Monday, 1 October 2012

Johnny Mathis - Wild Is The Wind

On this day October 1, 1957 at CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City, Johnny Mathis recorded "Wild Is The Wind."





"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. When you realize how young he was for such a tremendous endeavor (22 years old), you know from the very beginning his voice was just made for intense and/or beautiful romantic lyrics. 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.The song has been recorded many times, including twice by Nina Simone on the album Nina Simone at Town Hall (1959) and also on the album Wild Is the Wind (1966). David Bowie recorded a version of it in 1976 for his album Station to Station. Bowie was an admirer of Simone’s style, and after meeting her in Los Angeles was inspired to record the song for his album.

The Dutch band Clan of Xymox released a version of the song in 1994 on their album Headcloud. Australian/English band Fatal Shore recorded "Wild Is the Wind" in 1997 for their self-titled debut album. George Michael recorded it on his 1999 album Songs from the Last Century, and Chan Marshall (Cat Power) recorded a version on her 2000 album The Covers Record, as well as a live version for iTunes in 2006. Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie also recorded the song; a 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. (Info Wiki)

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