| "The Rose" | |
|---|---|
| Song byLincoln Mayorga andAmanda McBroom | |
| from the album Growing Up in Hollywood Town | |
| Released | 1980 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:04 |
| Label | Sheffield Lab |
| Songwriter | Amanda McBroom |
| Producers | Lincoln Mayorga,Doug Sax, Patricia Meredith |
"The Rose" is apop song written byAmanda McBroom.Bette Midler made the song famous when she recorded it for her 1979 filmThe Rose, in which it plays during the closing credits. It has been recorded multiple times, including byConway Twitty andWestlife who had US Country & Western and UK number one hits with the song, respectively.Nana Mouskouri recorded a German version (Die Rose), also in 1980, as well as an English version.
| "The Rose" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBette Midler | ||||
| from the albumThe Rose | ||||
| B-side | "Stay with Me" | |||
| Released | March 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 3:40 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter | Amanda McBroom | |||
| Producer | Paul A. Rothchild | |||
| Bette Midler singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "The Rose" onYouTube | ||||
"The Rose" was first recorded by Bette Midler for the soundtrack of the 1979 filmThe 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 "someBob Seger-type tunes" to expedite a record deal: McBroom obliged by writing "The Rose" in 45 minutes. The song is one verse musically repeated three times; McBroom comments: "When I finished it, I realized it doesn't have a bridge or ahook, 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".[2]
McBroom's composition was one of seven songs selected by Midler from thirty song possibilities proffered byPaul A. Rothchild, the producer ofThe Rose soundtrack album. Reportedly Rothchild had listened to over 3,000 songs in order to assemble those thirty possibilities.[3]
Released as the second single fromThe Rose soundtrack album, "The Rose" hit number 1 on theCashbox Top 100 and peaked at number 3 on theBillboardHot 100, become her second top 10. Additionally, it was number 1 on theAdult Contemporary chart for five weeks running. The single was certifiedGold by theRIAA for over a million copies sold in the United States.[4][5]
Midler won theGrammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "The Rose", beating out formidable competition fromBarbra Streisand andDonna Summer among others.[6]
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 theAcademy Award for Best Original Song. Despite not having been recorded prior to the soundtrack of the filmThe 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 theGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "The Rose", as that award's governing body, theHollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), did not share AMPAS' official requirement that a nominated song be completely original with its parent film.[7]
In 2004 "The Rose" finished #83 inAFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of the top tunes in American cinema.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[20] 2005 digital release | Gold | 100,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[21] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[22] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "The Rose" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byConway Twitty | ||||
| from the albumDream Maker | ||||
| B-side | "It's Only Make Believe" | |||
| Released | January 17, 1983 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Songwriter | Amanda McBroom | |||
| Producers | Conway Twitty,Jimmy Bowen | |||
| Conway Twitty singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "The Rose" onYouTube | ||||
Country singerConway Twitty recorded acover version in 1982. His version, from his albumDream Maker, was a number one country hit in US and Canada; it became his 30th number one single on the US country chart.[23]
7-inch single
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[24] | 1 |
| CanadianRPM Country Tracks | 1 |
| Chart (1983) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[25] | 28 |
| "The Rose" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single bythe Dubliners andthe Hothouse Flowers | ||||
| from the album30 Years A-Greying | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Celtic rock | |||
| Label | London Records | |||
| Songwriter | Amanda McBroom | |||
| The Dubliners singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio video | ||||
| "The Rose" onYouTube | ||||
The Dubliners recorded a duet withthe Hothouse Flowers for Rose Week and released "The Rose" as a single in 1991, reaching no. 2 in the Irish Singles Chart.
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland[26] | 2 |
| "The Rose" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byWestlife | ||||
| from the albumThe Love Album | ||||
| B-side | ||||
| Released | November 6, 2006 (2006-11-06)[27] | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Length | 3:39 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter | Amanda McBroom | |||
| Producer | Quiz & Larossi | |||
| Westlife singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "The Rose" onYouTube | ||||
"The Rose" was covered by Irishboy bandWestlife and was released as the first and only single from their seventh studio albumThe Love Album (2006). It reached number one on theUK Singles Chart, becoming the group's 14th and most recent number-one single in the United Kingdom. The single has sold over 200,000 copies in the UK to earn a silvercertification from theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI).
The video for this single was presented in two versions: one inblack and white and the other in color. 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.
UK CD1 and European CD single[28][29]
UK CD2[30]
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[31] | 67 |
| CIS Airplay (TopHit)[32] | 203 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[33] | 4 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[34] | 1 |
| Scotland Singles (OCC)[35] | 1 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[36] | 4 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] | 85 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[38] | 1 |
| Chart (2006) | Position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[39] | 18 |
| Sweden (Hitlistan)[40] | 29 |
| Taiwan (Hito Radio)[41] | 12 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[42] | 62 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[43] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
An adaptation of the song entitled "Hǎo xiǎng nǐ" (好想你, "I Truly Miss You") by Taiwanese singer YoYo (金瑞瑶) was released in 1984.
The song was featured in the ending scene of the 1991Studio Ghibli filmOnly Yesterday, directed byIsao Takahata. The ending theme song, sung byMiyako Harumi, is titled "Ai wa Hana, Kimi wa sono Tane" (愛は花、君はその種子, "Love Is a Flower, You Are the Seed"), a Japanese translation of Amanda McBroom's composition "The Rose".[44]
The song appears inNapoleon Dynamite in the scene where Napoleon performs with the Happy Hands Club for his class. The song also appeared in theRichard Simmons exercise videoDance Your Pants Off!. A cover of the song was featured in the 2008Family Guy episode "Baby Not on Board". During the episode, the Griffin family, except forStewie, sings the song as a family road trip song. The song was also covered in the episode "Maybe Tomorrow" ofTrue Detective,[45][46] and in the first episode of the third season ofGoliath.[47]
A six part a cappella arrangement of the song byNic Raines, created forThe King's Singers, was included in the King's Singers 2019 EP release "The Library, Vol. 1" and also in a 2019 music video for YouTube.[48][49] The song was featured in the 2021Korean drama seriesYouth of May, aired onKBS2.[50]
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Soundtracks | |
| Live albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Video albums | |
| Singles |
|
| Concerts and tours | |
| Books | |
| Westlife | |
|---|---|
| Coast to Coast | |
| World of Our Own | |
| Unbreakable | |
| Turnaround | |
| ...Allow Us to Be Frank | |
| Face to Face | |
| The Love Album | |
| Back Home | |
| Where We Are | |
| Gravity | |
| Greatest Hits | |
| Spectrum | |
| Wild Dreams |
|
| Other songs | |
