Bette Midler – The Divine Miss M (1972):  Who could have predicted when The Divine Miss M arrived in record stores a half-century ago that Bette Midler would become a popular performer with such widespread appeal?  I remember reading ages ago that The Divine Miss M was the first debut album where the recording artist appeared on the cover as a caricature; and surely, there couldn’t have been many others since that time who had the guts to do that.  While Bette Midler’s albums and films are a somewhat uneven lot, that might be inevitable, as probably no other major artist has tried their hand at a wider range of material than Bette Midler.  With that being said, most recording artists would be thrilled if their “greatest hits” album was as clogged with strong performances as The Divine Miss M.  Bette Midler is probably at her best in nightclubs, although she quickly outgrew those venues and normally appeared instead in small auditoriums.  One memorable concert that I saw featured Bette Midler and the cast in choreographed movements while in wheelchairs, and the humor between the musical numbers was scandalously vulgar.  Bette Midler first became known for her appearances at gay bathhouses, notably the Continental Baths in New York City, where she received the sobriquet “Bathhouse Betty” that she wore with pride.  “You’ve Got to Have Friends” was normally the high point of her concerts there; this song opens and closes Side 2 of the album under the title “Friends”.  Her accompanist on piano at the bathhouses was Barry Manilow, who ultimately came out as gay in 2017; Manilow is also prominently featured on The Divine Miss M.  However unlikely a springboard to stardom this might seem, Bette Midler and Barry Manilow were not the only future stars to appear at the Continental Baths:  My wife Peggy was taken to the Baths by a gay friend from New Orleans decades ago, where Blondie was performing.  Another Bette Midler signature song on The Divine Miss M – she seems to have so many! – is her remarkable cover of the Andrews Sisters classic from the World War II era, “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”.  Bette Midler’s moving rendition of “Do You Want to Dance?” opens the album; she also intelligently covers other classics from the 1920’s to the 1970’s:  “Am I Blue”, “Leader of the Pack”, “Delta Dawn”, “Hello in There”, and “Chapel of Love”.