Windy
Encyclopedia
"Windy" is a pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 song written by Ruthann Friedman
Ruthann Friedman
Ruthann Friedman is an American folk singer.Born in the Bronx, New York, Friedman spent her formative years in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles. She started playing guitar at the age of eight while listening to Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Josh White. Her first song gained her a...

 and recorded by The Association
The Association
The Association is a pop music band from California in the folk rock or soft rock genre. During the 1960s, they had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts and were the lead-off band at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival...

. Released in 1967, the song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in July of that year. Later in 1967, an instrumental version by jazz guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...

 became his biggest Hot 100 hit when it peaked at #44. "Windy" was The Association's second U.S. number-one, following "Cherish
Cherish (The Association song)
"Cherish" is a pop song written by Terry Kirkman and recorded by The Association. Released in 1966, the song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in September of that year and remained in the top position for three weeks. In Canada, the song also reached number one...

" in 1966.

According to rumor, the original lyrics by Ruthann Friedman were about a man and The Association changed them to be about a woman.

"There are many explanations of who Windy actually was in Ruthann's life. She would have you know, she being me, Ruthann Friedman, that none of them are true. Windy was indeed a female and purely a fictitious character who popped into my head one fine day in 1967...


During the recording session the Association members, sure that they were in the middle of recording a hit, called the song writer, me again, in to sing on the fade at the end. I can be heard singing a blues harmony as the song fades out..."


Session musician Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...

 was brought in to play drums.

Covers

Gary Lewis and the Playboys released the song in 1968 on their album, Gary Lewis Now!

The band Betty
Betty (band)
BETTY is an alternative rock group from New York City. The group originated in Washington, D.C. and traces its lineage to a birthday party for Dodie Bowers . The band's harmonies and unique lyrics attracted a cult following in the vibrant alternative music scene and among gay/lesbian audiences...

 covered the song on their 1996 album Limboland.

Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...

 and The Association covered this song along with "Cherish" on the 2006 album The Greatest Songs of the Sixties
The Greatest Songs of the Sixties
The Greatest Songs of the Sixties is Barry Manilow's sequel album for The Greatest Songs of the Fifties. The album was another major hit for Manilow in the United States, selling nearly 50% more than his previous album in its opening week. As with its predecessor, this album was produced by Clive...

. This song was also recorded by Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto
Astrud Gilberto is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She is well known for the Grammy Award-winning song "The Girl from Ipanema".-Biography:...

 on her album Windy.

In popular culture

A version of the song was used as the theme tune on the nightly Today program broadcast on Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

 from 1968 to 1977.

On March 25, 2009, Life on Mars (U.S. TV series)
Life on Mars (U.S. TV series)
Life on Mars was a science fiction crime drama television series which originally aired on ABC from October 9, 2008 to April 1, 2009. It is an adaptation of the BAFTA-winning original UK series of the same name produced by the BBC...

featured this song in the episode "Everyone Knows It's Windy."

On June 6, 2010, television show Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...

, at the start of the episode "Half Measures" (season 3, episode 12), has Wendy the prostitute turning tricks at the Crossroads Motel to the sounds of "Windy."

Brad Garrett
Brad Garrett
Bradley "Brad" Garrett is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, and professional poker player. Throughout he has appeared in numerous television and film roles....

 sang a version of the song (replacing 'Windy' with 'Brad') in a commercial for 7-Up.
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