Bye Bette Midler

If there has been a musical constant in my life, besides the Beatles and Elton John and Rod Stewart and...., well, it's Bette Midler. Never mind that we were born on the same day- years apart, but nonetheless, the same day. When I first saw her on Johnny Carson, I adored her. That hair- that personality- that sense of humor. But over the years, she has succumbed to the wonderfulness of herself. She got political and strident, and well, not entertaining anymore. She made bad movies and sang some bad songs. And all of that I took with a grain of salt. After all, she is far more talented than the likes of me- she has more guts too. She gained and lost weight, got married and had a late in life baby, and lived her larger than life existence. But sometimes it is best to realize what is happening to your voice. And she didn't learn from Carson that there is a beauty to retiring on top. Now we watch the incredible decline of Bette Midler into the misery of screechy, off key singing and parody performance. It is a terrible thing to see. And painful to me- because if Better is getting old, then hell, so am I. And I don't want the botox and face lifts so I guess I might even look older than she does. But her performance on American Idol was horrible- a sad and embarrassing way for her to exhibit herself. The guys at Ceasar's Palace have to be panicking right now. When Celine Dion, their cash cow, takes her final bow, who will pay money to see Bette Midler yodel her way into infamy? I actually would have gone to see her but that was before the AI appearance, and now I know. It reminded me of when we saw Wayne Newton a couple of years ago- he was AWFUL, but he was such an entertainer and had such a good backup singer that he could do his schtick and we could get free champagne. It was still a travesty and a shame, but there was a trade off. With Midler, you will get a political lecture with her bad performance. So think twice about it! I am sorry to bid adieu but I can't pay that kind of dough to be lectured and watch someone who was once my American Idol reduced to that.