Maps of Music

Live at Last (1977)

Where the lyrics of Live at Last take you, and where it was really made.

This live album comes from a 1976 tour show and ends with a studio recording, the only single taken from it.

Key places

Cleveland Music Hall, the recording site (1977)

Recording site Cleveland Music Hall — The full-length performance was recorded live at the Cleveland Music Hall during the 1976 Depression Tour. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Live at Last: first live album by American singer Bette Midler
• Two-disc set released in 1977, Midler's fourth album on Atlantic Records
• Grew out of a live recording of "The Depression Tour" in Cleveland, titled "The Bette Midler Show"
• First released on CD in 1993
• Limited edition remastered version issued by Friday Music in 2012

Background

• Documents a full-length performance at the Cleveland Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, on the 1976 Depression Tour
• Midler, her backing group The Staggering Harlettes, and her band Betsy and the Blowboys perform material from her first three albums
• Also covers The Supremes' "Up the Ladder to the Roof", Neil Young's "Birds", and Ringo Starr's "Oh My My"
• Includes the mock lounge act The Vicky Eydie Show doing a "global revue" and the song cycle The Story of Nanette
• Captures Midler's rapport with the Cleveland audience, including her loving heckling of them
• Includes a monologue about fried eggs
• Contains raunchy Sophie Tucker jokes, which later became a staple of her live performances

Recording

• Recorded live at The Cleveland Music Hall, Cleveland, Ohio
• Mobile facilities provided by Fedco Audio Labs
• Remote recording produced by Arif Mardin, recording engineer Jack Malken
• Record producer and re-mixing credited to Lew Hahn
• The studio track "You're Moving Out Today" produced by Tom Dowd, arranged by Charlie Calello, engineered by Jimmy Douglass

Cover

• Cover photograph by Kenn Duncan
• Performance photography by Steinbicker / Houghton
• Art direction by Bob Defrin / Abie Sussman

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born December 1, 1945 in Honolulu, Hawaii; American actress, comedian, singer, and author.
• Moved to New York City in 1965 and began in off-off-Broadway plays, then appeared in Fiddler on the Roof and Salvation on Broadway in the late 1960s.
• Rose to prominence in 1970 singing at the Continental Baths, a gay bathhouse in New York, where she built a core following.
• Debut album The Divine Miss M (1972) earned the 1973 Grammy for Best New Artist.
• Starred in the film The Rose (1979), earning an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe.
• Won Record of the Year for "Wind Beneath My Wings" from the film Beaches (1988).
• Has over 30 million records sold worldwide, with 14 solo studio albums since 1970.
• Received a Tony Award for Hello, Dolly! (2017 Broadway revival) and a Kennedy Center Honor in 2021.

Activism

• Founded the New York Restoration Project in 1995 to revitalize neglected parks in disadvantaged New York neighborhoods.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reached #49 on Billboard's album chart in the autumn of 1977
• The only single from the album was "You're Moving Out Today"
• The single reached #42 on Billboard's Single Chart and #11 on the Adult Contemporary chart
• The album was issued as a two-disc set on Atlantic Records, Midler's fourth release on that label

Records

• Billboard album chart peak: #49, autumn 1977
• Single "You're Moving Out Today": #42 Billboard Single Chart, #11 Adult Contemporary
• First CD release in 1993
• Limited edition remastered version by Friday Music in 2012

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album came from the Cleveland performance of "The Depression Tour", which was given the title "The Bette Midler Show".
• Its only single, "You're Moving Out Today", is a studio track co-written by Midler and Carole Bayer Sager and produced by Tom Dowd.
• The Sophie Tucker jokes recorded at Cleveland later became a staple of Midler's live performances.
• The set mixes covers of Neil Young, Ringo Starr and The Supremes with a mock lounge act and a song cycle, The Story of Nanette.
• A limited edition remastered version was released by Friday Music in 2012.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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