Bette Midler

Released: December 3, 1979

Songwriter: Tony Johnson

Producer: Paul A. Rothchild

It's midnight in Memphis
And all the boys are out tonight
Oh, midnight in Memphis
But my true love is not in sight
The neon's glowing
But I just don't see the light

I'm following my footsteps
Trying to find myself a friend
Oh, baby! Following my footsteps
Trying to see where they might end
I'm tryin' to break these blues
But I can't even get them to bend

Oh, midnight in Memphis
Well, ya take me away
Midnight in Memphis
It's a long, long time
Before the day

Burnin' out on Beale Street
Can you hear that engine roar?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Burnin' out on Beale Street
There's a girl in every door
Yeah, you know it don't matter what you got
They're asking me for more
Play it for me one time, boys

I heard the river risin'
Risin' up over my head
Yeah, heard the river risin'
And this is what it said:
"I don't need no live ones;
I just take care of the dead."

Oh, midnight in Memphis
Take me, take me away
Midnight in Memphis
It's a long, long time
Before the day

Whoa, oh, oh, oh, midnight in Memphis
Midnight in Memphis
Midnight in Memphis
It's a long, long time
Before the day
Before the day

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.

more tracks from the album

The Rose - The Original Soundtrack Recording

From the album

The Rose - The Original Soundtrack Recording (1979)

Bette Midler popular songs

Midnight in MemphisBette Midler

Bette Midler

The Rose - The Original Soundtrack Recording