Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook

Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2003
RecordedMay 19–23, 2003
Length30:51
LabelColumbia
Producer
Bette Midler chronology
Bette
(2000)
Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
(2003)
Sings the Peggy Lee Songbook
(2005)
Singles from Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook

Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook is a 2003 studio album by the American singer Bette Midler, produced by Barry Manilow, their first collaboration in over two decades. The album was Midler's first for Columbia Records (after nearly 30 years with Warner Music Group).

Following the June 2002 death of singer Rosemary Clooney, Manilow claims to have had a dream about producing a tribute album with Midler providing vocals. Midler shared in the liner notes: "When Barry approached me ("I had this dream!") about recording an album of Rosemary's standards, I was excited, but apprehensive. I wanted to be respectful, but I felt we had to find something new to say as well, and in these (mostly) new arrangements...I believe we have."

Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200 with 71,000 copies sold in its initial week of release,[1] and been certified Gold by the RIAA.[2] The album's success prompted Midler to release a Peggy Lee tribute album in 2005.

  1. ^ "Ask Billboard: Betting on Bette". Billboard. October 15, 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  2. ^ "Ask Billboard: First Clooney, Now Lee". Billboard. August 30, 2005. Retrieved May 29, 2012.