Wild Is the Wind (song)

"Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind. Johnny Mathis recorded the song for the film and released it as a single in November 1957. Mathis' version reached No. 22 on the Billboard chart. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1958, but lost to "All the Way" by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn from The Joker is Wild.

The song has been recorded many times, by many performers. The best known versions are those recorded by Nina Simone (from her 1966 album of the same name) and by David Bowie (from his 1976 album Station to Station).

In 1999, George Michael recorded a version for his album Songs From The Last Century.

Johnny Mathis version

Mathis recorded the song with a flexible sense of meter, rushing some words as if they were speech. At the 30th Academy Awards in 1958 (where it was nominated for Best Song), Mathis performed the song live.

Nina Simone version

Nina Simone first recorded "Wild Is the Wind" live in 1959; this version appeared on the 1959 live album Nina Simone at Town Hall. Her most famous interpretation of the song was a studio recording released on the 1966 compilation album Wild Is the Wind. Simone extensively reworked the song, with slow, sparse instrumentation and her drawn-out vocal delivery expressing a sense of loss.

Simone's 1966 version appeared in the trailer for the 2008 film Revolutionary Road. In November 2013, the song reached number 6 on Billboard's Digital Jazz chart.

David Bowie version

David Bowie recorded a version of "Wild Is the Wind" for his 1976 album Station to Station. Bowie was an admirer of Simone’s style, and he was inspired to record the song after meeting her in Los Angeles in 1975. He later recalled that Simone's version "really affected [him]...[he] recorded it as an hommage to Nina."

Bowie took special care with the arrangement and production of "Wild Is the Wind", committing to an emotional and romantic vocal performance modeled after Simone's which has often been cited as one of his best.

Single release and promotional video

To promote the 1981 compilation album Changestwobowie, an edit of Bowie's version of "Wild Is the Wind" was released as a single, and 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): none of the four musicians had played on the studio recording. The black backdrop and stark lighting reproduced the style of Bowie's Isolar – 1976 Tour in support of Station to Station. The single reached number 24 in the UK and #15 in Ireland.

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary and Benoît Clerc:

• David Bowie – lead vocals
• Carlos Alomar – acoustic rhythm guitar
• Earl Slick – electric lead guitar
• George Murray – bass guitar
• Dennis Davis – drums

Technical

• David Bowie – producer
• Harry Maslin – producer

Live versions

Bowie performed the song during his June 2000 Mini Tour. A live recording from the BBC Radio Theatre in London on June 27, 2000, was released on a bonus disc accompanying the first release of Bowie at the Beeb in 2000. A performance on June 23, 2000, was recorded for Channel 4's TFI Friday. Bowie's performance of the song at the 2000 Glastonbury Festival was released in 2018 on Glastonbury 2000, a live album documenting his set.

Bowie also performed the song with Mike Garson on piano for the Black Ball charity concert in New York in November 2006; the concert was Bowie's final stage performance before his death in 2016.

References

Bibliography

• Clerc, Benoît (2021). David Bowie All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. New York City: Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 978-0-7624-7471-4.
• O'Leary, Chris (2015). Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from '64 to '76. Winchester: Zero Books. ISBN 978-1-78099-244-0.
• Pegg, Nicholas (2011). The Complete David Bowie (6th ed.). London: Titan Books. ISBN 9780857682901.