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COLLEEN HEWETT
(The) Wind Beneath My Wings (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) Australia 1983 #19 Melbourne #16 Adelaide #38 Perth Single on Avenue label, February 1983, first charted in April 1983 (Melbourne). One of the earliest recorded versions of the song, Colleen Hewett's Wind Beneath My Wings was released six years before Bette Midler's #1 hit version, and was already on the Australian charts before Gary Morris's country hit single was released in May 1983.  Colleen Hewett (b.1950) came from Bendigo in regional Victoria. Starting as a pop singer with local bands, she later branched out into acting and entertaining on stage, screen and radio. More recently, Colleen played Peter Allen's mother on stage in The Boy From Oz, starring Hugh Jackman.On CD? The album Colleen (1983), which includes Wind Beneath My Wings, appears to be have been deleted, although if you live in the US you can download the album or the song from Amazon.com  .Suggestion from Terry Stacey and Mike Robbins.
GARY MORRIS
(The) Wind Beneath My Wings (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) USA 1983 Single on Warner Bros, also on the album Why Lady Why (1983, #6 Billboard Country). Not the original, but the first popular version of Wind Beneath My Wings, a #4 country hit by Gary Morris, versatile singer, composer and actor born in Fort Worth, 1948, also known for his role as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables on Broadway from November 1987. Reference: 1. All Music Guide to Country, also online. 2. Gary Morris album and singles discographies at Petr Vitous's country discography site. Further reading: GaryMorris.com.
LOU RAWLS
(The) Wind Beneath My Wings (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) USA 1983 Up-tempo version by soul-jazz-pop singer (1935-2006), single on Epic, also on album When The Night Comes, produced by Ron Haffkine.
GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS
Hero (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) USA 1983 Song also known as Wind Beneath My Wings. Single on Columbia from the Leon Sylvers-produced album Visions. Thanks to this album, writes Ron Wynn at AMG, Gladys & the Pips were "back in the game".   
B.J. THOMAS
(The) Wind Beneath My Wings (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) 1983 On CBS album New Looks by pop-country singer from Houston (b.1942) who released a handful of singles 1963-64 with B.J. Thomas & The Triumphs but had a string of solo hits from the late 60s through the 70s, notably Hooked On A Feeling (1968, #5 USA), Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head (1969, #1 USA) and (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song (1975, #1 USA). In Australia, his biggest hit was Mama (1966, #22 USA), a #1 in most major cities down here. 
SHEENA EASTON
(The) Wind Beneath My Wings (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) UK 1982 On 1982 album Madness, Money & Music by Scottish pop star of the 80s (b.1959). 
ROGER WHITTAKER
(The) Wind Beneath My Wings (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) UK 1981 Original version This, the original version, appeared on the RCA album Wind Beneath My Wings by singer-songwriter Roger Whittaker. Co-writer Larry Henley was the falsetto singer on such Newbeats hits as Bread And Butter (1964, #2 USA). His sister is singer Barbara Mills (see Little Things Like That). Jeff Silbar is a prolific and much-recorded Nashville songwriter. Further reading: 1. LarryHenley.com 2. JeffSilbar.com. A former teacher born in Kenya in 1936, Roger Whittaker went to study Science in the UK in 1959 and took up folk singing. He became a prolific and popular TV and recording artist in the 70s with such hits as Leavin' (Durham Town) (1969, #12 UK), I Don't Believe in 'If' Any More (1970, #8 UK) and The Last Farewell (1975, #2 UK, #19 USA). His records have sold millions in Europe and elsewhere, but he is lesser known in the US. References: 1. All Music Guide's Roger Whittaker biography. 2. Wikipedia's Roger Whittaker entry. Further reading: RogerWhittaker.com. Later versions:
BETTE MIDLER
(The) Wind Beneath My Wings (Larry Henley - Jeff Silbar) USA 1989 Later version #1 USA, #5 UK, #1 Sydney, #1 Melbourne, #2 Brisbane, #3 Adelaide, #2 Perth, #4 NZ The hit version: single on Atlantic, 1989. First heard on the soundtrack of Beaches, released in USA on 21 December 1988. Click on photo to open YouTube video. Corrections or comments? Contact the writer. |
