Bette Midler

Released: September 15, 1998

Songwriter: Otis Rene Leon René

Producer: Arif Mardin

I gave my heart to you
The one that I trusted
You brought it back to me
All broken and busted
So I sold my heart to the junkman
And I'll never fall in love again

You took my heart
Because you thought you could use it
Just like a little toy
You battered and bruised it
So I sold my heart to the junkman
And I'll never fall in love again

Like a melodrama
In a simple manner
Love played the leading part
We planned a happy ending
Now I'm left with a broken heart
I'll throw away my pride
And say we'll be friends, dear
Teardrops I just can't hide
'Cause this is the end, dear
So I sold my heart to the junkman
And I'll never fall in love again

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.

more tracks from the album

Bathhouse Betty

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Bathhouse Betty (1998)

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