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Some People's Lives

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Some People's Lives
Studio album by
Bette Midler
ReleasedSeptember 4, 1990
Recorded1990
GenrePop
Length43:56
LabelAtlantic
ProducerArif Mardin
Bette Midler chronology
Beaches
(1988) 		Some People's Lives
(1990) 		For the Boys
(1991)
Singles from Some People's Lives
  1. "From a Distance"
  2. "Night and Day"
  3. "The Gift of Love"
  4. "Moonlight Dancing"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]
Robert Christgau(choice cut) [2]

Some People's Lives is the seventh studio album by American singer Bette Midler, released on the Atlantic Records label in 1990. It contains one of her biggest hits, "From a Distance", which won the songwriter Julie Gold a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1991.

Some People's Lives became the biggest commercial success of Midler's musical career, peaking at number 6 in the US and number 5 in the UK. It was later awarded double platinum by the RIAA for sales of over two million copies in the US alone.

Composition

Following a series of successful Hollywood movies made throughout the 1980s, among them Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune, Oliver and Company and Big Business, Midler returned to the music scene with a proper studio album in 1990, her first since 1983's rock and new wave-influenced No Frills. Some People's Lives, however, had more in common with the preceding soundtrack Beaches in that it featured both interpretations of jazz standards like "Miss Otis Regrets", "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" and "He Was Too Good to Me" as well as more chart-oriented pop and adult contemporary material with contrasting synth-driven arrangements courtesy of producer Arif Mardin, his son Joe and Robbie Buchanan. The up-tempo track "Moonlight Dancing" (first recorded by pop/R&B group The Pointer Sisters) was written by noted hitmaker Diane Warren and "The Gift of Love" by Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg and Susanna Hoffs. Steinberg and Kelly were the songwriting team behind Madonna's "Like a Virgin", Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" and The Bangles' "Eternal Flame".

Singles

"Moonlight Dancing" (also released as an extended dance remix which sampled the 1973 recording "Do You Want to Dance"), "Night and Day" and "The Gift of Love" were all issued as singles, but the biggest hit that the album produced was Midler's interpretation of Julie Gold's anthem of universal brotherhood "From a Distance" featuring The Radio Choir of New Hope Church. The single reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 6 in the UK and was later certified platinum in the US, making it Midler's second million-seller within the space of two years (following "Wind Beneath My Wings" from the Beaches soundtrack). The song has since been recorded by a large number of other artists, and Midler herself included an alternate version with partly re-written lyrics on her 2006 album Cool Yule.

Track listing

  1. "One More Round" (Jessica Harper, Danny Sembello, Allee Willis) – 2:03
  2. "Some People's Lives" (Rhonda Fleming, Janis Ian) – 3:29
  3. "Miss Otis Regrets" (Cole Porter) – 2:51
  4. "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most" (Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolf) – 5:30
  5. "Night and Day" (Billie Hughes, Roxanne Seeman) – 5:30
  6. "The Girl Is On to You" (Jude Johnstone) – 4:10
  7. "From a Distance" (Julie Gold) – 4:37
  8. "Moonlight Dancing" (Diane Warren) – 4:39
  9. "He Was Too Good to Me" / "Since You Stayed Here" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) / (Peter Larson, Josh Rubins) – 4:12
  10. "All of a Sudden" (Nathalie Archangel, Scott Wilk) – 4:33
  11. "The Gift of Love" (Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg, Susanna Hoffs) – 4:02

Personnel

  • Bette Midler – all vocals (1-6, 8, 9), lead vocals (7, 10)
  • Joe Mardin – keyboards (1, 5, 8, 10), programming (1, 5, 8, 10), arrangements (1, 8, 10), keyboard solo (5), conductor (8), backing vocals (10)
  • Marc Shaiman – arrangements (1-4, 6), acoustic piano (2, 9), conductor (2, 3, 4, 6), vocal arrangements (7, 8), basic rhythm arrangements (9)
  • Bernie Layton – acoustic piano (3)
  • Robbie Buchanan – keyboards (6, 7, 11), programming (6, 11), additional programming (8)
  • Michael Boddicker – additional synthesizers (6), additional programming (11)
  • Guy Roche – additional programming (8)
  • Gene Bertoncini – guitar (3)
  • Michael Landau – guitar (6, 7)
  • Dean Parks – guitar (6, 11)
  • John McCurry – guitar (10)
  • Andrew Gold – guitar solo (11)
  • Ron Carter – bass (3)
  • Neil Stubenhaus – bass (6, 7, 11)
  • Jay Leonhart – bass (9)
  • Grady Tate – drums (3)
  • Carlos Vega – drums (6, 7, 11)
  • Steve Kroon – percussion (1)
  • Gary Coleman – percussion (6)
  • Phil Bodner – clarinet solo (3)
  • Nino Tempo – tenor saxophone (4)
  • Andy Snitzer – soprano sax solo (6)
  • Arif Mardin – arrangements (1, 5, 7, 11), orchestral arrangements and conductor (9)
  • Billie Hughes – arrangements (5)
  • Steve Skinner – arrangements (7)
  • Sid Page – concertmaster (2)
  • Bruce Dukov – concertmaster (4)
  • Gene Orloff – concertmaster (9)
  • Charlotte Crossley – backing vocals (7)
  • Cissy Houston – backing vocals (7)
  • Jo Ann Harris – backing vocals (7)
  • David Lasley – backing vocals (7)
  • Myrna Smith – backing vocals (7)
  • Gene Van Buren – backing vocals (7)
  • John West – backing vocals (7)
  • The Radio Choir of New Hope Church – backing vocals (7)
  • Ula Hedwig – backing vocals (10)
  • George Merrill – backing vocals (10)
  • Tom Kelly – backing vocals (11), vocal arrangements (11)
  • Maria Vidal – backing vocals (11)

Production

  • Arif Mardin – producer
  • Marc Shaiman – associate producer
  • Jack Joseph Puig – recording, mixing
  • Joe Mardin – additional recording (1), additional mixing (1)
  • Eddie Garcia – additional recording (1), additional mixing (1)
  • Michael O'Reilly – additional recording (1), additional mixing (1)
  • Nick Sansano – additional recording (1), additional mixing (1)
  • Ken Felton – assistant engineer
  • Rob Harvey – assistant engineer
  • Ed Korengo – assistant engineer
  • Bob Loftus – assistant engineer
  • Gabriel Moffat – assistant engineer
  • James Nichols – assistant engineer
  • Clif Norrell – assistant engineer
  • Anthony Saunders – assistant engineer
  • Jamie Staub – assistant engineer
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Marsha Burns – production coordination
  • Lisa Maldonado – additional coordination
  • Vicky Germaise – additional coordination
  • Frank DeCaro – orchestra contractor
  • Gene Orloff – orchestra contractor
  • Greg Gorman – photography
  • Bob Defrin – art direction, design

Studios

  • Recorded at Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood, California); Studio 55 and Studio Ultimo (Los Angeles, California); Electric Lady Studios, Battery Studios, BMG Studios and Greene St. Recording (New York City, New York).
  • Mixed at Studio 55 and Electric Lady Studios.
  • Mastered at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California).

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[12] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[13] 2× Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[14] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[16] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  3. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1416". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  4. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  5. ^ "Bette Midler ベット・ミドラー - Japan - Albums - Some People's Lives サム・ピープルズ・ライヴズ". Oricon (in Japanese). オリコン. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved 2012-08-08.
  6. ^ "Charts.nz – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  7. ^ "Bette Midler | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  8. ^ "Bette Midler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  9. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1991". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  10. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1991". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  12. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  13. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives". Music Canada.
  14. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives". Recorded Music NZ.
  15. ^ "British album certifications – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Some People's Lives in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  16. ^ "American album certifications – Bette Midler – Some People's Lives". Recording Industry Association of America.
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