''No Frills'' is the sixth studio album by American singer

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

, released on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

in 1983. ''No Frills'' was Midler's first studio album in four years, following the movies '' The Rose'', '' Divine Madness!'' and ''

Jinxed! ''Jinxed!'' (also branded as ''Jinxed'' on promotional media) is a 1982 American comedy film starring Bette Midler, Rip Torn and Ken Wahl. The film was the last to be directed by Don Siegel, who suffered a heart attack during production. Sam Peck ...

''. The rock and new wave influenced album was produced by

Chuck Plotkin Charles Richard Plotkin (born September 8, 1942) is a recording engineer and producer, best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Recording engineer Plotkin has recorded, engineered, mastered and produced albums by Bruce Spri ...

, best known for his work with

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 ...

and

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

, and included three single releases; the ballad "All I Need to Know", a cover of

Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as "Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, "Cynical Girl," and "Whenever You're on My Mind." He is ...

's "You're My Favorite Waste of Time" and Midler's take on the

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

song "Beast of Burden".

Release

While ''No Frills'' became Midler's second lowest-charting album in the US, peaking at #60 on Billboard (her 1979 disco album '' Thighs and Whispers'' #65), it became her best-selling studio album to date in both Continental Europe and Scandinavia; in West Germany it reached #15, in the Netherlands #10, in Norway #2 and in Sweden ''No Frills'' hit #1, outselling the ''

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

'' soundtrack. "

Beast of Burden A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for tr ...

" was a Top 10 single in many parts of Europe. The promo video for the song, made during the early

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

era, featured

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 ...

in a cameo role playing Midler's boyfriend. The soundtrack to the video including the spoken dialogue (with Midler famously telling Jagger "Just stay long enough to hear me sing your song. I sing it better than anybody." Jagger replies: "Well almost anybody....") was released on the B-side of the 12" single in Europe. In September 1984 the video was nominated for three

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

for Best Female Video, Best Choreography, and Best Stage Performance Video. Midler originally intended to include a cover of

's " Pink Cadillac" on the album instead of "Beast of Burden", but was blocked from releasing it by Springsteen himself, who said it wasn't a "girl's song". She hastily recorded the

cover to fill its place. However, she performed "Pink Cadillac" on her 1983 tour to promote the album. When Midler's greatest hits compilation ''

Experience the Divine ''Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits'' is a compilation album by American singer Bette Midler, featuring many of her best-known songs. The fourteen track compilation was released on Atlantic Records in 1993. While several greatest hits albums w ...

'' was released in 1993, only one song from ''No Frills'' was included, "Only In Miami", an album track never released as a single in either the US or Europe. A second edition of the compilation with a revised track list, released in 1996, added both "Beast of Burden" and "Favorite Waste of Time". ''No Frills'' was released on CD for the first time in 1983. A remastered version of the album was released by

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 #"Is It Love" (

Nick Gilder Nicholas George Gilder (born 21 December 1951) is a British-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer/songwriter. Biography Born in Lo ...

, James McCulloch) - 4:43 #" Favorite Waste of Time" (

) - 2:43 #" All I Need to Know" (

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early li ...

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Life and career Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Weil ...

Tom Snow Thomas Righter Snow (born 1947 in Princeton, New Jersey) is an American songwriter. Biography Snow has written songs for Gayle McCormick "(Even a Fool Would Let Go" with Kerry Chater – a song covered by a number of artists including Kenny ...

) - 4:08 #" Only in Miami" ( Max Gronenthal) - 4:35 #"Heart Over Head" (Andy Goldmark,

Robin Batteau Robin Batteau (born January 12, 1948) is an American composer, singer-songwriter, and music producer. Batteau is the brother of singer/songwriter David Batteau. He attended Phillips Academy in Andover and should have graduated from Harvard Un ...

, Brock Walsh) - 2:52 Side B #"Let Me Drive" (Greg Prestopino,

Matthew Wilder Matthew Wilder ( Weiner; January 24, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. In early 1984, his single " Break My Stride" hit No. 2 on the ''Cash Box'' chart and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He also wrote t ...

) - 4:02 #"My Eye on You" (

Moon Martin John David "Moon" Martin (October 31, 1945 – May 11, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Career Born in Altus, Oklahoma, United States, Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer. Originally a rockab ...

, Bill House) - 4:03 #"

" (

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 ...

) - 3:48 #"Soda and a Souvenir" ( Jessica Harper) - 3:23 #"Come Back Jimmy Dean" (Bette Midler, Jerry Blatt, Brock Walsh) - 3:51

Personnel

* Bette Midler – lead vocals, backing vocals *

Robert Irving III Robert Irving III (born October 27, 1953) is an American pianist, composer, arranger and music educator. A native of Chicago, Irving was one of a group of young Chicago musicians that in the late '70s and early '80s formed the nucleus of Miles ...

– synthesizers (1, 2), acoustic piano (5) *

Bobby Lyle Robert Lyle (born March 11, 1944) is a jazz pianist/organist and educator. Early life Lyle was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 11, 1944 to parents Robert and Elise Lyle. He grew up in a musical household after the family moved from Memphis ...

– synthesizers (1, 6, 9), acoustic piano (3, 4), keyboards (7),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

(9) * Bobby Martin – synthesizers (1, 3, 9),

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

(6, 9), keyboards (7) *

Mark Goldenberg Mark Goldenberg (born April 10, 1952) is an American guitarist and songwriter, noted for his session work and composition of successful songs for Linda Ronstadt, the Pointer Sisters, and others. Biography Early career Raised in Chicago, Illin ...

– synth solo (1, 3), guitar (1, 3, 8), guitar solo (2, 3), synthesizers (3, 5, 10), electric guitar (5) * Chas Sanford – synthesizers (5), electric guitar (5) *

Buzz Feiten Howard "Buzz" Feiten (born November 4, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician, and luthier. He is best known as a lead and rhythm guitarist and for having patented a tuning system for guitars and similar instrument ...

– guitar (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9) * Philip Kennard – acoustic guitar (2), backing vocals (2) * Brock Walsh – acoustic guitar (2), backing vocals (5), acoustic piano (10) *

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

– electric guitar (2) *

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, Gr ...

– guitar (8) * Robert "Pops" Popswell – bass (1, 3, 4, 9) * Dave Demare – bass (2) * Mark Leonard – bass (5) * Vernon Porter – bass (6, 7) *

Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, Jame ...

– bass (8) *

Ricky Lawson William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Mich ...

– drums (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9) * David Logeman – drums (2), percussion (2) *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

– drums (5, 8) *

Malando Gassama Malando Gassama (born Malang Omar Gassam; 7 February 1946 – 25 January 1999) was a Gambian percussionist who spent most of his music career in Sweden. He recorded and performed with many notable Swedish and international artists such as ...

– percussion (4) *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for Motown and move to ...

–

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

s (5) * Mark Hatch – horns (4) * Marc "Caz" Macino – horns (4, 6), horn arrangements (4) * Laura Allan – backing vocals (2, 3, 4) * Lisa Garber – backing vocals (2, 3, 4) * Janis Cercone – backing vocals (3) * Joe Turano – backing vocals (6) * Greg Prestopino – backing vocals (6) *

– backing vocals (6) * Jude Johnstone – backing vocals (7) * The Staggering Harlettes (Ula Hedwig,

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Hennes ...

and

Linda Hart Linda Hart (born July 5, 1950) is an American singer, musician, and actress, mainly appearing in musical theatre. Life and career Hart was born in Dallas, Texas, United States. As a child, Hart sang in her church choir; at age seven, she joine ...

) – backing vocals (9)

Production

– producer * Brock Walsh – associate producer * Danny Goldberg – executive producer * Toby Scott – recording, mixing (9) * Don Smith – additional recording, mixing (1-8, 10) * Greg Anderson – assistant engineer * Steve Brix – assistant engineer * Dave Demore – assistant engineer * Dave Pearce – assistant engineer * Julian Stoll – assistant engineer * Debbie Gold – production supervisor *

Bonnie Bruckheimer Bonnie Sue Fishman (born July 26, 1944), known professionally as Bonnie Bruckheimer, is an American film and television producer. She has also been known professionally as Bonnie Fishman, Bonnie Martell, and Bonnie Bruckheimer-Martell. She has ...

– production associate *

John Kosh John Kosh, known simply as Kosh, is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet a ...

– art direction, design * Ron Larson – art direction, design * Andre Miripolsky – cover art *

Greg Gorman Greg Gorman (born 1949) is an American portrait photographer of Hollywood celebrities. His work has been seen in national magazine features and covers, including ''Esquire'', '' GQ'', ''Interview'', ''Life'', ''Vogue'', ''Newsweek'', ''Rolling Ston ...

– photography Studios * Recorded at Clover Recorders and

The Sound Factory The Sound Factory (also known as Sunset Sound Factory) is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California. The Sound Factory was built in the 1960s on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. At the time, it served as the home of Moonglow Records and the Moon ...

(Hollywood, California); Rumbo Recorders (Los Angeles, California). * Mixed at Clover Studios and Rumbo Recorders.

Charts

Notes

{{Authority control 1983 albums Bette Midler albums Albums produced by Chuck Plotkin Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Toby Scott