"The Wind Beneath My Wings" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Gary Morris | ||||
from the album Why Lady Why | ||||
B-side | "The Way I Love You Tonight" | |||
Released | August 6, 1983 | |||
Length | 4:40 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar | |||
Producer(s) | Jimmy Bowen | |||
Gary Morris singles chronology | ||||
|
"Wind Beneath My Wings" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Bette Midler | ||||
from the album Beaches: Original Soundtrack Recording | ||||
B-side | "Oh Industry" | |||
Released | June 1, 1989 | |||
Format | CD single, cassette single | |||
Recorded | 1988 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length |
4:18 (edit) 4:54 (album and 7" version) |
|||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar | |||
Producer(s) | Arif Mardin | |||
Bette Midler singles chronology | ||||
|
"Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley.
The song was originally recorded by Roger Whittaker in 1982, as well as by Sheena Easton and Lee Greenwood. The song appeared very shortly thereafter in charted versions by Colleen Hewett (1982), Lou Rawls (1983), Gladys Knight & The Pips (1983), and Gary Morris (1983). The highest-charting version of the song to date was recorded in 1988 by singer and actress Bette Midler for the soundtrack to the film Beaches. This version was released as a single in early 1989, spent one week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in June 1989, and won Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year in February 1990. On October 24, 1991, Midler's single was also certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipment of one million copies in the United States. In 2004 Midler's version finished at No. 44 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
In a 2002 UK poll, "Wind Beneath My Wings" was found to be the most-played song at British funerals.
Silbar and Henley recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to musician Bob Montgomery. Montgomery then recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo version he was given to a ballad. Silbar and Henley then shopped the song to many artists, eventually resulting in Roger Whittaker becoming the first to release the song commercially. It appeared on his 1982 studio album, also titled The Wind Beneath My Wings.