a loyal LGBT
following ever since. When Midler promoted the album she said in an interview "Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [when I got my start singing at the gay bathhouses]. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of 'Bathhouse Betty' with pride." .
Released some twenty-five years after Midler's breakthrough with the album The Divine Miss M
, Bathhouse Betty was musically a comeback and a return to her roots and her high camp Mae-West
-meets-the-Andrews-Sisters
stage persona of the same name. The first single "I'm Beautiful Dammitt!
" - in fact not an original but a remake of a song by house music
group Uncanny Alliance
- even opens with the spoken line "Hi! This is the Divine Miss M and I'm here to tell you about my cosmic fabulosity!" and effectively set the tone for the following album.
"Ukulele Lady
", a tribute to Midler's native Hawaii
which she had first performed live in the 1997 TV special Diva Las Vegas
, is an old evergreen
written by Gus Kahn
and Richard Whiting
, published in 1925 and first made famous by Vaughn De Leath
- and later covered by among others Miss Piggy
on The Muppet Show
. Other cover versions on Bathhouse Betty include early girl group classics like Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles' debut single "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" and 1950's R&B
chanteuse Big Maybelle
's "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", the latter featuring swing-rock band Royal Crown Revue
. Contemporary covers include Ben Folds
' tragicomic
"Boxing
", an imagined monologue by Muhammad Ali
, originally featured on Ben Folds Five
's 1995 self-titled debut album
, Dave Frishberg
's "I'm Hip" and Dick Gallagher
and Mark Waldrop's "Laughing Matters", taken from Howard Crabtree's 1996 gay musical revue When Pigs Fly
. "Big Socks", an original written and produced by Chuckii Booker
, is a tongue-in-cheek contemporary R&B
track whose lyrics debate the supposed correlation between the size of men's feet and other body parts; "Don't brag about your body, baby, and say that you're packin' a lot, 'cause all I see besides your big feet is that you got big socks."
Bathhouse Betty was not all campiness and laughs however, the album opens with the ballad "Song of Bernadette" written by Leonard Cohen
, Bill Elliott and Jennifer Warnes
, and first recorded by Warnes on her 1987 album Famous Blue Raincoat
. The title and the lyrics of the song refer to Bernadette Soubirous
, a young French girl in the mid 19th century who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary on several occasions. Bernadette was subsequently declared insane by the villagers of Lourdes
- but canonized by the Catholic Church and proclaimed Saint Bernadette after her death. "Lullaby in Blue", which Midler described as her personal favourite on the album, was co-written by Leonard Cohen's son Adam
and is a song about a woman who gave up a child for adoption: "I've never heard a pop song about a person who gives their child up and is missing the child... The first time I heard that song, I burst into tears." The second single released from the album was the melancholy "My One True Friend", composed by David Foster
, Carole King
and Carole Bayer Sager
and the lead song from the movie One True Thing
which starred Meryl Streep
and William Hurt
.
One track from the Bathhouse Betty sessions, Julie Gold
's "Heaven", was only released as a single B-side and featured as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album. Gold had previously written Midler's 1990 hit single "From a Distance
".
Bathhouse Betty reached #32 on Billboard
s album chart and the lead single "I'm Beautiful", which featured dance remixes by among others Victor Calderone
, Danny Tenaglia
and composer Brinsley Evans himself, was a major dance-floor hit, becoming a #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play
chart and #8 on Hot Dance Music/Maxi Singles Sales. "My One True Friend" also reached #16 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
, released in 1998. Bathhouse Betty was Midler's debut album for Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, after having parted ways with sister label
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
in 1995 following the moderate commercial success of her album Bette of Roses
Bette of Roses
Bette of Roses is the eighth studio album by American singer Bette Midler, released on Atlantic Records in 1995. It became Midler's final album for the label, twenty-three years after the release of her debut and breakthrough The Divine Miss M Bette of Roses is the eighth studio album by American...
.
The title of the album, Bathhouse Betty, refers to Midler's early career when she performed her cabaret shows at gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouse
Gay bathhouses, also known as gay saunas or steam baths, are commercial bathhouses for men to have sex with other men. In gay slang in some regions these venues are also known colloquially as "the baths" or "the tubs," and should not be confused with public bathing.Not all men who visit gay...
s like the Continental Baths
Continental Baths
In 1968, Steve Ostrow opened the Continental Baths in the basement of the Ansonia Hotel in New York City. Continental Baths was advertised as reminiscent of "the glory of ancient Rome."-Facilities:...
in New York which led to her becoming a gay icon
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
with a loyal LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
following ever since. When Midler promoted the album she said in an interview "Despite the way things turned out [with the AIDS crisis], I'm still proud of those days [when I got my start singing at the gay bathhouses]. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of 'Bathhouse Betty' with pride." .
Released some twenty-five years after Midler's breakthrough with the album The Divine Miss M
The Divine Miss M (album)
The Divine Miss M is the debut album by American female vocalist Bette Midler, released in 1972 on the Atlantic Records label. The title of the album refers to Midler's famous stage persona...
, Bathhouse Betty was musically a comeback and a return to her roots and her high camp Mae-West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
-meets-the-Andrews-Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
stage persona of the same name. The first single "I'm Beautiful Dammitt!
I'm Beautiful Dammitt!
"I'm Beautiful Dammitt!" was the second single released from the Uncanny Alliance LP, The Groove Won't Bite, released as a CD single and 12"....
" - in fact not an original but a remake of a song by house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
group Uncanny Alliance
Uncanny Alliance
Uncanny Alliance was an American house music duo. They consisted of the producer, Brinsley Evans, and the female vocalist E.V. Mystique, who were both from New York.-Career:...
- even opens with the spoken line "Hi! This is the Divine Miss M and I'm here to tell you about my cosmic fabulosity!" and effectively set the tone for the following album.
"Ukulele Lady
Ukulele Lady
Ukulele Lady is a popular standard, an old evergreen song by Gus Kahn and Richard A. Whiting. Published in 1925, the song was first made famous by Vaughn De Leath....
", a tribute to Midler's native Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
which she had first performed live in the 1997 TV special Diva Las Vegas
Diva Las Vegas
The Divine Miss "M" takes center stage at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for this performance of raucous music and comedy show. Featuring Ms. Midler's signature mix of heavenly singing, bawdy comedy, and brazen costumes, Diva Las Vegas is proof that Midler has the right to refer to herself as 'The...
, is an old evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
written by Gus Kahn
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
and Richard Whiting
Richard A. Whiting
Richard Armstrong Whiting was a composer of popular songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop"....
, published in 1925 and first made famous by Vaughn De Leath
Vaughn De Leath
Vaughn De Leath was an American female singer who gained popularity in the 1920s, earning the sobriquets "The Original Radio Girl" and "First Lady of Radio." Although popular in the 1920s, De Leath is little known today....
- and later covered by among others Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
on The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a British television programme produced by American puppeteer Jim Henson and featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on 5 September 1976 and five series were produced until 15 March 1981, lasting 120 episodes...
. Other cover versions on Bathhouse Betty include early girl group classics like Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles' debut single "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" and 1950's R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
chanteuse Big Maybelle
Big Maybelle
Mabel Louise Smith , known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer and pianist. Her 1956 hit single "Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.-Biography:...
's "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show", the latter featuring swing-rock band Royal Crown Revue
Royal Crown Revue
The Royal Crown Revue is a band formed in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. They are often credited with starting the Swing Revival movement. Live, RCR has been extremely successful: They participated in 1998's Vans Warped Tour, opened for the B-52s and The Pretenders and played at major US Jazz...
. Contemporary covers include Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
' tragicomic
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
"Boxing
Boxing (Ben Folds Five song)
"Boxing" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. A live version appears on the 1998 album Naked Baby Photos...
", an imagined monologue by Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, originally featured on Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
's 1995 self-titled debut album
Ben Folds Five (album)
Ben Folds Five is the self-titled debut album by Ben Folds Five, released in 1995. A non-traditional rock album by any estimation, it was an indie pop album that excluded lead guitars completely...
, Dave Frishberg
Dave Frishberg
Dave Frishberg is an American jazz pianist, vocalist and composer born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Frishberg resisted learning classical piano as a boy, developing an interest in blues and boogie-woogie by listening to recordings by Pete Johnson and Jay McShann. As a teenager he played in the house...
's "I'm Hip" and Dick Gallagher
Dick Gallagher
Dick Gallagher was a pianist and composer, best known on the New York cabaret scene.He co-wrote scores for several musicals:* Have I Got a Girl for You: The Frankenstein Musical...
and Mark Waldrop's "Laughing Matters", taken from Howard Crabtree's 1996 gay musical revue When Pigs Fly
When Pigs Fly (musical)
When Pigs FlyA musical revue in 2 acts. Conceived by Howard Crabtree and Mark Waldrop. Sketches and Lyrics by Mark Waldrop. Music by Dick Gallagher.- External links :**...
. "Big Socks", an original written and produced by Chuckii Booker
Chuckii Booker
Chuckii Booker is an African American award-winning producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader.-Biography:...
, is a tongue-in-cheek contemporary R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
track whose lyrics debate the supposed correlation between the size of men's feet and other body parts; "Don't brag about your body, baby, and say that you're packin' a lot, 'cause all I see besides your big feet is that you got big socks."
Bathhouse Betty was not all campiness and laughs however, the album opens with the ballad "Song of Bernadette" written by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Bill Elliott and Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Warnes
Jennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
, and first recorded by Warnes on her 1987 album Famous Blue Raincoat
Famous Blue Raincoat (album)
Famous Blue Raincoat is the sixth album by Jennifer Warnes. It debuted on the Billboard 200 on February 14, 1987 and peaked at No. 72. Originally released by Cypress Records, it was reissued by Private Music after Cypress went out of business....
. The title and the lyrics of the song refer to Bernadette Soubirous
Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was a miller's daughter born in Lourdes. From 11 February to 16 July 1858, she reported 18 apparitions of "a small young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at that site at Lourdes....
, a young French girl in the mid 19th century who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary on several occasions. Bernadette was subsequently declared insane by the villagers of Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
- but canonized by the Catholic Church and proclaimed Saint Bernadette after her death. "Lullaby in Blue", which Midler described as her personal favourite on the album, was co-written by Leonard Cohen's son Adam
Adam Cohen
Adam Cohen is an American journalist and assistant editorial page editor of The New York Times. Cohen is a lawyer and author, with a particular interest in legal issues, politics and technology...
and is a song about a woman who gave up a child for adoption: "I've never heard a pop song about a person who gives their child up and is missing the child... The first time I heard that song, I burst into tears." The second single released from the album was the melancholy "My One True Friend", composed by David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
and Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager is an American lyricist, songwriter, singer, and painter.-Introduction:Born in New York City, Sager graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts and speech...
and the lead song from the movie One True Thing
One True Thing
One True Thing is a 1998 American drama film directed by Carl Franklin. It tells the story of a woman who is forced to put her life on hold in order to care for her mother who is dying of cancer. It was adapted by Karen Croner from the novel by Anna Quindlen. The movie stars Meryl Streep, Renée...
which starred Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
and William Hurt
William Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
.
One track from the Bathhouse Betty sessions, Julie Gold
Julie Gold
Julie Gold is a New York singer-songwriter. She is best known for Bette Midler's version of her song "From a Distance" which won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991....
's "Heaven", was only released as a single B-side and featured as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album. Gold had previously written Midler's 1990 hit single "From a Distance
From a Distance
"From a Distance" is a song written in 1985 by American singer-songwriter Julie Gold. Some think this song was inspired by a PF Sloan song of the same name. Gold was working as a secretary at the time for Home Box Office and writing songs in her free time...
".
Bathhouse Betty reached #32 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s album chart and the lead single "I'm Beautiful", which featured dance remixes by among others Victor Calderone
Victor Calderone
Victor Calderone is a house music producer, DJ and remixer.-History:Raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, Calderone was introduced into New York City's nightlife by his older brother, Cesar, who was very active in the club music business. Calderone began to dabble with turntables and...
, Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia is a New York-based DJ and Grammy nominated record producer.-Early life:At the age of ten, Tenaglia first started to collect records. In 1979 he began going to nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's genre-less blend of music appealed to him...
and composer Brinsley Evans himself, was a major dance-floor hit, becoming a #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart and #8 on Hot Dance Music/Maxi Singles Sales. "My One True Friend" also reached #16 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Track listing
- "Song of BernadetteThe Song of Bernadette (song)Written by Leonard Cohen, Bill Elliott and Jennifer Warnes,"Song of Bernadette", is a song first recorded by Jennifer Warnes from her 1986 album Famous Blue Raincoat.The song was later covered by Bette Midler and opened her album Bathhouse Betty....
" (Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, Bill Elliott, Jennifer WarnesJennifer WarnesJennifer Jean Warnes is an American singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer. She is known for her interpretations of compositions written by herself and many others, as well as an extensive playlist as a vocalist on movie soundtracks.Between 1979 and 1987 Warnes surpassed Frank Sinatra as...
) - 3:46 - "I'm Beautiful Dammitt!I'm Beautiful Dammitt!"I'm Beautiful Dammitt!" was the second single released from the Uncanny Alliance LP, The Groove Won't Bite, released as a CD single and 12"....
" (Brinsley Evans) - 3:55 - "Lullaby in Blue" (Adam CohenAdam Cohen (musician)Adam Cohen is a Canadian musician, singer-songwriter, and frontman of the band Low Millions. As a recording artist, he has released three major label albums, two in English and one in French...
, Brock Walsh) - 5:09 - "Ukulele LadyUkulele LadyUkulele Lady is a popular standard, an old evergreen song by Gus Kahn and Richard A. Whiting. Published in 1925, the song was first made famous by Vaughn De Leath....
" (Gus KahnGus KahnGustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
, Richard WhitingRichard A. WhitingRichard Armstrong Whiting was a composer of popular songs including the standards, "Hooray for Hollywood", "Ain't We Got Fun?" & "On the Good Ship Lollipop"....
) - 3:34 - "I'm Hip" (Bob DoroughBob DoroughBob Dorough is an American bebop and cool jazz pianist, composer and vocalese singer.He worked with Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg, and his adventurous style was an influence on Mose Allison, among other singers...
, Dave FrishbergDave FrishbergDave Frishberg is an American jazz pianist, vocalist and composer born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Frishberg resisted learning classical piano as a boy, developing an interest in blues and boogie-woogie by listening to recordings by Pete Johnson and Jay McShann. As a teenager he played in the house...
) - 2:44 - "I Sold My Heart to the JunkmanI Sold My Heart to the Junkman"I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" is a 1962 hit single by The Blue Belles, written by Jimmie Thomas. The song is notable for having been originally recorded by another group and conflicting schedules leading the future Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles group to claim the song as their own...
" (Leon RenéLeon RenéLeon René was an American music composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas. He also established several record labels...
, Otis René) - 3:10 - "One Monkey Don't Stop No ShowHoney ConeHoney Cone was an American R&B and soul all girl vocal group, who are best remembered for their Billboard #1 hit single, "Want Ads". They were the premier female group for Hot Wax Records, operated by Holland–Dozier–Holland after they had departed from Motown Records.-Career:Honey Cone comprised...
" (Rose Marie McCoyRose Marie McCoyRose Marie McCoy was one of the most influential and prolific songwriters of the 1950s and 1960s.McCoy moved to New York City in 1942, pursuing a singing career...
, Charlie Singleton) - 2:46 - "BoxingBoxing (Ben Folds Five song)"Boxing" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. A live version appears on the 1998 album Naked Baby Photos...
" (Ben FoldsBen FoldsBenjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
) - 4:26 - "Big Socks" (Chuckii BookerChuckii BookerChuckii Booker is an African American award-winning producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader.-Biography:...
) - 3:51 - "That's How Love Moves" (Jennifer KimballJennifer KimballJennifer Kimball is a vocalist and songwriter who is notable for being part of the acclaimed folk duo The Story. She is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and has released two albums Veering from the Wave and Oh Hear Us....
, Ty Lacy, Fitzgerald Scott) - 3:54 - "My One True Friend" (David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, Carole KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
, Carole Bayer SagerCarole Bayer SagerCarole Bayer Sager is an American lyricist, songwriter, singer, and painter.-Introduction:Born in New York City, Sager graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts and speech...
) - 3:49 - "Laughing Matters" (Dick GallagherDick GallagherDick Gallagher was a pianist and composer, best known on the New York cabaret scene.He co-wrote scores for several musicals:* Have I Got a Girl for You: The Frankenstein Musical...
, Mark Waldrop) - 3:54 - "Heaven" (Julie GoldJulie GoldJulie Gold is a New York singer-songwriter. She is best known for Bette Midler's version of her song "From a Distance" which won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991....
) - 3:29- Bonus track Japan
Personnel
- Bette MidlerBette MidlerBette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
- lead vocals, background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Katreese Barnes - background vocals
- Margaret Dorn - background vocals
- Petra HadenPetra HadenPetra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age,...
- background vocals - Ula Hedwig - background vocals
- Natalie Jackson - background vocals
- Johnny KempJohnny KempJohnny Kemp is a Bahamian R&B singer and dancer. He began singing in nightclubs in the Bahamas at 13. He moved to New York in 1979 with the band "Kinky Fox." His self-titled debut album came out in 1986 and he scored a minor hit with "Just Another Lover." True success came the following year,...
- background vocals - Ivan Matias - background vocals
- Michelle Matlock - background vocals
- Eddie Nichols - background vocals
- Chuckii BookerChuckii BookerChuckii Booker is an African American award-winning producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader.-Biography:...
- background vocals, multi instruments - Gregg BissonetteGregg BissonetteGregg Bissonette, is an American drummer. Gregg was born in a family of musicians. His father Bud Bissonette plays drums, his mother Phyllis plays piano and vibraphone, and brother Matt Bissonette plays bass guitar. Gregg started learning to play the drums at age 5 from his father...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Daniel GlassDaniel GlassDaniel Glass is an American music industry executive whose output has included work with artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinéad O'Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Erykah Badu, Baha Men, Kurupt, Susan Tedeschi, The Pretenders, Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society,...
- drums - Rick MarottaRick MarottaRick Marotta is a US-based drummer and percussionist who appears on many recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy...
- drums - Lewis NashLewis NashLewis Nash is an American jazz drummer. According to Modern Drummer magazine, Nash has one of the longest discographies in jazz. and has played on over 400 records by musicians, earning him the honor of being named Jazz's Most Valuable Player by the magazine in it's May, 2009 issue...
- drums - John "J.R." RobinsonJohn Robinson (drummer)John Robinson is an American drummer and session musician...
- drums - Steve Schaeffer - drums
- Frank Pagano - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Emil RichardsEmil RichardsEmil Richards, born Emilio Joseph Radocchia on September 2, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, is a percussionist who plays a variety of different percussion instruments.-Biography:...
- percussion - Richard Crooks - spoonSpoonA spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
s - Jerry Barnes - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, background vocals - Matt BissonetteMatt BissonetteMatt Bissonette is an American bass player and the brother of drummer Gregg Bissonette. He attended the University of North Texas's jazz music program. According to Guitar 9, an online musicianship magazine, he has played bass and other stringed instruments on at least 22 albums, with music...
- bass - Nathan EastNathan EastNathan Harrell East is a jazz, R&B and rock bass player and vocalist. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego...
- bass - Veikko Lepisto - bass
- Ron CarterRon CarterRon Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
- upright bass - Chuck DomanicoChuck DomanicoCharles Louis Domanico , better known as Chuck Domanico, was an American jazz bassist, playing both acoustic and electric bass on the West Coast jazz scene.Domanico was born in Chicago...
- acoustic bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - James Achor - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Dennis Budimir - guitar
- Tim Pierce - guitar
- Michael Thompson - guitar
- Ira Siegel - guitar, pedal steel
- Jay BerlinerJay BerlinerJay Berliner is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Starting with his first television experience at age 7 on NBC’s The Children’s Hour with sister Eve, his career has spanned the globe: from the Metropolitan Opera house , where he was house guitarist and mandolinist; to...
- ukuleleUkuleleThe ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.... - Eric WeissbergEric WeissbergEric Weissberg is an American banjo player, best known for the theme from the movie Deliverance.-Biography:Eric Weissberg went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, then the Juilliard School of Music. He joined an early version of the Greenbriar Boys , but left before they made any recordings....
- ukulele - Brock Walsh - banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
- Robbie KondorRobbie KondorRobbie Kondor is an American composer, session musician, and arranger. He has worked as a composer on The Significant Other, Ball In The House, Sally Jessy Ralphael, Happiness , The Suburbans , Forever Fabulous ,Drawing Angel , Series 7: The Contenders , Home Delivery and Equality U...
- mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Dean ParksDean ParksDean Parks is an American session guitarist and record producer from Ft. Worth, TX.-Albums:Dean was member of The North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. Dean is best-known through his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan...
- dulcimerAppalachian dulcimerThe Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, mandolin, balalaikaBalalaikaThe balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings.The balalaika family of instruments includes instruments of various sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass...
, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Cyrus ChestnutCyrus ChestnutCyrus Chestnut is an American jazz pianist, songwriter, and producer. In 2006, Josh Tyrangiel, music critic for Time Magazine, wrote: "What makes Chestnut the best jazz pianist of his generation is a willingness to abandon notes and play space." Chestnut enjoys mixing styles and resists being...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Greg Hilfman - piano
- Carole KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
- piano - Randy Waldman - piano
- Kim Bullard - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
- keyboards - Randy KerberRandy KerberRandy Kerber is a composer, orchestrator, keyboard player, born September 25, 1958 in Encino, California, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema...
- keyboards - John Philip ShenaleJohn Philip ShenaleJohn Philip Shenale is a Canadian composer, arranger, musician and producer based in Los Angeles. He has contributed his talents to over forty Gold and Platinum albums, and over thirty Top 40 singles. His work has also been associated with twenty-one Grammy Award nominations.-Background:Shenale...
- keyboards - Steve Skinner - organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, keyboards - Warren Luening - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Jack SheldonJack SheldonJack Sheldon is an American bebop and West Coast jazz trumpeter, singer, and actor. He is a trumpet player and was a comedian on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as the voice heard on several episodes of the educational music television series Schoolhouse Rock.-Biography:Sheldon was born in...
- trumpet - Scott SteenScott SteenScott Steen has been the trumpeter for the Los Angeles-based swing band Royal Crown Revue for over 15 years. Scott has performed at many jazz festivals including Playboy, JVC New York, and Newport...
- trumpet - Bob Efford - saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Richard Mitchell - saxophone
- Roger NeumannRoger NeumannRoger Neumann is a Los Angeles-based jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, arranger and music educator.He has written arrangements for such notable performers as Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Ray Charles and The Beach Boys...
- saxophone - Mando Dorame - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Bill Ungerman - baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- Les Benedict - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- James Self - tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
- Richard Todd - French horn
Production
- Arif MardinArif MardinArif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
- record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, musical arranger - Marc ShaimanMarc ShaimanMarc Shaiman is an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and performer for films, television, and theatre. He is perhaps best known for writing the music and co-writing the lyrics for the Broadway musical version of the cult John Waters film Hairspray, for which Shaiman won Tony and Grammy...
- producer, arranger - David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
- producer, arranger - Ted TemplemanTed TemplemanTed Templeman is an American record producer.-Career:He began his career in the mid 1960s in the Santa Cruz area as a drummer in a band called The Tikis. At the suggestion of Lenny Waronker, the group decided to change their name. Harpers Bizarre was born in 1966, with Templeman switching to...
- producer - Chuckii BookerChuckii BookerChuckii Booker is an African American award-winning producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader.-Biography:...
- producer, arranger, engineer - Brock Walsh - producer, arranger
- Michael O'Reilly - producer, engineer
- Carole KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
- arranger - Steve Skinner - arranger
- Bill Schneider - arranger
- Bill Ungerman - arranger
- Brad Dechter - arranger
- Kim Bullard - arranger
- Claus Trelby - engineer
- Jason Mauza - engineer
- Rod Michaels - engineer
- Alejandro Rodriguez - engineer
- Al Schmitt - engineer
- Lee Herschberg - engineer
- Andy Grassi - engineer
- Steve Griffen - engineer
- Humberto GaticaHumberto GaticaHumberto Gatica is a Chilean-born American record producer, music mixer, audio engineer anda long-time collaborator with producer David Foster....
- engineer - Felipe Elgueta - engineer
- Cary Butler - engineer
- Jeff Hendrickson - engineer, mixing
- Kevin Clark - engineer, mixing
- Dana Jon Chappelle - engineer, mixing
- David Koenig - mixing
- Frank Filipetti - mixing
- Gloria Gabriel - production manager
- Nick Vidar - production assistant
- Dave DePalo - production assistant