There’s a version of this song most people already have lodged somewhere in their memory, and it belongs to Bette Midler. Her 1989 Grammy-winning recording of “Wind Beneath My Wings” – written by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley – became one of those unavoidable cultural touchstones that’s hard to hear fresh. So when Virginia-based vocalist Jeff Dwyer released his own take back in April, the obvious question was what he was going to bring to it that wasn’t already there. Dwyer, who draws comparisons to the classic crooner lineage of Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Perry Como, is 80 years old and still recording, which is its own kind of statement. He’s built a Facebook following approaching half a million, suggesting he’s found an audience that responds to what he does, and what he does is take his time with a song.
This is a much-needed throwback to a simpler time in music, when silence was appreciated for what it is – a musical device just as important as the notes being sung. This is a ballad of the golden, timeless age, one that lets the notes breathe, with an absolutely lush reverb sound and gorgeous piano accompaniment carrying the whole thing forward with patience and intention.
At 80, Dwyer has the kind of vocal experience that you either have, or you don’t – you can’t manufacture it. “Wind Beneath My Wings” is a song that punishes singers who push too hard, and Dwyer mostly resists that temptation. The restraint here is the point. Whether this version will convert anyone who didn’t already have a soft spot for this style of music is a fair question, but for the audience it’s made for, it hits where it’s aimed.