The Wayward Wind
Encyclopedia
"The Wayward Wind" is a country
song written by Stanley Lebowsky
and Herb Newman.
In 1956
versions were recorded by Gogi Grant
, Tex Ritter
, and Jimmy Young
, of which Grant's was the biggest seller in the United States
and Ritter's in the United Kingdom
. The song reached #1 on the Cash Box
chart, which combined all recorded versions, but must have got most of that popularity from the Gogi Grant version, which reached #1 on the Billboard chart on its own. The song is one of only two songs that were major hits for Grant, the other being "Suddenly There's a Valley
".
In 1961
Gogi Grant's recording was reissued and reached Billboard #50 and Cash Box #78. That same year, Patsy Cline
made a recording, which did not chart.
In 1963
a new recording was made by Frank Ifield
, which reached #1 on the UK charts.
The song made the Billboard country chart in the 1980s in a version by Sylvia
, with accompaniment by James Galway
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song written by Stanley Lebowsky
Stanley Lebowsky
Stanley Lebowsky was a Hollywood and Broadway composer, lyricist, conductor and music director.-Biography:...
and Herb Newman.
In 1956
1956 in music
-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...
versions were recorded by Gogi Grant
Gogi Grant
Gogi Grant is an American popular singer.-Life and career:Grant was born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the age of 12, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she attended Venice High School. In California, she won a teenage singing contest and appeared on television...
, Tex Ritter
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
, and Jimmy Young
Jimmy Young (disc jockey)
Sir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
, of which Grant's was the biggest seller in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Ritter's in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The song reached #1 on the Cash Box
Cash Box magazine
Cashbox magazine was a weekly publication devoted to the music and coin-operated machine industries in the USA which was published from July 1942 to November 16, 1996...
chart, which combined all recorded versions, but must have got most of that popularity from the Gogi Grant version, which reached #1 on the Billboard chart on its own. The song is one of only two songs that were major hits for Grant, the other being "Suddenly There's a Valley
Suddenly There's a Valley
"Suddenly There's a Valley" is a popular song written by Chuck Meyer and Biff Jones and published in 1955.The song was a major hit for Gogi Grant in 1955. Her recording was issued by Era Records as catalog number 1003 and reached Billboard magazine's Top 10...
".
In 1961
1961 in music
-Events:*January 15 – Motown Records signs The Supremes.*January 20 – Francis Poulenc's Gloria receives its premiėre in Boston, USA.*February 12 – The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single....
Gogi Grant's recording was reissued and reached Billboard #50 and Cash Box #78. That same year, Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
made a recording, which did not chart.
In 1963
1963 in music
-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles start a 5-day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do".*January 4 – At Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, Dalida receives a Juke Box Global Oscar for the year's most-played artist on juke boxes....
a new recording was made by Frank Ifield
Frank Ifield
Francis Edward Ifield is an early Australian-English easy listening and country music singer. He achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Chart, where he had four Number 1 hits between 1962 and 1963....
, which reached #1 on the UK charts.
The song made the Billboard country chart in the 1980s in a version by Sylvia
Sylvia (singer)
Sylvia Jane Kirby is an American country music and country pop singer and songwriter. More commonly known by the singular name Sylvia, she enjoyed crossover music success with the song "Nobody" in 1982....
, with accompaniment by James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
.
Recorded versions
- Gogi GrantGogi GrantGogi Grant is an American popular singer.-Life and career:Grant was born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the age of 12, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she attended Venice High School. In California, she won a teenage singing contest and appeared on television...
(19561956 in music-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...
)
#1 #9 - Tex RitterTex RitterWoodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
(1956) #28 #8 - Jimmy YoungJimmy Young (disc jockey)Sir Jimmy Young CBE was a British singer, disc jockey and radio interviewer.-Early life:...
(1956) #27 - Shirley BasseyShirley BasseyDame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
(1956) - Gene VincentGene VincentVincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
(1958) on his Capitol RecordsCapitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
album A Gene Vincent Record Date - Carl MannCarl MannCarl Mann is an American rockabilly singer and pianist.Mann was raised in rural Tennessee; his parents owned a lumber business. He sang in church and did country songs for local talent shows, playing guitar and piano...
(1959) - Sam CookeSam CookeSamuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
(19601960 in music-Events:*January 14 – Elvis Presley is promoted to Sergeant in the U.S. Army*February 6 – Songwriter Jesse Belvin dies in an automobile accident in Los Angeles...
) on his album Hits of the '50s - Patsy ClinePatsy ClinePatsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
(19611961 in music-Events:*January 15 – Motown Records signs The Supremes.*January 20 – Francis Poulenc's Gloria receives its premiėre in Boston, USA.*February 12 – The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single....
) on her album Patsy Cline Showcase - The Everly BrothersThe Everly BrothersThe Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
(19611961 in music-Events:*January 15 – Motown Records signs The Supremes.*January 20 – Francis Poulenc's Gloria receives its premiėre in Boston, USA.*February 12 – The Miracles' "Shop Around" becomes Motown's first million-selling single....
) on their album Both Sides of an EveningBoth Sides of an EveningBoth Sides Of An Evening was an album first released in 1961 by The Everly Brothers. Though it was released at the peak of their career, it failed to make any of the record charts.... - Slim WhitmanSlim WhitmanOttis Dewey Whitman, Jr. , known professionally as Slim Whitman, is an American country music singer and songwriter, known for his yodelling abilities. He has sold in excess of 120 million albums in unit sales and has had numerous successful recordings...
(19621962 in music-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes both audition at Decca Records, a company which has the option of signing one group only...
) on his album Country Style - Frank IfieldFrank IfieldFrancis Edward Ifield is an early Australian-English easy listening and country music singer. He achieved considerable success in the early 1960s, especially in the UK Singles Chart, where he had four Number 1 hits between 1962 and 1963....
(19631963 in music-Events:*January 1 – The Beatles start a 5-day tour in Scotland to support the release of their new single, "Love Me Do".*January 4 – At Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, Dalida receives a Juke Box Global Oscar for the year's most-played artist on juke boxes....
) #1
#16 
#3 #104 - The BrownsThe BrownsThe Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie Brown, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic of the Nashville sound, though their music also...
(1964) on their album This Young Land - Connie FrancisConnie FrancisConnie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
(1967) on her album My Heart Cries for You - Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
(1968) on his album Take Me Back to Laine Country - Connie SmithConnie SmithConnie Smith is an American country music artist. She began her career in 1963 after winning a local talent contest near Columbus, Ohio, which attracted the attention of country songwriter Bill Anderson...
(1978) on her album New Horizons - Crystal GayleCrystal GayleCrystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
(1978) on her album When I Dream - Neil YoungNeil YoungNeil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
(19851985 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV...
) on his album Old WaysOld WaysOld Ways is the fourteenth studio album by Canadian musician Neil Young, released in 1985. Young refers to this album in interviews as Old Ways II, as he had originally planned to release a country album titled Old Ways in 1983. Geffen objected to this, asking Young for a "rock 'n roll" album,...
(album reached #75 on the Billboard Top 200, #24 on Top Country Albums) - Anne MurrayAnne MurrayMorna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
(1993), on her album of 1950s pop cover versions, Croonin'Croonin'-Chart performance:...
(#7 on RPM Country Tracks, #70 on RPM 100, #6 RPM Adult Contemporary in Canada) - Lynn AndersonLynn AndersonLynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
on her album Cowboy's SweetheartCowboy's SweetheartCowboy's Sweetheart is the name of a studio album, released by country singer Lynn Anderson in 1992.Anderson had recently finished a long and lucrative career in the country music business, releasing and promoting albums and singles for the public. She finished her last album in 1988 with What She...