"Night and Day" is a 1991 song by

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

written by Roxanne Seeman and Billie Hughes. It is the second single from '' Some People's Lives'' produced by Arif Mardin with Marc Shaiman as associate producer. "Night and Day" was arranged by Arif Mardin, Billie Hughes, and Joe Mardin.

Jack Joseph Puig Jack Joseph Puig is an American audio engineer, A&R executive, and record producer. He has worked with Tonic, Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Roger Hodgson, Taxiride, Green Day, Counting Crows, No Doubt, Klaxo ...

was the recording and mix engineer. "Night and Day" was also released as a single in Japan. "Night and Day" is included in

A Gift of Love ''A Gift of Love'' is a 2015 compilation album of ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Bal ...

, the 2015 compilation album by Bette Midler focusing on her ballads. It is one of ten songs on the list of

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

journalist James Reed in his story "On Bette Midler's birthday, 10 songs that remind us why we fell in love with her", printed December 1, 2016. It was also included on the Bette Midler collection "3 for One" released in Australia.

Overview

Seeman and Hughes recorded a demo of the song performed by Billie Hughes. Seeman took the song demo to New York and dropped it off with a letter for Tunc Erim, A&R at

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. A week later, Tunc Erim invited Seeman to lunch where he told her that

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...

and Doug Morris liked the song and wanted to show it to Mike Rutherford of

Mike + The Mechanics Mike and the Mechanics (stylised as Mike + The Mechanics) is an English rock supergroup formed in Dover in 1985 by Mike Rutherford, initially as a side project during a hiatus period for his earlier group Genesis. The band is known for hit singl ...

. After the lunch, Seeman went to see Vicky Germaise in Arif Mardin's office at the Atlantic Recording Studios. Germaise asked Seeman if she had another copy and overnighted the demo to Arif Mardin who was in Los Angeles, producing

's upcoming album.

Chart performance

"Night and Day" was released to

adult contemporary radio Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s Vocal music, vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, Soul m ...

and stayed on the ''Billboard'' AC chart for 15 weeks, peaking at number 15. The release to mainstream radio came later with "Night and Day" entering the

Contemporary Hit Radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

charts as Most Added and Significant Action. As "Night and Day" was ascending the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the Gulf War broke out, focusing attention back on the first single, " From A Distance". "Night and Day" remained on the Hot 100 for 7 weeks, peaking at 62.

Critical reception

Walta Borawski of Gay Community News, Boston clarified "'Night and Day' is not the

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

song" calling it "Roxanne Seeman and Billie Hughes' bright little tribute to the old "opposites attract" truism." A reviewer from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' praised the song comparing it to the first single as "...an equally appealing pop ballad. Midler's evocative performance works well within the song's haunting delicate keyboard arrangement." Gene Sandbloom from ''The Network Forty'' wrote, "'Night And Day' takes Bette back to a jazz vocal style, as she almost converses over the Enya-esque background. By second listen, the chorus takes on renewed strength, making this both a mood piece and Top 40 single at the same time."

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Irish music video and commercial director

Meiert Avis Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Alanis Morissette, Flyleaf, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Groban, ...

Charts

Television performances

* Oprah Winfrey's "International Men's Show" * VH1's ''Behind the Music'' - Bette Midler *''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' *'' Another World'' *'' Santa Barbara'' *'' Passions''

Other versions

* Billie Hughes included a version of "Night and Day" on his ''Welcome to the Edge'' album which charted #1 in Japan. *The Japanese hit duo Wink released a Japanese version of "Night and Day". *Jasmine released a Mandarin version of "Night and Day". * Cherrie Choi released a Cantonese version of "Night and Day".

References

External links

"Night and Day" Billie Hughes video on YouTube
{{authority control 1990 songs 1991 singles Bette Midler songs Songs written by Billie Hughes Songs written by Roxanne Seeman Song recordings produced by Arif Mardin Atlantic Records singles Billie Hughes songs Wink (duo) songs Music videos directed by Meiert Avis