''Beaches: Original Soundtrack Recording'' is the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

to the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-nominated 1988 film starring

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;'' Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received numerous accolades, including four Golden ...

and

Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...

. Midler performs most of the tracks on the album, released on the

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

label. The album also reunited her with producer

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for o ...

. It features one of Midler's best-known songs, the ballad "

Wind Beneath My Wings "Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. The song was first recorded by Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western album he was recording. Kamahl tal ...

", which was a number-one hit.

Background

The original script merely indicated that "traditional music" was to be played at certain times. Marc Shaiman, Midler's longtime music arranger, served as

music supervisor A music supervisor is a person who combines music and visual media. According to The Guild of Music Supervisors, a music supervisor is “a qualified professional who oversees all music related aspects of film, television, advertising, video games ...

for the film, and the two of them worked together to determine what songs Midler could sing for the film. Shaiman was already a fan of "Wind Beneath My Wings" and suggested the song to Midler.

Songs

The track that was chosen to promote both the movie and the album was not "Wind Beneath My Wings", but the song heard in the movie's opening scene and also the opening track on the album: Midler's cover of

The Drifters The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/ soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed i ...

' 1960s classic " Under the Boardwalk". That song alluded to the title of the movie and the place where the movie's main characters, rich girl Hillary Whitney (

) and child performer Cecilia Carol "CC" Bloom (Midler) first meet. Midler's version of "Under the Boardwalk", released to tie in with the premiere in December 1988, peaked outside the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and passed by mostly unnoticed, although it reached the Top 30 of the ARIA singles chart in Australia. "Wind Beneath My Wings", which had been recorded by several other artists before Midler in the early 1980s, among them

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

Roger Whittaker Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (born 22 March 1936) is a British singer-songwriter and musician, who was born in Nairobi to English parents. His music is an eclectic mix of folk music and popular songs in addition to radio airplay hits. He is bes ...

Gary Morris Gary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948) is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the country music charts throughout the 1980s. Morris is known for the 1983 ballad " The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his credit ...

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signin ...

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

and

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

, was released as the second single in February 1989, following the box office success of the movie. The song instantly became a number-one hit on the US singles chart, reached number 2 on the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

, number 3 in the UK, number 1 in Australia and was a top 10 hit single in many other parts of the world. Midler's recording of the song was later awarded a platinum disc by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

for sales exceeding one million copies in the US alone.United State
RIAA
. ''

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

''. Retrieved on February 28, 2008. It also won Grammys for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the

Grammy Awards of 1990 The 32nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 1990, and hosted by Garry Shandling. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Performers * Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings * Gloria Estefan - Don't Wanna ...

, and remains Midler's signature tune to this day. The recording of the song appearing in the film is notably different from the one released on the soundtrack, and the movie also includes an orchestral version over the end credits. The remainder of the soundtrack musically follows C.C. Bloom's rise to fame as an artist, from doing

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

standards like "I've Still Got My Health" to moderately appreciative audiences in

dive bar A dive bar is typically a small, unglamorous, eclectic, old-style drinking establishment with inexpensive drinks; it may feature dim lighting, shabby or dated decor, neon beer signs, packaged beer sales, cash-only service, and a local clientele ...

s, appearing in

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

shows singing about the supposed German inventor of the brassiere ("Otto Titsling", a song Midler herself had co-written and which had already appeared on her 1985 album '' Mud Will Be Flung Tonight''), joining an experimental theater group ("Oh Industry"), to becoming a successful pop star ("I Know You by Heart", a duet with David Pack, originally recorded by

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

and

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

in 1987) with the right to record material of her own choosing (

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today"). A recurring theme in the movie is Billy Hill's old swing standard "The Glory of Love", first made famous by

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...

in the mid-1930s. In ''Beaches'' the song is first reluctantly sung as an upbeat showtune by a very young C.C. Bloom at an audition in the company of her overbearing stage mother. In the final scene the song is performed as a ballad by the character as an adult, and then in the context of the movie taking on an entirely different meaning. The track " Baby Mine", originally from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's 1941 movie ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, ...

'', was released in two versions with slightly different arrangements; one on the original vinyl album and another on the CD edition. The version of "Oh Industry" on the soundtrack has a fade out ending, whereas the version in the film features an alternate cold ending. The only track on the album not to involve Midler is "The Friendship Theme" from the movie's score, composed by

Georges Delerue Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for '' A Little Romance'' (1980), three C ...

in his only work for a

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career in the 1960s writing for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play '' The Odd C ...

film.

Commercial performance

The ''Beaches'' soundtrack is the best-selling album of Midler's career to date, peaking at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, number 21 in the UK, number 1 in Australia and eventually achieving triple platinum status in the US for having sold more than three million copies.

Track listing

Side A # " Under the Boardwalk" ( Artie Resnick,

Kenny Young Kenny Young (born Shalom Giskan, April 14, 1941 – April 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, musician, producer and environmental campaigner who wrote and in some cases produced hit songs for The Drifters, Ronnie Dove, Herman's Hermits, Mark ...

) – 4:18 * Includes uncredited instrumental intro. # "

" (

Larry Henley Larry Joel Henley (June 30, 1937 – December 18, 2014) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for co-writing (with Jeff Silbar) the 1989 hit record "Wind Beneath My Wings". Early life Henley was born to Carl Henley and Helen Quinn in Od ...

Jeff Silbar Jeff Silbar is a songwriter. Silbar, a native of Los Angeles, won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1990 for co-writing Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings" with Larry Henley. Notable compositions *" All My Life" (Kenny Rogers) *" He's a ...

) – 4:52 # " I've Still Got My Health" (

) – 1:32 # " I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (

) – 3:31 # " Otto Titsling" (

, Jerry Blatt, Charlene Seeger, Marc Shaiman) – 3:13 Side B # "I Know You by Heart" ( Dean Pitchford, George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam) – 4:40 * Duet with David Pack # " The Glory of Love" ( Billy Hill) – 3:16 # " Baby Mine" ( Ned Washington,

Frank Churchill Frank Edwin Churchill (October 20, 1901 – May 14, 1942) was an American film composer and songwriter. He wrote most of the music for films directed by Walt Disney, such as ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', ''Dumbo'', ''Bambi'', '' The Adve ...

) – 2:27 * Note: CD includes alternate version. # "Oh Industry" (Midler,

Wendy Waldman Wendy Waldman (born November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Early life Waldman (born Wendy Steiner) grew up in the Los Angeles area. She was raised in a musical environment: her father Fred Steiner ...

) – 4:06 # "The Friendship Theme" (

) – 1:59 * Instrumental

Personnel

Musicians *

– lead vocals, backing vocals (1–9) * Angela Cappelli – additional vocals * Rachele Cappelli – additional vocals * Gail Farrell – additional vocals * Ula Hedwig – additional vocals * Angie Jaree – additional vocals *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– additional vocals * Marcy Levy – additional vocals * Melissa Mackay – additional vocals *

Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back- ...

– additional vocals * David Pack – lead vocals (6) *

Gene Merlino Mario Gino Merlino (born April 5, 1928) is a retired singer and musician, known for providing the singing voice of Lancelot in the musical film ''Camelot'', and for being part of the Grammy Award winning quartet, The Anita Kerr Singers. Early ...

– additional vocals *

Joe Pizzulo Joe Pizzulo is an American vocalist best known as one of the lead singers on 1980s hit singles credited to Sérgio Mendes, including " Never Gonna Let You Go" (from Mendes' self-titled 1983 album) and "Alibis" (from the 1984 album ''Confetti''). ...

– additional vocals * Bob Tebow – additional vocals Production * Robbie Buchanan – keyboards, synthesizers, arrangements * Claude Gaudette – acoustic piano, synthesizers, synthesizer programming, drums, percussion, other instruments *

Randy Kerber Randy Kerber (born September 25, 1958) is an American composer, orchestrator and keyboard player, who has had a prolific career in the world of cinema.SeRandy Kerberat the IMDb Kerber was born in Encino, California. He began his first national ...

– acoustic piano, keyboards *

Robbie Kondor Robbie Kondor is an American composer, session musician, and arranger. He has worked as a composer on '' The Significant Other'', '' Ball In The House'', ''Sally Jessy Raphael'', ''Happiness'' (1998), ''The Suburbans'' (1999), ''Forever Fabulous'' ...

– synthesizers, arrangements * Steve McNicholas – musician *

Jimmy Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

– acoustic piano (3) *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

– guitars * Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitars * Dean Parks – guitars * Michael Thompson – guitars *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass *

Neil Stubenhaus Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist. Career He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. He studied at the Berklee College of Music where he graduated in 1975. After graduation, he was re ...

– bass * Eric Van Essen – bass *

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 2014. Cola ...

– drums * Luke Cresswell – drum programming *

Paul Leim Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

– drums, percussion *

Joe Mardin Joe Mardin (born Yusuf Mardin) is a Turkish-American music producer, arranger and engineer from New York City. He is a Berklee College of Music graduate and is the son of the Turkish American producer Arif Mardin. Joe Mardin is also a conductor, s ...

– drums *

Carlos Vega Carlos Vega (December 7, 1956 – April 7, 1998) was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to ...

– drums * Gary Coleman – percussion *

– arrangements * Marc Shaiman – arrangements, music supervisor *

– original scoring (10) * Endre Granat – concertmaster * Frank DeCaro – contractor

Production

* Arif Mardin – producer * Teri Schwartz – executive producer *

Jack Joseph Puig Jack Joseph Puig is an American audio engineer, A&R executive, and record producer. He has worked with Tonic, Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Roger Hodgson, Taxiride, Green Day, Counting Crows, No Doubt, Kla ...

– recording, remixing * Joey Wolpert – recording * Ian Eales – additional engineer * Richard McKernan – additional engineer * Michael O'Reilly – additional engineer *

Bill Schnee William S. Schnee (born July 4, 1947) is an American musician, music producer, and audio engineer. Schnee has been nominated 11 times for the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical Grammy Award and worked on a multitude of other Grammy nominated an ...

– additional engineer * Bruce Wildstein – additional engineer * Frank Wolf – additional engineer * Ted Blaisdell – assistant engineer * Ken Felton – assistant engineer * Ellen Fitton – assistant engineer * Rob Harvey – assistant engineer * Wade Jaynes – assistant engineer * Michael C. Ross – assistant * Joe Schiff – assistant engineer * Barton Stevens – assistant engineer *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including '' The Wall''; Ray Ch ...

– mastering Studios * Recorded at Schnee Studios (North Hollywood, CA);

Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates re ...

and

Conway Studios Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Towns ...

(Hollywood, CA); Studio 55 (Los Angeles, CA);

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios was the recording studio of Atlantic Records. Although this recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 West 56th Street fr ...

(New York, NY). * Mixed and Mastered at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA).

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Bette Midler Albums produced by Arif Mardin Bette Midler soundtracks 1988 soundtrack albums Atlantic Records soundtracks Comedy film soundtracks Drama film soundtracks