In a comment to Jolly on the Jolly Monday post, our friend Roger dedicated this song, Windy, by The Association, to Jolly for bringing him down from his Dark Tower and making him smile! Well, Jolly was so moved that he asked me to play this tonight, and … well, how could I not?
Windy was written by Ruthann Friedman, who was singer/songwriter entrenched in the San Francisco and Los Angeles music scene in the ’60s. She became friends with Beach Boys lyricist Van Dyke Parks, who introduced her to The Association, who were the first to record the song. They turned “Windy” into a girl.
Although Ruthann Friedman won’t reveal the identity of “Windy,” she tells us that he was another singer/songwriter, and not “a freewheeling Haight Ashbury Hippy” as often reported. Friedman says of the song:
“I have heard so many different permutations of what the song was about. Here is the TRUTH. I was sitting on my bed – the apartment on the first floor of David Crosby’s house in Beverly Glenn – and there was a fellow who came to visit and was sitting there staring at me as if he was going to suck the life out of me. So I started to fantasize about what kind of a guy I would like to be with, and that was Windy – a guy (fantasy). The song took about 20 minutes to write.”
Released in 1967, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July of that year. Overseas, it went to No. 34 in Australia, and No. 3 in Yugoslavia. Later in 1967 an instrumental version by jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery became his biggest Hot 100 hit when it peaked at No. 44.
Not to be confused with The Beach Boys’ 1964 song Wendy, Windy was the Association’s second U.S. #1, following Cherish in 1966. Billboard ranked the record as the #4 song for 1967. The lead vocals were sung in unison by Russ Giguere and Larry Ramos.
Windy
The Association
Who’s peekin’ out from under a stairway
Calling a name that’s lighter than air
Who’s bending down to give me a rainbow
Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it’s Windy
And Windy has stormy eyes
That flash at the sound of lies
And Windy has wings to fly
Above the clouds (above the clouds)
Above the clouds (above the clouds)
And Windy has stormy eyes
That flash at the sound of lies
And Windy has wings to fly
Above the clouds (above the clouds)
Above the clouds (above the clouds)
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Everyone knows it’s Windy
Who’s tripping down the streets of the city
Smilin’ at everybody she sees
Who’s reachin’ out to capture a moment
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Ruthann Friedman
Windy lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
I remember it well, and got to hear them perform it live back in college.
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Oh wow!!! Awesome!
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It was! 🙂
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Thank you. Thank you Jill! 🤗
An amazing collection of talent in one unit and with senses of humour too!
Believe or not this was originally an Association song…. You can find it on some compilations (at the opening riff, one of the band says ‘shucks’ and away they go)..very difficult to find though: Anyway here are the Dillards:
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I had never heard of the Dillards, so of course I Googled … I had no idea they were the ones that played the Darlings on the old Andy Griffith Show!!! Wow! As for the song … um … not quite my cuppa tea 😉 But, I learned something new, so I’m happy! Even Chris didn’t know, and she’s my music expert!
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Bluegrass weren’t my scene back in the day…but their name was always hovering around the edge of my radar..
Just shows how much variety and talent there was in The Association
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Fun song, got everyone moving on the dance floor or the beach. Good times were had by all.
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I’m glad you liked it … and a bit surprised!
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I always liked the Association: Along Comes Mary, Cherish, Never My Love, Windy, a few others. My early years were all country&western, thanks to my older brothers. Then my sisters made me listen to Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee, Little Richard, even Bill Haley. Buddy Holly was just getting popular in Canada when the plane crashed. Elvis went into the army, to be replaced by a bunch of Bobbys, Then came Roy Orbison.
From there the Beatles, DCF, the Animals, the Stones, and music changed forever… but too many bands to name them all.
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I had a collection of Association singles…..’No Fair At All. had ‘Looking Glass’ on the b-side- beautiful lyrics.
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I had one about bullfighting, Requiem for the Masses, which was later pulled from radio playlists and record stores by the American government for being too provocative. I cannot remember the B side anymore, it was different in Canada than the American releases.
Many years later I saw a touring revue of 60s groups with one of the lead singers, I think Larry Ramos, along with Gary Puckett of the Unon Gap, and others. They put on a good show.
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Requiem for the Masses was a b side over here since all my singles are long gone I cannot remember which. However Requiem for the Masses is a classic.
Yeah, some folk in the government and radio show executive groups were unhappy about the Vietnam comparison.
The Smothers Brothers show extract is haunting:
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Hmm. I wonder what she did for the other 18 minutes.I like groups with tight vocals but with a light touch like the Mamas and the Papas, Association did it well.
Cwtch
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I think she spent the other 18 minutes doing her nails. I’m glad at least it didn’t send you running into the hills screaming “Give me Marvin!!!” 😉
Cwtch
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I thought the name, “The Association”, sounded more like an insurance company than a vocal group, but I enjoyed their music. This one was a particular favorite.
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Hah! I thought it sounded like a Mafia family! I’m glad you liked this one!
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And all this time I thought it was about someone who ate too many beans. Catchy tune, though. I can see how it made it to the top of the charts.
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🤣🤣🤣
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Jill, great bass line in this song. My wife and I saw them late in their career in a terrific venue. It was a walk down memory lane. Thanks for stirring that memory. Keith
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My pleasure, Keith! I was going for something light and airy, and when Roger put this one into a comment, the light bulb in my head went off! Whatever would we do without Roger?
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Aww….. shucks m’am 😌
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I can see why this song only took 20 minutes to write. I always liked it though.
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Ha ha … yeah, it’s not particularly substantive, but I was rather in the mood for something light and airy! Glad you liked it.
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You chose well for light and airy. 😁
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