Bette Midler counts singing as only one of her talents; at times, since 1972, when she first came to national recognition, it has seemed to be the least of her talents. Still, she has managed to score a number of major hits in a roller-coaster career as a recording artist. Born in Paterson, NJ, and raised in Hawaii, Midler early on showed an interest in singing and acting, and by the 60s she had moved to New York and gotten a role in the long-running Broadway hit Fiddler on the Roof. Midler developed a nightclub act that included comedy and singing of a variety of kinds of material, including show tunes, pop hits, and even a takeoff on the Andrews Sisters, and appeared with increasing frequency in New York with her accompanist, Barry Manilow. She was signed to Atlantic Records and released The Divine Miss M (1972), which went gold and included a Top Ten single cover of the Andrews Sisters Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. Bette Midler (1973) was similarly successful.

Midlers album sales fell off during the rest of the 70s, though her records always reached the Top 100 in the album chart. But in 1979 she starred in the film The Rose, a fictional account of the life of Janis Joplin, and the title track became a Top Ten hit. 1980 saw the release of Midlers concert film, Divine Madness, and her best-selling book, A View from a Broad. Her next film, Jinxed (1982), however, was a major flop, and subsequent records didnt fare well. Midler made a cinematic comeback with Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), but it wasnt until 1989 that she had another pop hit, when her version of Wind Beneath My Wings from her film Beaches became a number one hit. This rejuvenated her singing career, and 1990s Some Peoples Lives became a Top Ten, million-selling album, with the song From a Distance hitting number two. Midlers soundtrack album to her 1991 film For the Boys was also a gold-selling hit.