| "The Wayward Wind" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byGogi Grant | ||||
| from the album Suddenly There's Gogi Grant | ||||
| B-side | "No More Than Forever" | |||
| Released | March 1956 | |||
| Recorded | 1955 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | Era | |||
| Composer(s) | Stanley Lebowsky | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Herb Newman | |||
| Producer(s) | Buddy Bregman | |||
| Gogi Grant singles chronology | ||||
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"The Wayward Wind" is acountry song written byStanley Lebowsky (music) and Herb Newman (lyrics),[1][2] and first recorded by American singerGogi Grant in 1955, and released in 1956. Grant's version reached No. 1 on both theCash Box charts, where it remained at No. 1 for five weeks, and theBillboard charts, remaining at No. 1 for six weeks, endingElvis Presley's seven-week run at No. 1 with "Heartbreak Hotel".[3] It remained in the top ten for 15 weeks,[4] and was ranked as theNo. 5 song for 1956 according toBillboard. It became aGold record. Members of theWestern Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[5]
The "Wayward Wind" of the title is a metaphor forwanderlust: an irrepressible urge to travel and explore. This is further emphasized by describing it as a "restless wind." In the context of the 19th century setting of shanty towns and railroads, the Western United States was still largely unexplored by Europeansettlers. Concurrent to the era of lonecowboys on horseback, theFirst transcontinental railroad was built.
Steam trains were a gateway theAmerican frontier romanticized in literature, songs and film. The subject of the song is a young man who lives near train tracks; the sound of passing trains instills him with an irrepressible urge to travel. On his journeys he falls in love and attempts to settle down and lead a normal life, but the urge to wander is too strong. The phrase "Next of kin", which is a colloquialism meaning the person's closest living relative, may suggest that the wandering man has no family or connection and will perhaps wander his entire life.
Originally recorded and sung in third person narration from thepoint of view of the young man's lover/wife, by female pop singerGogi Grant, the song is often adapted to male singers and sung in first person from the point of view of the young man.
In 1956, other versions were recorded, including versions byTex Ritter, andJimmy Young, with Ritter's version proving popular in England, reaching No. 8 on the UK charts. Ritter used the song to open his stage shows.[6]
In 1961, Grant's recording was reissued and reachedBillboard No. 50 and Cash Box No. 78. In 1963, a new recording was made byFrank Ifield, which reached No. 1 on theUK Singles Chart for three weeks duration.[7]
The song made theBillboard country chart in a version by Irish flautistJames Galway with vocal accompaniment by American country singerSylvia. Produced in Nashville byBill Pursell,[8] the single was released in 1982 and it rose to No. 57 in 1983.[9]
Neil Young named Gogi Grant's recording as one of the five songs that most inspired him when growing up, noting that, "I think it was grade four, I heard this song and for some reason, I associate it with the school and the highway, and the railroad tracks going behind the school."[10]
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16] | 70 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[17] | 6 |
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[18] | 7 |
| Chart (1994) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canada Adult Contemporary Tracks (RPM)[19] | 44 |
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[20] | 69 |
