Bette Midler Had No Idea 'Wind Beneath My Wings' Would Be a Smash Hit: 'We Didn’t Know What We Had' (Exclusive)

The song from the 'Beaches' soundtrack hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1989

Bette Midler’s 1988 movie Beaches is one of the most popular tearjerkers of all time, and its theme song, “Wind Beneath My Wings," remains a staple at weddings and on adult contemporary radio.

But the Divine Miss M, 78, had no idea either the movie—about the lifelong bond between buttoned-up lawyer Hillary (Barbara Hershey) and free-spirit singer C.C. (Midler) — or the chart-topping soundtrack single she recorded would resonate so deeply with so many.

“We didn’t know what we had,” Midler, who adds that critics initially “dismissed” the female-focused movie, says in the new issue of PEOPLE.

The song, however, “started to climb the charts,” notes the showgirl. Six months after the film debuted in theaters around the holidays, "Wind Beneath My Wings" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June 1989.

Related: Watch Idina Menzel Cover Bette Midler's Iconic 'Wind Beneath My Wings'

The next February, Midler and her producer, Arif Mardin, who died in 2006, took home the Grammy for record of the year and the writers, Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley, won the trophy for Song of the Year.

“I was so proud of that record because Arif Mardin was such a genius, one of the funniest, kindest people in the whole world. I was so lucky to have him around me for so many years,” says Midler.

When the song won record of the year, “I was overjoyed for him,” she continues. “I have his picture on my mantel. What can I say?”

Midler, however, was not the first artist to record the song. Lou Rawls, Roger Whitaker and Sheena Easton and other singers all recorded versions of the track, which Silbar and Henley originally penned in 1982.

Related: Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullally and Sheryl Lee Ralph Star in The Fabulous Four First Look (Exclusive)

Midler told Gayle King in a 2021 interview that she was reluctant to do her own version for the soundtrack, which features other tracks from the singer, including a cover of “Under the Boardwalk."  “I said, ‘I’m not gonna sing that song,’” she recalled on CBS Mornings. “First of all, I didn’t understand it. And secondly, I thought it was a little corny.”

“Wind Beneath My Wings” — which remains one of her biggest hits in a career that spans decades and has many hits — grew on Midler, she told King: “I really like the song.”

Like Beaches, Midler’s new movie, The Fabulous Four, tackles the topic of friendship — although in a much more lighthearted way.

Midler plays self-centered widow Marilyn, who gets engaged following a whirlwind romance and reunites with her longtime friends (played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, Megan Mullally and Susan Sarandon) for her wedding in Key West, Fla.

In the movie, their bonds are tested. But in real life, the only testing that happened was of the tasting variety when the quartet dined out in Savannah, where they filmed.

“I can’t say enough about them. I thought they were all superb,” Midler says of her costars.

The Fabulous Four is in theaters Friday, July 26.

For more on Bette Midler, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE.

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