| "Summer Wind" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single byWayne Newton | |
| from the album Summer Wind | |
| B-side | "I'll Be Standing By" |
| Released | 1965 (1965) |
| Genre | Traditional pop |
| Length | 2:58 |
| Label | Capitol |
| Songwriters | Heinz Meier (composer), Hans Bradtke (original lyricist),Johnny Mercer (English lyricist) |
| Producers | T.M. Music, Inc.[1] |
| "Summer Wind" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byFrank Sinatra | ||||
| from the albumStrangers in the Night | ||||
| B-side | "You Make Me Feel So Young" | |||
| Released | August 1966 | |||
| Genre | Traditional pop | |||
| Length | 2:58 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriters | Heinz Meier (composer),Johnny Mercer (lyricist) | |||
| Producer | Sonny Burke | |||
| Frank Sinatra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Summer Wind" is a 1965 song, originally released in Germany as "Der Sommerwind" and written byHeinz Meier and German language lyrics by Hans Bradtke.Johnny Mercer re-wrote the song into English along the same themes as the original, which talked of the changing of the seasons using the Southern Europeansirocco wind as a metaphor. In America, it was first recorded byWayne Newton and subsequently byBobby Vinton andPerry Como.
The song is best known for a 1966 recording byFrank Sinatra which peaked at number 25 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart and number one on theEasy Listening chart. The Sinatra version originally appeared on his album,Strangers in the Night. A variety of singers and bands have covered the song since, includingShirley Bassey,Fun Lovin' Criminals,Michael Bublé andJames Dean Bradfield.Barry Manilow,Westlife, andWillie Nelson have included the song on their albums ofjazz standards.
"Der Sommerwind" was a song composed in 1965 by Heinz Meier, withGerman language lyrics written by Hans Bradtke. The song was rewritten intoEnglish byJohnny Mercer, who had heard the song being sung by Danish singerGrethe Ingmann who had also recorded the song in her native language as "Sommervind". He wrote replacement lyrics along the same theme.[2] The song talks of thesirocco wind which passes from North Africa into Southern Europe at the end of summer, and uses this as a metaphor for the changing of the seasons and the passing of time.[3] It was recorded for the American market in 1965 byWayne Newton as the title track for his albumSummer Wind.[4] At the time of his release, it was predicted to be as successful as his recording ofRed Roses for a Blue Lady,[5] which had reached tenth place on the Top 40 and the number one spot on the Easy Listening chart.[6] However it reached only the 86th position.[7] It was also recorded that year by bothBobby Vinton,[3] andPerry Como.[8] Como's version was recorded in Nashville in 1965 and was one of only seven tracks he worked on withAnita Kerr and her singers.[8]
The best known version of the song is by Frank Sinatra.[9] He had previously worked with Mercer on a number of songs, including "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" andNancy Sinatra would later recall Mercer being Sinatra's favourite lyricist.[2] It was recorded for the singer's albumStrangers in the Night, which was the final album he worked on with arranger and conductorNelson Riddle.[9] The composition of Sinatra's version used both anelectronic organ and abig band, and the lyrics were modified to drop the secondchorus.[3] This was Mercer's final work to reach the top forty within the United States.[2] Sinatra would later re-record the song withJulio Iglesias for the 1993 albumDuets.[10]
The song is also well known for being the last song played onNew York City radio stationWCBS-FM on June 3, 2005, before they flipped from classic hits to theJack FM variety hits format.[11] Two years later, the end of the song was also played by the station when they started the montage relaunching the classic hits format.[12]
The B-side, "You Make Me Feel So Young," is a live version from theSinatra at the Sands album, arranged byQuincy Jones and featuring theCount Basie Orchestra.
During an appearance onThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert,Bruce Springsteen said he would choose Sinatra's version of the track when asked to hypothetically pick only one song to listen to for the rest of his life. Likewise, in an interview on theYes Network'sCenterStage,Bob Costas named "Summer Wind" his favorite song.
The song was featured in the filmsThe Pope of Greenwich Village,Matchstick Men, andBlade Runner 2049.
In television, the song was featured at the end of the season six episode ofThe Simpsons titled "Bart of Darkness" (1994), and in the closing credits of the first episode of the second season ofOzark (2018).
Wayne Newton version
| Chart (1965) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100 (Billboard)[7] | 78 |
Frank Sinatra version
| Chart (1966) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| CanadaRPM Top Singles[13] | 24 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[14] | 25 |
| USEasy Listening (Billboard)[14] | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart (Official Charts Company)[15] | 36 |
