Most of the following information is condensed from the two Wikipedia references listed below:
The Rose by Bette Midler is one of the first heartfelt ballads I remember hearing. I didn’t mind it receiving so much air play, since it made such a striking impression each time. The Rose is also the title track to a movie (see image above) which stars Midler in her film debut and earned her an Oscar nomination. Her character The Rose is loosely based on blues singer Janis Joplin.
The song plays during the closing credits, although it wasn’t written for the movie. The writer Amanda McBroom recalled, ‘I wrote it in 1977 [or] 1978, and I sang it occasionally in clubs‘. Her manager suggested that she write “some Bob Seger-type tunes” to expedite a record deal. McBroom obliged, penning The Rose in just 45 minutes – a remarkable feat given the song’s lyrical beauty.
The song is one verse musically repeated three times. McBroom comments: “When I finished it, I realized it doesn’t have a bridge or a hook, but I couldn’t think of anything to put in there.” McBroom believes the song struck a universal nerve because “It’s a message of hope that’s very easily understandable“.
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. Amanda McBroom did provide harmony vocals on the released version.
Released as the second single from the soundtrack, The Rose hit number 3 on the Billboard, becoming Midler’s second top 10. 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. The song did not receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Song because the song had not been written for the film, but it did win the Golden Globe. The first single from the soundtrack was Midler’s rendition of Percy Sledge’s When a Man Loves a Woman which became a moderate chart hit reaching No. 35 on the Billboard.
Midler began her professional career in several off-off-Broadway plays, prior to working on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof and Salvation in the late 1960s. Since 1970, Midler has released 14 studio albums as a solo artist, selling over 30 million records worldwide. Many of her songs which became chart hits, include her renditions of The Rose, Wind Beneath My Wings, Do You Want to Dance, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, and From a Distance. She also went on to star in numerous films, including Ruthless People (1986), Outrageous Fortune (1987), Beaches (1988), Hocus Pocus (1993) and The First Wives Club (1996).
P.S – Another version of The Rose I’ve always been fond of is from the English musical singer and actress – Elaine Paige. Her rendition always wow’d me and her expressions and manner of delivery are simply first class.
[Verse 1]
Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed
[Verse 2]
It’s the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It’s the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It’s the one who won’t be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live
[Verse 3]
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun’s love
In the spring becomes the rose
References:
1. The Rose (song) – Wikipedia
2. Bette Midler – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I never particularly liked this song, maybe because it was PLAYED TO DEATH.
I had the album from the soundtrack. The song I REALLY liked was “Midnight in Memphis” & that was a tune I danced to FOR YEARS. It was the second-last song of my second set of my stag party set list for a long time. I had dance steps all worked out & I can still do them ~ but it hurts to dance them now. But boy ~ forty years ago ~ it was glorious!
I liked the song a lot, but agree it oversaturated the airwaves which may have turned many off it.
Hey, that ‘Midnight in Memphis’ is a very good song. How the heck, had I not heard that before despite not having seen the movie. It’s amazing you still remember the dance steps from your party list!
During the busy wedding season, I did 4 shows a night, at least 4 nights a week for about 10 years. There’s no way I could ever forget, even if my body can’t do the moves like I used to.
Wow, you must have been extremely fit. Now I understand how you could never forget it lol
I was 125 pounds of muscle. I have better tits now, though LOL I was really too skinny in those days.
I’m still in pretty good shape, for all that I’m fifty pounds heavier & arthritic. I can still dance. I walk everyday. I just can’t go as far as I used to & I can’t dance as long as I used to or do the great moves I used to. But I’m still a good dancer.
My singing voice got better when I gained weight, too. There’s some truth about fat opera singers.
This is what you call – ‘going down a rabbit hole’!
Old, young fat, thin, tall or short – as long as you’re a happy camper and can still shake ya booty and sing a tune haha
Great pick, Matt, I’ve always loved that song. I find it very moving. And, yes, I’m not ashamed to admit it has made me well up!
My adoration for it now isn’t quite what it once was, but I too still find it very moving. Thanks.