B-side "Golden Years" Genre Blue-eyed soul | Format 7" single | |
Released 23 January 1976 (album)
November 1981 (single) Recorded Cherokee Studios, Hollywood
September–November 1975 Length 3:34 (Music video)
5:58 (Full-length album version) | ||
"Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington. The track was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind. The song was very popular and was one of five songs nominated for an Academy Award; it was sung by Johnny Mathis at the March 1958 Oscar presentations. Mathis' version of the song was also released as a single by Columbia Records (4-41060) in November 1957, and reached No. 22 on the Billboard chart.
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The song has been recorded many times, including twice by Nina Simone, first on the live album Nina Simone at Town Hall (1959) and then in a studio recording included on Wild Is the Wind (1966). David Bowie recorded a version of it for his 1976 album Station to Station. Bowie was an admirer of Simone’s style, and after meeting her in Los Angeles in 1975, was inspired to record the song for his album.
Shirley Horn recorded a version in 1961, and another (with full orchestra) in 1992 on her signature album Here's to Life. In 1963, Nancy Wilson included the song on her album Hollywood – My Way. The Dutch band Clan of Xymox released a version of the song in 1994 on their album Headclouds. Australian/English band Fatal Shore recorded "Wild Is the Wind" in 1997 for their self-titled debut album. Britpop band Rialto recorded it on their 1998 album Dream Another Dream. George Michael recorded it on his 1999 album Songs from the Last Century, and Cat Power (Chan Marshall) recorded a version on her 2000 album The Covers Record, as well as a live version for iTunes in 2006. Randy Crawford covered the song on her 2001 album Permanent (a.k.a. Play Mode). Scottish singers Storm Gordon (as featured on her 2001 album-debut Radio Wonderlust Vol. 1) and Billy Mackenzie, have also recorded the song. Billy MacKenzie's version appeared posthumously on the 2001 EP Wild Is the Wind and on the 2005 album Transmission Impossible. TV on the Radio sampled Nina Simone's version on the song "Say You Do" on their self-released 2002 debut OK Calculator. In 2003, Barbra Streisand recorded the song for her album The Movie Album (2003), and filmed a music video. Amel Larrieux recorded the song for her 2007 album Lovely Standards. Nina Simone's version appeared on the trailer for the 2008 movie Revolutionary Road. In 2010, Bat for Lashes released a limited 7" vinyl on Record Store Day in the UK that included live version of the song on the B-side. Esperanza Spalding recorded a version of the song for her 2010 album Chamber Music Society. In 2014, Dame Shirley Bassey recorded this song for her album titled Hello Like Before. Cat Power recorded the song for her fifth studio album The Covers Record released in 2000. In 2015 the song from this album was used in the movie Into the Forest. Kate Ceberano covered the song on her album, The Monash Sessions (2016). Joanne Shaw Taylor also covered the song on her 2016 album Wild.
Track listing
Production credits
Promotional video
In 1981 a black and white promotional video was made, directed by David Mallet. It featured Bowie and four musicians miming to the studio recording, including Tony Visconti (double bass), Coco Schwab (guitar), Mel Gaynor (drums), and Andy Hamilton (saxophone).
Live versions
A live recording from the BBC Radio Theatre, London, on 27 June 2000, was released on a bonus disc accompanying the first release of Bowie at the Beeb in 2000. A performance was recorded for Channel 4's TFI Friday and Bowie performed the song with Mike Garson on piano for the Black Ball charity concert in New York in November 2006.