Silbar and Henley recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to musician Bob Montgomery. Henley wrote the lyrics and Silbar wrote the music. Apart from the title, the song did not incorporate any of the text of the original poem. One day, when the two men sat down to write a song for Bob Seger, Silbar saw that Henley had written that title on his legal pad, and was inspired by those words to write the song.
Several years earlier, Henley had written a poem with the same title for his ex-wife. In a 2002 UK poll, "Wind Beneath My Wings" was found to be the most-played song at British funerals. Como wanted "Wind Beneath My Wings" released as a single, but RCA refused Como was reportedly so angry he vowed to never record for RCA Records ever again. Perry Como recorded the song for his final studio album Today, released by RCA Records in 1987. 44 in AFI's 100 Years.100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In 2004, Midler's version finished at No. 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. 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. This version was released as a single in early 1989, spent one week at No. 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. The song appeared shortly thereafter in charted versions by Colleen Hewett (1982), Lou Rawls (1983), Gladys Knight & the Pips (1983), and Gary Morris (1983). Instead, Roger Whittaker recorded the song, as well as Sheena Easton and Lee Greenwood.
Kamahl talked about being the first to record the song in an appearance on Australian TV show Spicks and Specks, but stated it was not commercially released because it was felt he did not suit the country and western style. The song was first recorded by Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western album he was recording. " 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. In 2019, it was still ranking in the top 10 alongside 'Angels' by Robbie Williams and Frank Sinatra's 'My Way. In 2002, it topped a UK list of most played songs at funerals, ahead of 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion. It's one of the most played songs at funerals."Whatever reservations I might have had I certainly don't have any more." When I first heard it, I said, 'I'm not singing that song,' but the friend who gave it to me said, 'If you don't sing it I'll never speak to you again', so of course I had to sing the damned song. She explained to the Times in 2009: "It's really grown on me. Midler later performed the song live at the Prayer for America memorial service held at Yankee Stadium soon after the September 11 attacks. She also performed the song alongside Krusty the Clown, on season 4 episode 22 of The Simpsons in 1993. Midler performed the song after the annual in memoriam montage at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014. Many artists recorded it before Bette Midler.It was initially conceived as a love song from a lover to another, but the lyrics ended up being something more universal, and could apply to various types of relationships, such as friends or family, helping the song's lasting popularity. They finished writing it by the end of the day. Instead of writing the chorus first (like the pair usually did), they wrote it from start to finish. The title came from a poem Henley had written.
Larry Henley came up with the title and Jeff Silbar was a big fan, particularly as he was learning to fly planes at the time. Silbar and Henley then offered it around to many other artists.
Montgomery recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo original he was given, to a ballad. The pair recorded a demo of the song, and gave it to musician Bob Montgomery. The song was written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. But who recorded it first and what inspired the power ballad? Here's all the fascinating facts: