“The Wayward Wind” is a country song written by Stanley Lebowsky and Herb Newman. In 1956 versions were recorded by Gogi Grant, Tex Ritter, and Jimmy Young, of which Grant’s was the biggest seller in the United States and Ritter’s in the United Kingdom. The song reached #1 on the Cash Box chart, which combined all recorded versions, but must have got most of that popularity from the Gogi Grant version, which reached #1 on the Billboard chart on its own. The song is one of only two songs that were major hits for Grant, the other being “Suddenly There’s a Valley”.
In 1961 Gogi Grant’s recording was reissued and reached Billboard #50 and Cash Box #78. That same year, Patsy Cline made a recording, which did not chart.
In 1963 a new recording was made by Frank Ifield, which reached #1 on the UK charts.
The song made the Billboard country chart in the 1980s in a version by Sylvia, with accompaniment by James Galway.

By Tex Ritter

Lyrics