Nashville Based World-Renowned Dirty Dancing Songwriter Celebrates 30th Anniversary With 'She
In 1987, composer/songwriter Stacy Widelitz found himself in the midst of the massive success of the blockbuster hit Dirty Dancing. He and Patrick Swayze had co-written the song "She's Like the Wind," and the soundtrack album shot to #1, ultimately being certified 11-times platinum. In early 1988, the song itself hit #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart and #1 on Adult Contemporary. The song also won both the Pop and Film & TV BMI Awards in 1989. In 2009, BMI presented Widelitz with a certificate commemorating the song's 4-millionth airplay in the US.
"I've known Stacy for over 30 years and while he has had much success in the music industry with his songs being chosen for several films and television episodes… seeing him win the Pop and Film/TV BMI Awards for "She's Like the Wind" back in '89 will always be one of my favorite memories." —Doreen Ringer-Ross, Vice President Film, TV & Visual Media Relations at Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI).
This year the entire world is gathering together to celebrate the iconic movie's 30th Anniversary and celebrate the songs from the film which took on their own identities and shaped people's life stories around the globe. ABC has also produced a remake TV special of the original Dirty Dancing movie which will air on May 24th, 2017.
Widelitz shared one of those personal fan stories he has heard over the years: "I met a couple, and the wife had been diagnosed with cancer. To get through chemo, she kept listening to the soundtrack from her favorite movie, Dirty Dancing. On the day they found out in she was in remission, they put on 'She's Like the Wind' and danced together under the moonlight. It's these kinds of stories that I will remember for the rest of my life. That is what songwriting is all about… helping someone else put a soundtrack to their own life story."
This August, Widelitz will be the Keynote Speaker at the National Dirty Dancing Festival which is held every year in Lake Lure, NC, where the original movie was filmed. Widelitz will be joined by former cast & crew members on a Storytelling Panel for the event where he will share stories inspired by "She's Like the Wind" and celebrate Swayze's birthday during the festival's opening ceremonies.
Widelitz recalls writing the song with Swayze in 1984: "Patrick and I wrote 'She's Like The Wind' for a different movie, 'Grandview USA', two years before Dirty Dancing was shot. I'm so thankful it wasn't used in Grandview - it was a lousy movie! We didn't set out to write a hit song, so we were both very surprised when it made it to #3 on the Top Forty."
On May 19, Virgin/Deepwell Records will release "Dirty Dancing," the soundtrack for ABC's three-hour filmed musical event, featuring A-List Artists' new renditions of the original film's songs. Breakthrough U.K. singer/songwriter and Capitol Records recording artist, Calum Scott, performs his version of "She's Like the Wind" on the soundtrack available for pre-order now.
Widelitz has found great success in film and television composition over the last several decades, and has become very involved in the Nashville community. He currently holds positions on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Film Festival, Nashville Opera, Leadership Music and the Nashville Composers Association. In addition to Dirty Dancing, his songs and music have been part of television series and films such as Roadhouse, Beverly Hills 90210, Pocahontas II, and 500 Days of Summer.
In June 2016, Widelitz was elected to the Board of Commissioners and named Vice-Mayor of the City of Oak Hill, TN, where he currently resides.
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