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| “The Rose” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Amanda McBroom | |
| from the album Growing Up In Hollywood Town | |
| Released | 1979 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:40 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom |
| Producer(s) | Paul A. Rothchild |
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| “The Rose” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Bette Midler | |
| from the album The Rose | |
| B-side | “Stay with Me“ |
| Released | March 1980 |
| Recorded | 1979 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:40 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom |
| Producer(s) | Paul A. Rothchild |
| Bette Midler singles chronology | |
| “When a Man Loves a Woman“ (1980)”The Rose“ (1980)”My Mother’s Eyes” (1980) |
“The Rose” is a classic pop song written by Amanda McBroom. Bette Midler made the song famous when she recorded it for her 1979 film The Rose, in which it plays during the closing credits. It has been recorded multiple times including by Conway Twitty and Westlife who had US Country & Western and UK Number one hits with the song respectively.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
Conway Twitty version
| “The Rose” | |
|---|---|
| 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 | |
| “We Did But Now You Don’t“ (1982)”The Rose“ (1983)”We Had It All“ (1983) |
Country singer Conway Twitty recorded a cover version in 1982. 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.
The Dubliners version
| “The Rose” | |
|---|---|
| Single by The Hothouse Flowers and The Dubliners | |
| from the album 30 Years A-Greying | |
| Released | 1991 |
| Genre | Celtic rock |
| Label | London Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom |
| The Hothouse Flowers and The Dubliners singles chronology | |
| “Jack’s Heroes“ (1990)”The Rose“ (1991)”Red Roses for Me“ (1994) |
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.
Westlife version
| “The Rose” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Westlife | |
| from the album The Love Album | |
| Released | November 6, 2006 |
| Recorded | 2006 |
| Studio | Studio 301 (Stockholm, Sweden)Metropolis (London, UK) |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:39 |
| Label | SonyBMG |
| Songwriter(s) | Amanda McBroom |
| Producer(s) | Quiz & Larossi |
| Westlife singles chronology | |
| “Amazing“ (2006)”The Rose“ (2006)”Home“ (2007) | |
“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 one on the UK 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 Silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
The video for this single was presented in two versions; one in black 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.
In popular culture
The song was featured in the ending scene of the 1991 Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday directed by Isao Takahata. The ending theme song sung by Miyako 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”.
A cover of the song was featured in the 2008 Family Guy episode “Baby Not on Board“. During the episode, the Griffin family (except Stewie) sings the song as a family road trip song.
The song was also covered in the episode “Maybe Tomorrow” of True Detective (season 2), and in the first episode of the third season of Goliath (TV series).
| The Rose | |
|---|---|
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mark Rydell |
| Produced by | Aaron Russo Marvin Worth Anthony Ray |
| Screenplay by | Bo Goldman Bill Kerby |
| Story by | Bill Kerby |
| Starring | Bette Midler Alan Bates Frederic Forrest |
| Music by | Paul A. Rothchild (Mendelssohn – Piano concerto no 1, 2nd movement, the Rose) |
| Cinematography | Vilmos Zsigmond |
| Edited by | Robert L. Wolfe |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date | November 7, 1979 (New York City) |
| Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9.3 million |
| Box office | $29.2 million (US/Canada) |
The Rose is a 1979 American drama film directed by Mark Rydell, and starring Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton, Barry Primus, and David Keith. Loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin, the film follows a self-destructive rock star in the late 1960s, who struggles to cope with the pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
Originally titled Pearl (after Janis Joplin’s nickname, which was also the title of her last album), the film’s screenplay was revised and fictionalized after her family declined to allow the producers the rights to her story.
The Rose was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Actress in a Leading Role (Bette Midler, in her screen debut), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Frederic Forrest), Best Film Editing and Best Sound. Midler performed the soundtrack album for the film, and its title track became one of her biggest hit singles.
The film was originally offered to Ken Russell, who chose instead to direct Valentino. Russell has described this decision as the biggest mistake of his career. At one point, Michael Cimino was also slated to direct, but he chose to direct Heaven’s Gate instead. Cimino did, however, make uncredited contributions to the script.
Suzy Williams was originally offered the title role, but turned it down for personal reasons, instead suggesting it to Bette Midler.
The Rose was completed in time for a scheduled release in April 1979; however, 20th Century-Fox elected to postpone release til autumn 1979:(Mark Rydell quote:)“[at] Easter time…the public seems to like frothy films.”
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2004: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs:
- “The Rose” – #83
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