Song ‘From a Distance’
Moses (
Tanzania
)
Song ‘From a Distance’ by Bette Midler – Moses’ goosebump moment
“Hi! My name is Moses Jonathan. I am from Tanzania, and my goosebump moment is with this song by Bette Midler, it is called ‘From a Distance’. I specifically remember I was doing a rendition of that song with a team of three people, when I was in high school, and this really made me feel good as I was there on the stage and the whole auditorium was raving with praises. From that stage I could see my high school crush as she was, with mixed feelings of joy, exhilaration, and jealousy as she later told me like she did not really like the way everybody was raving with praises about our performance. But, that one specific moment. It was so beautiful. For a moment I thought I could become a pop star and that was a moment that has never found a match”.
Bette Midler’s most successful song
‘From a Distance’ is a song written in 1985 by American singer-songwriter Julie Gold. Gold was then working as a secretary for HBO and wrote songs in her spare time. Gold’s friend Christine Lavin introduced the song to Nanci Griffith, who first recorded it for her 1987 album, ‘Lone Star State of Mind’.
The song was covered several times, the most successful being a version by Bette Midler that became a huge hit in 1990. Julie Gold has stated that she believes in an immanent and beneficent God, and also thinks that people have the right to interpret the song as they wish, like all art.
An anthem during the Gulf War
This song became an international commercial success after its recording by Midler in 1990. World events at the time made the song resonate as an anthem during the Gulf War and it reached number one on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It also won a Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991 and the “3 Million Airs Award” from Broadcast Music Incorporated.
Midler re-recorded a Christmas edition for her 2006 Christmas album, Cool Yule, with additional lyrics by Los Angeles native Jay Landers. Other recordings of the original have been made by Gold, Griffith, Simon Nicol (of Fairport Convention) and many others.
Who is Bette Midler?
Better known as Bette Midler, she is an American actress, singer, comedian, and producer. She began her artistic career performing in small theaters in New York before making her Broadway debut with plays such as ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and ‘Salvation’ in the 1960s.
In the 1970s she achieved prominence by performing regularly at the Continental Baths, a popular gay sauna where she forged her artistic origins. Since 1967 she has released 14 studio albums as a solo artist that have included several of her best-known hits, including 1972’s “Do You Wanna Dance?”, 1973’s “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”, 1979’s “The Rose”, 1989’s “Wind Beneath My Wings”, 1990’s “From a Distance” and 1995’s “To Deserve You”.
In 2008, she signed a contract with Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas for the show The Showgirl Must Go On, concluded in 2010.
More about Song ‘From a Distance’ by Bette Midler:
- From a Distance – Wikipedia
- Melancholy song is the unofficial Gulf War Anthem
- Bette Midler Biography
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