Composer(s) Stanley Lebowsky | Lyricist(s) Herb Newman | |
"The Wayward Wind" is a country song written by Stanley Lebowsky (music) and Herb Newman (lyrics).
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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.
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.