''Divine Madness'' is an album by American singer Bette Midler and the

Harlettes The Harlettes, also known as The Staggering Harlettes, is a trio of backup singers who support Bette Midler during her live musical performances. The Harlettes' line-up has changed many times since their inception. History Bette Midler's stage ac ...

, released in 1980. It is a live recording taken from Midler's '' Divine Madness'' concert film, released the same year. The album, however, does not contain any of Midler's comedy routines and features only her musical performances from the show and it in fact only provides half of the songs that appear in the film. The original live recordings were also to a large extent edited and re-recorded in the studio for the soundtrack album. Among the tracks included are "

Big Noise From Winnetka "Big Noise from Winnetka" is a jazz song co-written by composer and bass player Bob Haggart and drummer Ray Bauduc with lyrics by Gil Rodin and Bob Crosby, who were members of a sub-group of the Bob Crosby Orchestra called "The Bobcats". They a ...

", from Midler's disco album ''

Thighs and Whispers ''Thighs and Whispers'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Bette Midler. Released in 1979, the album reached #65 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. Production and release The album was largely disco-influenced. It saw Midler reunite ...

'', repertoire standards like "Shiver Me Timbers", "Chapel of Love", "Leader of The Pack" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" along with two tracks from her movie '' The Rose'', "Stay With Me" and "Fire Down Below" (not originally included on the soundtrack) released earlier in 1980 and the ''Divine Madness'' album closes with renditions of rock classics like Bruce Springsteen's "E Street Shuffle",

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's "I Shall Be Released". The final film excluded "My Mother's Eyes," despite it being released as a single, and "Shiver Me Timbers" was not featured in the home video release (VHS or DVD). Footage of these songs have not been restored. The soundtrack does not include "Do You Want to Dance?," "Ready to Begin Again," "My Way," "To the South Seas/Hawaiian War Chant," "Ebb Tide," "The Rose," or any monologues. The ''Divine Madness'' album like the movie itself was a moderate commercial success, peaking at #34 on '' Billboards album chart. The album was released on CD for the first time in 1989. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

in 1995.

Track listing

Side A #"

" (

Gil Rodin Gilbert A. Rodin (December 9, 1906 – June 10, 1974) was an American jazz saxophonist, songwriter, and record producer. He was born in the Russian Empire. Career Rodin was raied in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Rodin studied saxophone, clari ...

, Bob Crosby, Bob Haggart, Ray Bauduc) - 3:52 #"Paradise" (

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

, Gil Garfield,

Perry Botkin Jr. Perry Botkin Jr. (April 16, 1933 – January 18, 2021) was an American composer, producer, arranger, and musician. The tune " Nadia's Theme", composed by Botkin and Barry De Vorzon, peaked at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1976 and bec ...

) - 4:09 #"Shiver Me Timbers" (

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

) - 3:56 #" Fire Down Below" ( Bob Seger) - 3:05 #" Stay With Me" ( Jerry Ragovoy, George Weiss) - 6:24 Side B #"My Mother's Eyes" (

Tom Jans Tom Jans (February 9, 1948 – March 25, 1984) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from San Jose, California. He is perhaps best known for his song "Loving Arms" (also known as "Lovin' Arms"), which was recorded initially by Kris ...

) - 2:29 #"

Chapel of Love "Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.Whitburn, Joel (2009). ''Top Pop Singles 1955-2008' ...

" / "

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" is a World War II jump blues song written by Don Raye and Hughie Prince which was introduced by The Andrews Sisters in the Abbott and Costello comedy film, '' Buck Privates'' (1941). The Andrews Sisters' Decca recording r ...

" (

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

) / ( Don Raye,

Hughie Prince Hugh Durham Prince, also known as Hughie Prince, (9 August 1906 – 15 January 1960) was an American film composer and songwriter. He composed "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" with lyricist Don Raye for the movie comedy, ''Buck Privates'', which was no ...

) - 4:02 #" E Street Shuffle" / "Summer (The First Time)" / "

Leader of the Pack "Leader of the Pack" is a song written by George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich. It was a number one pop hit in 1964 for the American girl group the Shangri-Las. The single is one of the group's best known songs as well as ...

" ( Bruce Springsteen) / (

Bobby Goldsboro Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in ...

) / ( George Morton, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich) - 9:42 #"

You Can't Always Get What You Want "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones on their 1969 album ''Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' ...

" / " I Shall Be Released" (

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

) / (

) - 5:56

Personnel

* Bette Midler - lead vocals * Tony Berg -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Jon Bonine -

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

, background vocals * Joey Carbone -

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, background vocals * Rich Cooper -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

* David Luell -

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

* John Pierce -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* David Shank -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Chas Sanford - lead guitar * Art Wood - drums *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

- synthesizers *

Randy Kerber Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema.SeRandy Kerberat the IMDb Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national ...

- keyboards, background vocals * Jocelyn Brown - background vocals * Ula Hedwig - background vocals * Diva Gray - background vocals * Luther Vandross - background vocals

Production

* Dennis Kirk -

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

* Tony Berg -

musical arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition (music), composition. Differences from the original composition may include Harmony (music), reharmonization, musical phrasing, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, o ...

& supervisor * Randy Kerber - musical arranger & supervisor * Mixed at Sunset Sound and Record One * Remixed at Regent Sound Studios and Atlantic Studios * Concert Recording:

Wally Heider Studios Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Je ...

* Assistant Engineers:

Niko Bolas Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall and Christian Greuel, which, ...

, James Lerner, David Lerner * Mastered by: Bernie Grundman

Charts

References

{{Authority control Bette Midler live albums 1980 live albums Atlantic Records live albums