From a Distance

Recorded by Bette Midler in 1990, the "anthem of the Gulf War" won the Grammy Award in 1991 as Song of the Year for 1990. It was first written in 1985 by Julie Gold who said: "I grew up in the sixties and I have vivid memories of all that was happening then: the Vietnam War, the Civil rights Movement, the Women's Movement, the Space Program, the Beatles. When I recall those memories, I recall the songs that were popular at the time, and it's as if those songs actually orchestrated those events. All my memories come with a sountrack. I wrote From a Distance in 1985. It was the culmination and outpouring of all my vivid memories and experiences. I am honored to receive all the loving responses it has elicited over the year, and I hope I am managing that love in a responsible way. It thrills me to think that a little song I wrote in a one-room apartment right before my thritieth birthday has brought so much joy to children of all ages all around the world. Maybe someday we will all live in a world that has no guns, no bombs and no diseases--that's my hope of hopes." (Julie Gold quoted in The Book) Julie Gold received a Minute Man Award in 1991 from the United States Army for inspiring the troops during the Gulf War; a citation from the Governor of Pennsylvania; and an award from BMI, certifying her song has been played on the radio over two million times.