In 2019, it was still ranking in the top 10 alongside 'Angels' by Robbie Williams and Frank Sinatra's 'My Way. In 2002, it topped a UK list of most played songs at funerals, ahead of 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion. It's one of the most played songs at funerals.'Whatever reservations I might have had I certainly don't have any more.' When I first heard it, I said, 'I'm not singing that song,' but the friend who gave it to me said, 'If you don't sing it I'll never speak to you again', so of course I had to sing the damned song. She explained to the Times in 2009: 'It's really grown on me. Midler later performed the song live at the Prayer for America memorial service held at Yankee Stadium soon after the September 11 attacks. She also performed the song alongside Krusty the Clown, on season 4 episode 22 of The Simpsons in 1993. Midler performed the song after the annual in memoriam montage at the 86th Academy Awards in 2014. Many artists recorded it before Bette Midler.It was initially conceived as a love song from a lover to another, but the lyrics ended up being something more universal, and could apply to various types of relationships, such as friends or family, helping the song's lasting popularity. They finished writing it by the end of the day. The song also shows up in the movies Satin (2011), Life After Beth (2014), Get Hard (2015) and Nerve (2016). This plays in the 2009 Breaking Bad episode 'Down' in a scene where the main characters meet in a convenience store. Instead of writing the chorus first (like the pair usually did), they wrote it from start to finish. Usher interpolated this song on the track 'Making Love (Into the Night)' from his 2010 album Raymond v. The title came from a poem Henley had written. Larry Henley came up with the title and Jeff Silbar was a big fan, particularly as he was learning to fly planes at the time. Silbar and Henley then offered it around to many other artists. Montgomery recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo original he was given, to a ballad. The pair recorded a demo of the song, and gave it to musician Bob Montgomery. The song was written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. But who recorded it first and what inspired the power ballad? Here's all the fascinating facts:

Who sings the story of my life song