迎风展翅 (1983)

"Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by American songwriters Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley.

The song was first recorded by Australian singer Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western album he was recording. 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. Instead, Roger Whittaker recorded the song, as well as Sheena Easton and Lee Greenwood. The song appeared 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 US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in June 1989, and won Grammy Awards for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards 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. Perry Como recorded the song for his final studio album Today, released by RCA Records in 1987. Como wanted "Wind Beneath My Wings" released as a single but RCA refused; Como was reportedly so angry he vowed never to record for RCA Records ever again.

In a 2002 UK poll, "Wind Beneath My Wings" was found to be the most-played song at British funerals.

Background

Several years prior, Larry Henley had written a poem with the same title for his ex-wife. One day, when Henley and Jeff Silbar 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. Apart from the title, the song did not incorporate any of the text of the original poem. Henley wrote the lyrics and Silbar wrote the music.

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 offered the song to many artists, which eventually resulted in Roger Whittaker becoming the first to release the song commercially. It appears on his 1982 studio album, also titled The Wind Beneath My Wings. The song was shortly thereafter recorded by Australian artist Colleen Hewett and released by Avenue Records in 1982. Hewitt's recording became the first version of the song to be issued as a single and to appear on a national chart, peaking at No. 52 on Australia's Kent Music Report chart.

The first year "Wind Beneath My Wings" appeared on a music industry trade publication chart in the United States was 1983. Singer Lou Rawls was the first to score a major hit with the song, as his version peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, No. 60 on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart and No. 65 on the main Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Gladys Knight & the Pips also released a recording of the song in 1983 under the title "Hero" for their album Visions. Their version peaked at No. 64 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart while also reaching No. 23 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. Singer Gary Morris released a country version of the song in 1983. Morris' version of the song peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and later won both the Academy of Country Music Awards for Song of the Year at the 19th Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards.

Colleen Hewett version

Colleen Hewett recorded her version of the song in 1982 for her album Colleen. The arrangement for her version was written by David Hirschfelder. Hewett's keyboard player had a car accident on the way to the studio. Hirschfelder was outside one of the studios with a keyboard. He came in and wrote what Hewett described as an incredible arrangement. The song would become a hit for her. The song backed with "Constantly" was released in February 1983 on Avenue BA 223025. Making its way into the Australian charts, it first charted in Melbourne. It would eventually get to No. 19 in that city. It also got to No. 16 in Adelaide and No. 38 in Perth. It reached No. 52 nationally.