My Life in Seven Songs

“Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (1972) How surprising was it that your first hit -- a version of the Andrews Sisters' World War II tune -- became so popular in 1972? “I was pretty shocked. But there’s this thing called nostalgia. There was a youth movement then, but there were people who were more conservative. They were looking back.”

“Friends” (1972) Why did you choose this from your debut album as your theme song? “It was very welcoming. It was an opening number. Also, I loved the sentiment. The odd part is, as the years go by, it gets harder and harder to keep friends. It’s the speed of modern life, where you’re reduced to texting and you feel like you’ve made a connection. But you haven’t.”

“The Rose” (1979) You won the Best Female Pop Vocal Grammy for this one, “I instantly knew that was for me. I think

I broke down crying after I heard it the first time. I love that song. That was 40 years ago! My God! It seems so long ago, it’s almost like it never happened. I have to remind myself it did.”

“Hello in There” (1972) You were one of the first to cover John Prine, who died in 2020 of COVID-19. “Everything he sang was wonderful. ‘Hello in There’ perfectly expressed what old age is really like. The minute you hear it, you know that’s how it’s going to be. I’ve grown into that song. It’s ironic because I’ve become that old person.”

“Married Men” (1979) and “My Knight in Black Leather”

(1979) Are there any songs you regret recording? “Everybody’s bound to do some stinkers, like ‘Married Men.’ Please, God, shoot me now! ‘My Knight in Black Leather’—save me! That was the label saying, ‘You have to record this.’” (Both appear on her disco album Thighs and Whispers.)

“Wind Beneath My Wings” (1988) One of the biggest hits It won a Record of the Year Grammy in 1990 has been discribed by critics as sentimental. Do you agree? “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sentimentality. Is it mawkish? I don’t think so. I think it’s human. ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ was a country song at first and I didn't want to sing it because I thought it was too sentimental. One of my oldest friends, [songwriter] Marc Shaiman, said, ‘If you don’t sing this song, I’ll never speak to you again.’ So, I said, ‘OK.’ As the years have gone by, I revised my opinion because I could see how moving it was. That was my failure of imagination.”