Wind of Change (song)
| "Wind of Change" | ||||
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| Single by Scorpions | ||||
| from the album Crazy World | ||||
| B-side | "Tease Me Please Me" | |||
| Released | April 1991 | |||
| Format | CD single, CD maxi, 7" single | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 5:10 | |||
| Label | Mercury Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Klaus Meine | |||
| Producer | Keith Olsen | |||
| Scorpions singles chronology | ||||
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"Wind of Change" is a 1990 power ballad written by Klaus Meine, vocalist of the German heavy metal band Scorpions. It appeared on their 1990 album Crazy World, but did not become a worldwide hit single until 1991, when it topped the charts in Germany and across Europe, and hit #4 in the United States and #2 in the United Kingdom. It later appeared on the 1995 live album Live Bites, on their 2000 album Moment of Glory, with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and on their 2001 unplugged album Acoustica.
The band also recorded a Russian-language version of the song, under the title Ветер перемен (Veter Peremen) and a Spanish version called Vientos de Cambio.
The song is currently the 10th best-selling single of all time in Germany.[1]
Worldwide, this single sold 14 million copies, making it one of the top twenty best selling singles of all time.[2] The Scorpions hold the record for the best-selling single by a German artist and band.
Contents |
[edit] Background and writing
The lyrics celebrate the Perestroyka in the USSR and the end of the Cold War.
The Scorpions were inspired to write the song on a visit to Moscow in 1989, and the opening lines refer to the city's landmarks:
- I follow the Moskva
- Down to Gorky Park
- Listening to the wind of change
The Moskva is the name of the river that runs through Moscow (both the city and the river are named identically in Russian), and Gorky Park is the name of an amusement park in Moscow.
[edit] Composition
"Wind of Change" opens with a clean guitar intro played by Matthias Jabs, which is played alongside Klaus Meine's famous whistle. The song's guitar solo is played by Rudolf Schenker.
[edit] Legacy
In 2005 the viewers of the German television network ZDF chose this song as the song of the century. It is the highest ever selling song in Germany, reputedly selling over 6 million copies in that country alone, and is frequently played on television shows presenting video footage of the fall of the Berlin Wall.[citation needed] In Germany it is remembered as the song of German reunification (and fall of communism in Eastern Europe generally),[citation needed] even though it only rose to popularity two years later.
In 2011 DJ ROWeL did a remix of the 1990 hit song "Wind Of Change".
[edit] Uses of the song
- Popular UK football show Soccer AM uses "Wind of Change" as its tribute to UK troops overseas.
- It also features in the video game SingStar Rocks! and has been added as a downloadable content from the SingStore.
- The song was feature in the episode Chuck Versus the Seduction Impossible of the TV show Chuck.
- In the independent film In Search of a Midnight Kiss (distributed by IFC in summer 2008), writer/director Alex Holdridge has characters in the film sing an impromptu version of "Wind of Change" as the movie concludes in celebration of the main character's changing fortune, and as the credits start to roll, Austin, Texas-based rock band Sybil performs a cover of the song.
- The song was used in the Berlin Wall trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops.
[edit] Track listings
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[edit] Charts and sales
[edit] Peak positions
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[edit] End of year charts
[edit] Certifications
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[edit] Chart successions
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Best-selling singles of all time in Germany Musicline.de (Retrieved March 26, 2010)
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Wind of Change", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
- ^ a b "Single top 100 over 1991" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201991.pdf. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
- ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
- ^ a b Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 8, 2008)
- ^ 1991 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
- ^ 1991 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
- ^ 1991 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1991. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ^ ARIA
- ^ Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
- ^ French certifications Infodisc.fr (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Wind+of+Change')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=Wind%2Bof%2BChange&strInterpret=&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
- ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 8, 2008)
- ^ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
[edit] External links
- 1990 songs
- 1991 singles
- Number-one singles in Austria
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Number-one singles in France
- Number-one singles in Germany
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Norway
- Number-one singles in Sweden
- Number-one singles in Switzerland
- Scorpions (band) songs
- Songs about the Cold War
- Rock ballads
- Songs written by Klaus Meine
- Singles certified platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie
- Songs produced by Keith Olsen
