Most of us recognize Kathie Lee Gifford from her longtime roles as daytime television co-host of Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee and NBC’s Today with Hoda Kotb, but the multi-hyphenate performer has had a prolific music career as a performer and writer, which includes these songs you likely didn’t know Kathie Lee Gifford actually wrote.
From entire Broadway musicals to rom-com soundtracks and plenty in between, we take a look at some songs you might have been listening to for years without realizing one of America’s favorite television hosts was the woman who penned them.
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“Whiskey and Wine”
Kathie Lee Gifford not only wrote the original screenplay for the 2020 rom-com Then Came You. She also joined forces with “Jesus, Take the Wheel” songwriter Brett James to create the film’s original soundtrack. Gifford wrote the lyrics and contributed vocals on tracks “Love Me to Death,” “Once Again,” and “Whiskey and Wine,” the last two being duets with James. Gifford also played the starring role of Annabelle, a widow journeying to spread her husband’s ashes.
“He Saw Jesus”
Three years before they would collaborate on Then Came You, Brett James reached out to Kathie Lee Gifford to share his condolences on the loss of Gifford’s husband, Frank Gifford. “He asked, ‘How are you doing?’ I told him the truth,” Gifford told Billboard. “I said, ‘You know what? I found him that morning. This was the look on his face, this look of awe. He saw Jesus, and Jesus took his breath away.’ Someday, I’m going to write that song.’” They released the song later that year.
“The God Who Sees”
Gifford combined her devout Christian faith and her love of music and drama with her song “The God Who Sees,” which she then turned into a short film based on Biblical characters Hagar, Ruth, David, and Mary Magdalene. Gifford worked with Nicole C. Mullen, who starred as the narrator and performer. Mullen was nominated for two Grammys in 2002 and 2005 in Best Country Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album for ‘Talk About It’ and ‘Everyday People,’ respectively.
“Love Never Fails”
The year that Kathie Lee Gifford left her post as Regis Philbin’s Live! co-host, she released her debut pop album ‘The Heart of a Woman.’ The lead single, “Love Never Fails,” achieved moderate success. Brazilian duo Sandy & Junior adopted Gifford’s song and released cover versions in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Portuguese version peaked at No. 2 in Portugal, and the Spanish version peaked at No. 15 in Spain.
Broadway’s Scandalous, the Musical Soundtrack
In addition to hosting television shows, acting on Broadway, writing novels, and releasing music, Kathie Lee Gifford also has experience penning entire musicals. Gifford wrote the book and lyrics to Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson, which made its Broadway debut in 2012. Reviews were lukewarm, with Variety’s Steven Suskin commenting, “The songs move the story along from point to point but without any sense of purpose. The biblical vignette songs in the second act…border on embarrassing.”
Photo by Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
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