The Wayward Wind

"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 No. 1 on the Cash Box chart, which combined all recorded versions, the Gogi Grant version reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart on its own. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1956. It became a gold record.

Grant's version depicted a man, who lived, in the past, in a shack by the railroad tracks, who wandered endlessly, whom the singer was in love with, until he disappeared, as the man was the "Next of kin/ to the Wayward Wind".

The Gogi Grant version was noted for a female wordless chorus, sliding up and down the notes, heard at both the beginning and the ending of the song, as to depict the sound of the wayward wind blowing.

In 1961, Grant's recording was reissued and reached Billboard No. 50 and Cash Box No. 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 No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks duration.

The song made the Billboard country chart in the 1980s in a version by Sylvia, with accompaniment by James Galway.

Members of the Western Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

The Beatles cover version

According to eminent author Mark Lewisohn in "The Complete Beatles Chronicles" (p. 365) The Beatles performed The Wayward Wind live from 1960 through 1961 (in Hamburg and Liverpool and elsewhere). It is unclear whether the lead vocal was by John Lennon or Paul McCartney or both. No recorded version is known to survive. Lewisohn believes that the Gene Vincent 1958 record is the basis of the Beatles version but it may have also been the Tex Ritter one.

Recorded versions

• Gogi Grant (1956) No. 1 (U.S.), No. 9 (UK)
• Tex Ritter (1956) No. 28 (U.S.), No. 8 (UK)
• Jimmy Young (1956) No. 27 (UK)
• Shirley Bassey (1956)
• Gene Vincent (1958) on his Capitol Records album A Gene Vincent Record Date
• Carl Mann (1959)
• The Wilburn Brothers (1960) on their album The Big Heartbreak
• Sam Cooke (1960) on his album Hits of the '50s
• Patsy Cline (1961) on her album Patsy Cline Showcase
• The Everly Brothers (1961) on their album Both Sides of an Evening
• Slim Whitman (1962) on his album Country Style
• Eddy Arnold (1963) on his album Cattle Call.
• Frank Ifield (1963) No. 1 (UK), No. 16 (Australia), No. 3 (Ireland), No. 104 (U.S.)
• The Browns (1964) on their album This Young Land
• Connie Francis (1967) on her album My Heart Cries for You
• Frankie Laine (1968) on his album Take Me Back to Laine Country
• Connie Smith (1978) on her album New Horizons
• Crystal Gayle (1978) on her album When I Dream
• Neil Young (1985) on his album Old Ways (album reached No. 75 on the Billboard Top 200, No. 24 on Top Country Albums)
• Anne Murray (1993), on her album of 1950s pop cover versions, Croonin'
• Lynn Anderson on her album Cowboy's Sweetheart
• The Waterboys on the 2008 remaster of their 1990 album Room To Roam

Chart performance

Anne Murray

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	70
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)	6
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)	7

Year-end charts

Chart (1994)	Position
Canada Adult Contemporary Tracks (RPM)	44
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)	69

References

Preceded by "Diamonds" by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan

UK number one single (Frank Ifield version) February 21, 1963 (3 weeks)

Succeeded by "Summer Holiday" by Cliff Richard and The Shadows