Wind of Change (Scorpions song)

"Wind of Change"
Single by Scorpions
from the album Crazy World
B-side "Tease Me Please Me"
Released 20 January 1991
Format
Recorded 1990; Wisseloord Studios
(Hilversum, Netherlands)
Goodnight LA Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Hard rock
Length 5:10 (album version)
3:44 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s) Klaus Meine
Producer(s)
Scorpions singles chronology
"Don't Believe Her"
(1990)		 "Wind of Change"
(1991)		 "Send Me an Angel"
(1991)
Music video
"Wind Of Change" on YouTube

"Wind of Change" is a power ballad by the German rock band Scorpions, recorded for their eleventh studio album, Crazy World (1990). The song was composed and written by the band's lead singer Klaus Meine and produced by Keith Olsen and the band. It was released as the album's third single in January 1991 and became a worldwide hit, just after the failed coup that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The song topped the charts in Germany and across Europe and peaked at number four in the United States on August 31, 1991 and number two in the United Kingdom. It later appeared on the band's 1995 live album Live Bites, their 2000 album with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Moment of Glory, and on their 2001 unplugged album Acoustica. With estimated sales of 14 million copies sold worldwide, "Wind of Change" is one of the best-selling singles of all time.[1] It holds the record for the best-selling single by a German artist.

The band presented a gold record of the single to Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. As of October 2018, the video for "Wind of Change" has been viewed more than 620 million times on YouTube. The Scorpions were the first German band to receive over 100 million views.

Background and writing

The lyrics celebrate glasnost in the Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, and speaks of hope at a time when tense conditions had arisen due to the fall of Communist-run governments among Eastern Bloc nations beginning in 1989.[2]

The Scorpions were inspired to write the song on a visit to Moscow in 1989,[2] 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 an urban park in Moscow named after the writer Maxim Gorky.

The song also contains a reference to the balalaika, which is a Russian stringed instrument somewhat like a guitar. The balalaika is mentioned in the following lines:

Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Composition

"Wind of Change" opens with a clean guitar intro played by Matthias Jabs, which is played alongside Klaus Meine's flat whistle. The song's guitar solo is played by Rudolf Schenker.

Other versions

The band also recorded a Russian-language version of the song, under the title "Ветер перемен" ("Veter Peremen")[3] [4] [5] and a Spanish version called "Vientos de Cambio".

Legacy

In 2005, viewers of the German television network ZDF chose this song as the song of the century.[2]

Track listings

Charts and sales

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SCORPIONS: WIND OF CHANGE Der Wende-Hit". abendblatt.de. Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved August 23, 2016. Von Jana-Sophie Brasseler 02.10.09
  2. 1 2 3 Bienstalk, Richard Scorpions' 'Wind of Change': The Oral History of 1990's Epic Power Ballad Rolling Stone. September 4, 2015
  3. ↑ The wind of change_Russian version
  4. ↑ The wind of change_Russian version
  5. ↑ فيديو ويند أوف شينج لسكوربيون (النسخة الروسية)
  6. ↑ Wind Of Change (US 7-inch Single liner notes). Scorpions. Mercury Records. 1990. 868 180-7.
  7. ↑ Wind Of Change (Canadian 7-inch Single liner notes). Scorpions. Mercury Records. 1990. 868 180-7.
  8. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  9. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Scorpions – Wind of Change" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  10. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Scorpions – Wind of Change" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  11. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.1570&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=tm0embfudemtsfk01edguknnb1
  12. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change" (in French). Les classement single.
  13. ↑ "Musicline.de – Scorpions Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  14. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  15. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Scorpions" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  16. ↑ "Charts.nz – Scorpions – Wind of Change". Top 40 Singles.
  17. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". VG-lista.
  18. ↑ Archiwum Listy Przebojów Programu Trzeciego (Retrieved November 16, 2014)
  19. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". Singles Top 100.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Scorpions – Wind of Change". Swiss Singles Chart.
  21. ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  22. 1 2 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 8, 2008)
  23. ↑ 1991 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
  24. ↑ 1991 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
  25. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.2024&type=1&interval=20&PHPSESSID=tm0embfudemtsfk01edguknnb1
  26. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.de/year.asp?cat=s&country=de&year=1991&x=39&y=10
  27. ↑ "Single top 100 over 1991" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  28. ↑ 1991 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
  29. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1991". Archived from the original on July 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  30. ↑ ARIA
  31. ↑ Austrian certifications ifpi.at Archived July 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
  32. ↑ French certifications Infodisc.fr Archived July 13, 2012, at WebCite (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
  33. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Wind+of+Change')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  34. ↑ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 8, 2008)
  35. ↑ U.S. certifications riaa.com Archived September 2, 2008, at WebCite (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.