The Windmills of Your Mind
"The Windmills of Your Mind" (Les moulins de mon cœur) is a song with music by Michel Legrand, as well as Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman, and lyrics by the Bergmans, from the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair. Noel Harrison performed the song for the film score. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1968. (Harrison's father, the British actor Rex Harrison, had performed the previous year's Oscar-winning "Talk to the Animals").
Dusty Springfield's version of the song is also well known; this version reached #31 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the Billboard adult contemporary chart in 1969.[1] This recording also appears on the soundtrack to Breakfast on Pluto (2006). Other artists who have covered the song include Alison Moyet, Swing Out Sister, Edward Woodward, Parenthetical Girls, and Sting, whose version was used in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair.
Recordings
- The Iranian artist Farhad Mehrad covered the song in his 1996 album Khab dar Bidari.
- American band Vanilla Fudge recorded a cover of this song on their album Rock & Roll in 1969.
- In concert, Dany Brillant has performed it in French as a duet with a woman singing in English, Viktor Lazlo.
- Tina Arena covered the song for her 2007 album Songs of Love & Loss and jazz singer Dianne Reeves did it for her 2008 album When You Know.
- José Feliciano also made a popular cover of the song.
- Indie rock band Parenthetical Girls did a cover of the song on their 2008 album, Entanglements.
- The classical quartet All Angels covered the song for their self-titled debut album.
- Australian hip hop artist Phrase released a single "Clockwork" featuring a sample of the Ray Conniff Singers version of the song 2008.
- Earl Grant covered the song on his 1969 album A Time For Us
- Popular Christian/Gospel/Jazz acappella sextet Take 6 did a cover of the song on their 2008 album, The Standard.
- British singer Terry Hall of The Specials covered the song on his 1994 album The Collection.
- British singer Sally Ann Marsh recorded a promo single in 1995, with various dance versions of the song.
- Michel Legrand regularly performs the song in concert (in its version with French lyrics, translated by Eddy Marnay). It usually includes a fast-paced improvisation on the theme.
- Val Doonican recorded it on His Special Years.
- Dance club version by Meck, entitled "Windmills", 2008. The vocal recording of Meck's version of Windmills of Your Mind was by vocalist, Linda Ganzini, from Vancouver, Canada.
- Henry Mancini also did an instrumental cover on the album Best of Henry Mancini released on the 20th of June 2004.
- Elaine Paige covered the song for her 1984 album, Cinema.
- Petula Clark covered the song for her 1969 album Portrait Of Petula.
- Muppets The Screaming Thing performed a version of this song for a 1977 episode of the Muppet Show.
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 592.