Thighs and Whispers
| Thighs and Whispers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Bette Midler | ||||
| Released | October 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Disco, pop | |||
| Length | 42:12 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Arif Mardin | |||
| Bette Midler chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Thighs and Whispers | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[2] |
| Rolling Stone | (mixed)[3] |
Thighs and Whispers is the fifth studio album by American singer Bette Midler. Released in 1979, the album reached #65 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Album information
The album's title is a humorous play on Cries and Whispers, influential Swedish film-maker Ingmar Bergman's 1973 movie.
The song "Millworker", written by James Taylor, is from the short-lived Broadway production of Working. Midler's recording of "Married Men" reached the top 40 of the U.S. Club Play Singles chart. The song was also a UK top 40 hit for Bonnie Tyler the same year. Tyler's version was the theme to the British film The World Is Full of Married Men.
The album was largely disco-influenced. It saw Midler reunite with producer Arif Mardin and includes Jerry Ragovoy's "My Knight in Black Leather", a minor dance-floor hit that peaked at #70 on the US dance charts. "Married Men", "Hang on in There Baby" and "My Knight in Black Leather", released at the height of the disco era, were all issued as extended mixes on 12-inch singles.
While the singles and the album itself were largely overlooked at the time, "Big Noise From Winnetka" has since served as the opening number on many of Midler's tours. The song was originally a swing classic recorded by Bob Crosby and the Bobcats, Gene Krupa and several others in the late 1930s.
The album was released on CD in 1990. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1995.
Track listing
Side one
- "Big Noise from Winnetka" (Ray Bauduc, Bob Crosby, Bob Haggart, Gil Rodin) – 6:56
- "Millworker" (James Taylor) – 4:07
- "Cradle Days" (Tony Berg, Aaron Neville) – 5:05
- "My Knight in Black Leather" (Jerry Ragovoy) – 4:53
Side two
- "Hang on in There Baby" (Johnny Bristol) – 6:04
- "Hurricane" (Randy Kerber, Bette Midler) – 7:30
- "Rain" (Mac Rebennack) – 3:58
- "Married Men" (Dominic Bugatti, Frank Musker) – 3:47
Personnel
- Jonathan Abramowitz – strings
- Lamar Alsop – whistling
- Phillip Ballou – background vocals
- Errol "Crusher" Bennett – percussion, conga
- Warren Bernhardt – piano, electric piano
- Phil Bodner – clarinet, reeds, saxophone
- Michael Brecker – reeds, saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Randy Brecker – trumpet
- Eddie Brigati – background vocals
- Joe Caro – guitar, electric guitar
- Robin Clark – background vocals
- William Coupon – photography
- Rafael Cruz – percussion
- Eddie Daniels – reeds, saxophone, alto saxophone
- Lew DelGatto – reeds, saxophone
- Jimmy Douglass – engineer
- Jon Faddis – trumpet
- Steve Ferrone – drums
- Sammy Figueroa – percussion
- Babi Floyd – background vocals
- Arthur Freeman – background vocals
- John Frosk – trumpet
- John Gale – trombone
- Billy Gray – background vocals
- Diva Gray – background vocals, obbligato vocals
- Robin Grean – background vocals
- Lewis Hahn – engineer, mixing
- Carl Hall – background vocals
- Ula Hedwig – background vocals
- Stephen Innocenzi – remixing
- Anthony Jackson – bass
- Arthur Jenkins – electric piano
- Jack Jennings – percussion, marimba, background vocals
- Randy Kerber – synthesizer, piano, electric piano, mellotron
- Will Lee – bass
- Bernie Leighton – piano
- Jesse Levy – cello
- Mel Lewis – drums, tom-tom
- Tom "Bones" Malone – trombone
- Arif Mardin – producer, percussion, conductor, horn arrangements
- George Marge – reeds, saxophone
- Jim Maxwell – bagpipes
- Bette Midler – vocals, background vocals
- Merle Miller – background vocals
- Jeff Mironov – guitar
- Michael O'Reilly – assistant engineer
- Gene Orloff – concertmaster
- Gene Pau – engineer
- Jerry Ragovoy – producer
- Katey Sagal - background vocals
- Marc Shaiman – vocal arrangement
- Jocelyn Shaw – background vocals
- Alan Shulman – strings
- Billy Slapin – reeds, saxophone
- David Spinozza – acoustic guitar, guitar
- Danny Stiles – trumpet
- Richard Tee – piano
- Fonzi Thornton – background vocals
- David Tofani – reeds, saxophone
- Luther Vandross – background vocals
- Ed Walsh – synthesizer
- Bobby Warner – engineer
- Willie Weeks – bass
- Frank Wess – reeds, saxophone
- Ken Williams – bass vocals
- George Young – reeds, saxophone
- Sandi Young – art direction
- Albert Izzo - drums
- Peter Ballin - saxophone
Chart performance
Album
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Sweden[4] | 28 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop Albums[5] | 65 |
Singles
| Single | Chart (1979) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "Big Noise from Winnetka" | U.S. Billboard Club Play Singles[6] | 98 |
| "My Knight in Black Leather/Hang on in There Baby" | U.S. Billboard Club Play Singles[6] | 70 |
| "Married Men" | U.S. Billboard Club Play Singles[6] | 32 |
| "Married Men" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles[6] | 40 |
Release history
| Year | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Atlantic | LP | – |
| 1990 | Atlantic | CD | 16004 |
| 1995 | Atlantic/WEA | Remastered CD | 82786 |
| 2005 | Atlantic | CD | CD-16004 |
Notes
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Robert Christgau review
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
- ↑ Thighs and Whispers. SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved on July 19, 2008.
- ↑ Thighs and Whispers > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums. Allmusic. Retrieved on July 19, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 Thighs and Whispers > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles. Allmusic. Retrieved on July 19, 2008
