Bootleg Betty
45 Years Ago, Bette Midler Won A Grammy For ‘Best Female Pop Vocalist’ For ‘The Rose’
By Mister D
Feb. 27, 1981
Yes, Bette Midler won a Grammy Award for her iconic performance of “The Rose” from the 1979 film of the same name.
She received the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1981 (for the 1980 eligibility period). This was her second Grammy win—her first came in 1974 for Best New Artist following her debut album The Divine Miss M. (Her third and final Grammy win was in 1990 for Record of the Year with “Wind Beneath My Wings.”)”The Rose” peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped the Adult Contemporary chart, and sold over a million copies in the U.S. It was written by Amanda McBroom (who won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, as the film wasn’t strictly original in the Oscars’ eyes for song categories).Some fun trivia about “The Rose” and the Grammy win:
- Midler beat out tough competition, including Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category.
- The song plays during the closing credits of The Rose, a film loosely based on the life of Janis Joplin. Midler’s raw, emotional portrayal earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (though she didn’t win, the song’s success was a huge consolation prize).
- While the song was a massive hit for Midler, she was nominated (but didn’t win) for Record of the Year that same year for “The Rose.”
- The track became a timeless ballad about love and resilience, often covered by others and still beloved decades later.
Midler has been nominated for around 14–15 Grammys overall across her career, cementing her as one of the most awarded entertainers in multiple fields (music, film, theater, and TV). The Divine Miss M truly earned her flowers with this one! 
