Top 10 Bette Midler Songs

Photo: Aaron Russo-manager, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Our Top 10 Bette Midler songs list presents the work of one of America’s greatest all around entertainers. In many ways, the career of Bette Midler echoed many of the stars of the 1930s and 40s who did it all as actors, dancers and singers. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Bette Midler got her start in the early 1970s working as an entertainer in the Continental Baths, at the Ansonia Hotel in New York City. She worked there with her pianist who was a young man named Barry Manilow. She released her first album in 1973 entuited The Divine Miss M. From that point on, Bette Midler would release fourteen studio albums, four soundtrack albums and thirty nine singles. She has celebrated multiple number one singles throughout her career while winning three Grammy Awards, four Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. A success both as an actress and the singer has made her one of the most loved stars of all time.

# 10 – All I Need To Know

We open up our top 10 Bette Midler songs list with the gorgeous song entitled “All I Need To Know.” The song was released on the album entitled No Frills. It was the first single released from the album. The album was released in 1983. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number seventy seven. The song broke onto the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts peaking at number thirty nine. The song was later recorded as a duet between Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville in a big production that was a huge hit and renamed “Don’t Know Much.” We kind of like Bette Midler’s version better because it was just so tenderly recorded.

# 9 – Your Moving Out Today

If you have ever gotten the chance to see Bette Midler live than you completely understand what a magnificent performer she is. Continuing with our top 10 Bette Midler songs list we take a listen to the great live recording entitled “Your Moving Out Today.” The song was released on the album entitled Live At Last. The album was released in 1977. It was the first and only single released from the album. The song was a minor hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number forty two. The song also was a hit on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 Charts reaching all the way up to number eleven. The song was composed by Carole Bayer Sager, Bette Midler and Bruce Roberts. The song was produced by Tom Dowd who did all the great Allman Brothers Records.

# 8 – Beast Of Burden

In the number eight spot on our top 10 Bette Midler songs list we present the classic Rolling Stones song entitled “Beast Of Burden.” Before you do anything else, you have to watch the video below, the opening segment with Mick Jagger is to die for. The entire video is fantastic. Bette Midler does an amazing job on her cover of the great Rolling Stones song “Beasts Of Burden,” singing her heart out as she always does. The song was released on the album entitled No Frills. The album was released in 1983. It was the third single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number seventy one.

# 7 – In The Mood

Ten years before she recorded “Beast Of Burden,” in 1983, Bette Midler covered another classic song in Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood.” In the number seven position on our top 10 Bette Midler songs list is the classic swing tune “In The Mood.” The song was released on the album entitled Bette Midler. The album was released in 1973. It was the first and only single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number fifty one. The song was a top 20 hit on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts peaking at number eighteen.

# 6 – Friends

Landing in the number six spot on our top 10 Bette Midler songs list we present the song “Friends.” This was a song that was also covered by Barry Manilow. The song was released on the album entitled The Divine Miss M. The album was released in 1973. It was the third and final single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number forty. The song also was a hit on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 Charts reaching all the way up to number nine. The song was composed by Buzzy Linhart and Mark “Moogy” Klingman. Barry Manilow served as one of the song’s producers.

# 5 – When A Man Loves A Woman

At the halfway point on our top 10 Bette Midler songs list is the legendary Percy Sledge song “When A Man Loves A Woman.” Bette Midler just smokes this one. Her version of the song is simply stunning. The song was issued on the soundtrack to the motion picture The Rose. This was one of the all time great rock and roll movies ever released in which Bette Midler and Forest Whitaker are spectacular together. The album was released in 1979. It was the first single released from the album. The song was a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number thirty five.

# 4 – Keep On Rockin / Red

At the number four spot on our top 10 Bette Midler songs list we present a pair of songs written by the great red rocker Sammy Hagar. The first song “Keep On Rockin” appeared on the Rose motion picture soundtrack. This was a from a great live scene in the film. The second Sammy Hagar cover may surprise some as Bette Midler took on one of Sammy Hagar’s old classics entitled “Red.” While the instrumental section behind the song “Red,” may be a little flat on the Midler recording, Bette Midler’s vocals on the song are great. You have to listen to it all the way through. She really makes it her own. We thought we should include it on this list as it is very entertaining.

# 3 – From A Distance

In the number three top spot on our top 10 Bette Midler songs list we celebrate the song entitled “From A Distance.” This beautiful song was written by the songwriter Julia Gold. The song was released on the album entitled Some People’s Lives. The album was released in 1990. It was the first single released from the album. It really was amazing how this song served as the follow up to Bette Midler’s monster hit “Wind Beneath My Wings and it was almost just as big.” The song was a massive hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number two. However, the song would hit number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts. It would also become Bette Midler’s second platinum selling single. Between the two songs, Bette Midler had become one of the biggest musical stars in the world at the turn of the decade as we headed into the 1990s.

# 2 – The Wind Beneath My Wings

Soaring along on our top 10 Bette Midler songs list we present the song entitled “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” Yes this was a big one. The song was released on the album entitled Beaches. The album was released in 1989. It was the second single released from the album. “The Wind Beneath My Wings,” would become Bette Midler’s first and only number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also her first platinum selling record. The song also hit number one in the United Kingdom. Bette Midler delivered one of the greatest and most epic vocals of her career on the song “The Wind Beneath My Wings.” The song was composed by Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar.

# 1 – The Rose

We close out our top 10 Bette Midler songs list with the extraordinary song entitled “The Rose.” Hands down this was Bette Midler’s most stunning vocal performance. It was simply off the charts. The song was released on the motion picture soundtrack album also entitled The Rose. The album was released in 1979. “The Rose,” would become Bette Midler’s first Gold record. It was the second single released from the album. It would hit the number one spot on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary Charts in 1979. The song was also hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 peaking at number three. The song was written by Amanda McBroom. The songwriter was a television actress who appeared in many 70s television shows from Star Trek to Starsky and Hutch. Bet you didn’t know that!