The Rose (song)
"The Rose" | ||||
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Single by Bette Midler | ||||
from the album The Rose | ||||
B-side | "Stay With Me" | |||
Released | March 1980 | |||
Genre | Pop, adult contemporary | |||
Length | 3:40 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom | |||
Producer(s) | Paul A. Rothchild | |||
Bette Midler singles chronology | ||||
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"The Rose" is a classic pop song written by Amanda McBroom and made famous by Bette Midler who recorded it for the soundtrack of the 1979 film The Rose in which it plays under the closing credits.
Background and Bette Midler version
"The Rose" was first recorded by Bette Midler for the soundtrack of the 1979 film The Rose in which it plays under the closing credits. However the song was not written for the movie: Amanda McBroom recalls, "I wrote it in 1977 [or] 1978, and I sang it occasionally in clubs. ... Jim Nabors had a local talk show, and I sang ["The Rose"] on his show once."[1] According to McBroom she wrote "The Rose" in response to her manager's suggestion that she write "some Bob Seger-type tunes" to expedite a record deal: McBroom obliged by writing "The Rose" in forty-five minutes. Said McBroom: "'The Rose' is ... just one verse [musically] repeated three times. When I finished it, I realized it doesn't have a bridge or a hook, but I couldn't think of anything to [add]."
McBroom's composition was one of seven songs selected by Midler from thirty song possibilities proffered by Paul A. Rothchild, the producer of The Rose soundtrack album. Reportedly Rothchild had listened to over 3,000 songs in order to assemble those thirty possibilities.[2]
Released as the second single from The Rose soundtrack album, "The Rose" hit number 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Additionally, it was number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart for five weeks running. The single was certified Gold by the RIAA for over a half million copies sold in the United States.[3][4]
Midler won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "The Rose", beating out formidable competition from Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer among others.[5]
There are two mixes of the song. The single mix features orchestration, while the version in the film (and on its soundtrack) includes an extended introduction while doing away with the orchestration in favor of piano-and-vocals only.
"The Rose" did not receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Despite not having been recorded prior to the soundtrack of the film The Rose, the song had not been written for the film. According to McBroom, AMPAS inquired of her if the song had been written for the movie, and McBroom answered honestly (that it had not). McBroom did however win the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "The Rose", as that award's governing body, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), does not share AMPAS' official meticulousness over a nominated song's being completely original with its parent film.[6]
In 2004 "The Rose" finished #83 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.
Personnel
- Bette Midler - lead vocals
- David Campbell - string arrangements
- Lincoln Mayorga - piano
- Amanda McBroom - harmony vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Conway Twitty version
"The Rose" | ||||
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Single by Conway Twitty | ||||
from the album Dream Maker | ||||
B-side | "It's Only Make Believe" | |||
Released | January 17, 1983 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:35 | |||
Label | Elektra | |||
Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom | |||
Producer(s) | Conway Twitty, Jimmy Bowen | |||
Conway Twitty singles chronology | ||||
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Country singer Conway Twitty recorded a cover version in January 1983. His version, off his album Dream Maker, was a number one country hit in US and Canada. Conway Twitty's version was his 30th number one single on the US country chart.[12]
Chart performance
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[13] | 1 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
Westlife version
"The Rose" | ||||
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Single by Westlife | ||||
from the album The Love Album | ||||
Released | November 6, 2006 | |||
Format | CD Single, digital download | |||
Recorded | 2006, Studio 301, Stockholm, Sweden & Metropolis Studio, London | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:39 | |||
Label | SonyBMG | |||
Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom | |||
Producer(s) | Quiz & Larossi | |||
Westlife singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
The Rose on YouTube |
"The Rose" was covered by Irish boy band Westlife and was released as the first and only single from their seventh studio album The Love Album (2006). It reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for one week in November 2006. This became the group's 14th number-one single. The single has sold over 140,000 copies in Britain so far.[14] The band gave their first live performance of the song on Miss World 2006 and later performed it on their The Love Tour. On 12 May 2018, the song was performed on South Korean music programme 'Immortal Songs 2' by Eric Nam. Band member Shane Filan was the featured 'Legend' and judged the participants.
Tours performed at
- The Love Tour (2007)
Track listing
- UK CD1
- "The Rose" – 3:40
- "Solitaire" – 5:07
- UK CD2
- "The Rose" – 3:40
- "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" – 3:47
- "If" – 2:42
- "The Rose" (video) – 3:55
Music video
The video for this single was presented in two versions black and white and a colored one. It shows the emotions and events leading up to a couple's wedding procession. The band members are clad in suits and are shown in a checkered-floor room. During the initial period of the video's release, fans were given the opportunity to customise the music video by digitally adding their names to various elements such as the wedding invitation card. A colour version of the music video was later made available.
Chart performance
Chart (2006) | Peak position[15] |
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Austrian Singles Chart | 67 |
Danish Airplay Chart | 49 |
European Hot 100 Singles[16] | 4 |
Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
Scottish Singles Chart[17] | 1 |
Sweden Singles Chart | 4 |
Swiss Singles Chart | 85 |
Taiwanese Singles Chart | 1 |
UK Singles Chart | 1 |
World Airplay Chart | 55 |
World Singles Chart | 71 |
Year-end charts
Chart (2006) | Peak position |
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Irish Albums Chart[18] | 18 |
The Dubliners version
"The Rose" | ||||
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Single by The Hothouse Flowers and The Dubliners | ||||
from the album 30 Years A-Greying | ||||
Released | 1991 | |||
Format | Cassette, CD | |||
Genre | Celtic rock | |||
Label | London Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom | |||
The Hothouse Flowers and The Dubliners singles chronology | ||||
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The Dubliners recorded a duet with The Hothouse Flowers for Rose Week and released "The Rose" as a single in 1991, reaching no. 2 in the Irish Singles Chart.
Chart Performance
Chart (1991) | Peak position |
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Ireland (IRMA)[19] | 2 |
References
- ↑ "Talkin' Broadway - Cabaret Interview with Amanda McBroom". Talkinbroadway.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ↑ Bego, Mark (8 November 2002). Bette Midler: Still Divine (1st ed.). New York: Cooper Square Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-4616-3527-7.
- ↑ US chart positions on allmusic.com (Bette Midler version)
- ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-04-13. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-12-15. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 5, 1980
- ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
- ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
- ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1980
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 362.
- ↑ "Conway Twitty Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ↑ "Westlife | Official Top 20 | MTV UK". Mtv.co.uk. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Westlife - The Rose". Swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/431288/westlife/chart?f=349
- ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
- ↑ http://www.irma.ie/index.cfm/page/best-of-2006
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 00, 1991". Irish Singles Chart.
External links
- History of the Rose at the Wayback Machine (archived April 21, 2013) by Amanda McBroom