Released: September 4, 1990

Songwriter: Cole Porter

Producer: Arif Mardin

Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today, madam
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today, mmmmmm
And she's sorry to be delayed
But last evening down at lover's lane
She strayed, madam
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today

When she woke up and found
That her dream of love was gone, madam
She ran to the man
Who had lead her so far astray
And from under her velvet gown
She drew a gun and shot her lover down (he should have seen it coming), madam
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today

When the mob came and got her
And dragged her from the jail, madam
They strung her up
On the willow across the way
And the moment before she died
She lifted up her lovely head and cried, madam
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch
Miss Otis regrets she's unable to lunch today

Bette Midler

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.