They Call the Wind Maria

In the 1941 novel Storm, George Rippey Stewart names the storm that is the protagonist of his story Maria.{{Cite book

| last = Norcross

| first = Bryan

| author-link = Bryan Norcross

| title = 2007 Hurricane Almanac: The Essential Guide to Storms Past, Present, and Future

| publisher = Macmillan

| year = 2007

| pages = 138

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8KWS6NgGLksC&q=2007+Hurricane+Almanac+They+Call+the+Wind+Maria&pg=PA138

| isbn = 978-0-312-37152-4}} In 1947, Stewart wrote a new introduction for a reprint of the book and discussed the pronunciation of "Maria": "The soft Spanish pronunciation is fine for some heroines, but our Maria here is too big for any man to embrace and much too boisterous." He went on to say, "So put the accent on the second syllable, and pronounce it 'rye{{'"}}.{{cite web | author = Heidorn, Keith C. | url = http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/arts/storm.htm | title = George Stewart's Storm: Remembering A Classic. | access-date = 2006-12-10 | publisher = The Weather Doctor}}

The success of Stewart's novel was one factor that motivated U.S. military meteorologists to start the informal practice of giving women's names to storms in the Pacific during World War II. The practice became official in 1945.{{cite web |url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/basics/naming.shtml |title=Naming Hurricanes |access-date=2007-06-12 |format=National Hurricane Center }} In 1953, a similar system of using women's names was adopted for North Atlantic storms. This continued until 1979, when men's names were incorporated into the system.{{Cite web

| last = Landsea

| first = Chris

| title = How are tropical cyclones named?

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| url = http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/TCFAQ_B.txt

| access-date = March 27, 2011}} Although Stewart's story is set in 1935, the novel and its effect on meteorology later inspired Lerner and Loewe to write a song for their play about the California gold rush, and like Stewart, they too gave a wind storm the name Maria, which is pronounced {{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|r|aɪ|.|ə}} {{respell|mə|RY|ə}}. The lines throughout the song end in feminine rhymes mostly using the long 'i' sound {{IPA|/aɪ/}}, echoing the stress pattern and vowel sound of the name Maria.

It has been called Paint Your Wagon's "best known song" and "rousing but plaintive."{{Cite book

| last = Browne

| first = Pat

| author-link = Pat Browne

| title = The guide to United States popular culture

| publisher = Popular Press

| year = 2001

| pages = 486

| url = https://www.google.com/search?q=%22rousing+but+plaintive%22+They+Call+The+Wind+Maria&btnG=Search+Books&tbm=bks

| isbn = 978-0-87972-821-2}} Musicologist Stephen Citron wrote, "Perhaps the most unusual song in the score is a beautiful ballad of lonely prospectors hungering for their women, 'They Call the Wind Maria' – not chauvinistic in this case, for each man is yearning for his own girl."{{Cite book

| last = Citron

| first = Stephen

| title = The wordsmiths: Oscar Hammerstein 2nd and Alan Jay Lerner

| publisher = Oxford University Press

| year = 1995

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nfgXAQAAIAAJ&q=They+Call+the+Wind+Maria

| isbn = 978-0-19-508386-6}} Composer and conductor Lehman Engel wrote that the song "has a cowboy flavor", and commented that "In the lyric, its folk quality is accentuated." Engel concluded that "Lerner has invented an interesting kind of narration".{{Cite book

| last = Engel

| first = Lehman

| author-link = Lehman Engel

| title = Their words are music: the great theatre lyricists and their lyrics

| publisher = Crown Publishers

| year = 1975

| pages = 139

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HQg9AAAAMAAJ&q=%22They+call+the+wind+Maria%22

| isbn = 978-0-517-51682-9}} Princeton University historian Robert V. Wells wrote that it is "a sad and wistful song about being far from home".{{Cite book

| last = Wells

| first = Robert V.

| title = Life flows on in endless song: folk songs and American history

| publisher = University of Illinois Press

| year = 2009

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OtM2X2B_3hcC&q=%22a+sad+and+wistful+song+about+being+far+from+home%22&pg=PA193

| isbn = 978-0-252-07650-3}} Theater historian Don B. Wilmeth called the song "haunting", and said that it evokes "emptiness".{{Cite book

| last = Wilmeth

| first = Don B.

| title = The Cambridge guide to American theatre

| publisher = Cambridge University Press

| year = 2007

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UYsXbFvjrXkC&q=haunting+emptiness+%22They+Call+the+Wind+Maria%22&pg=PA507

| isbn = 978-0-521-83538-1}}

Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.{{Cite web

|title=The Top 100 Western Songs

|author=Western Writers of America

|year=2010

|author-link=Western Writers of America

|publisher=American Cowboy

|url=http://www.americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019002745/http://americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs

|archive-date=19 October 2010

|url-status=dead

}}

The song gained renewed popularity during the American folk music revival. In 1959, it was included on the Kingston Trio's first live album, ...from the Hungry i, which reached #2 on the Billboard Pop chart and won a RIAA gold record in 1960.Liner notes: The Kingston Trio and ...from the Hungry i Capitol Records reissue. Liner notes by Ben Blake, 1992.{{Cite news

| last = R.B.M.

| title = Frenzied Concert Pace: Pickin' and a Singin', Kingston Trio Big Hit

| newspaper = Windsor Star

| location = Windsor, Ontario

| date = November 6, 1961

| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DDY_AAAAIBAJ&pg=4653,4058539&dq=kingston-trio+they+call+the+wind+maria&hl=en

| access-date = March 26, 2011}} It was also included on the Smothers Brothers first album, The Songs and Comedy of the Smothers Brothers! Recorded at the Purple Onion, San Francisco, released in 1961.{{Cite web

| title = Smothers Brothers Albums

| publisher = SmothersBrothers.com

| date = January 1, 2001

| url = http://www.smothersbrothers.com/discography.htm

| access-date = March 26, 2011

| archive-date = October 18, 2005

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051018031653/http://www.smothersbrothers.com/discography.htm

| url-status = dead

}} Other folk singers who performed the song include Josh White{{Cite book

| last = Wald

| first = Elijah

| author-link = Elijah Wald

| title = Josh White: society blues

| publisher = University of Massachusetts Press

| year = 2000

| location = Amherst, Massachusetts

| pages = 290

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TXkMw2mq8XUC&q=They+Call+the+Wind+Maria&pg=PA290

| isbn = 978-1-55849-269-1}} and Burl Ives. Musical historian John Bush Jones wrote that the song "so evokes the American West that during the folksinging craze of the later 1950s countless Americans thought 'They Call the Wind Maria' was a folksong, not a show tune!"

{{Cite book

| last = Jones

| first = John Bush

| author-link = John Bush Jones

| title = Our musicals, ourselves: a social history of the American musical theatre

| publisher = UPNE

| year = 2003

| pages = 169

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WqQH31qkYNoC&q=%22countless+American+thought+They+Call+the+Wind+Maria+was+a+folksong%22&pg=PA169

| isbn = 978-0-87451-904-4}}

The song was featured in the 1969 Hollywood film Paint Your Wagon, starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood and Jean Seberg. In the film, the song was performed by Harve Presnell. The New York Times said that Presnell's role in the film "delivered the golden opportunity to sing the unforgettable ballad."Grimes, William.[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/theater/02presnell.html "Harve Presnell, Singing Actor, Dies at 75,"]The New York Times, July 2, 2009 Theater writer Thomas Hischak said that "in one of the film's few pleasing moments, Harve Presnell gave full voice to 'They Call the Wind Maria' and it was lovely to hear". Referring to Eastwood and Marvin, film reviewer Brian W. Fairbanks wrote that "Harve Presnell steals both stars' thunder with a knockout version of the best song."{{Cite book

| last = Fairbanks

| first = Brian W.

| title = I Saw That Movie, Too: Selected Film Reviews

| publisher = Lulu

| year = 2005

| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=qm-Zv_oiLOYC&q=%22a+knockout+version+of+the+best+song%22&pg=PA290

| isbn = 978-1-4116-3535-7}}

In a promotional tie-in with release of the film, recorded versions of the song were issued by seven singers and groups, including Presnell, Ed Ames, Burl Ives, Jim Nabors and the Baja Marimba Band. Several record labels participated.{{Cite news

| title = Movie Inspires Music Campaign

| newspaper = Calgary Herald

| location = Calgary

| date = October 9, 1969

| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HWxkAAAAIBAJ&pg=2553,3575324&dq=they-call-the-wind-maria+ed+ames&hl=en

| access-date = March 27, 2011}}

The American singer, songwriter and producer Mariah Carey was named after this song.{{cite web

| title = Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs – Mariah Carey

|work=People

| url = http://www.people.com/people/mariah_carey

| access-date =December 15, 2010}}{{Cite news

| title = Mariah Carey: About This Person

| location = New York

| url = https://movies.nytimes.com/person/10883/Mariah-Carey/biography

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131017180104/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/10883/Mariah-Carey/biography

| url-status = dead

| archive-date = October 17, 2013

| department = Movies & TV Dept.

| work = The New York Times

| author = Jason Buchanan

| date = 2013

| access-date =March 27, 2011}}

Maria Creek, a glacial meltwater stream in Antarctica, was given its name on account of the strong winds in the area.{{cite book | last = Alberts| first =Fred G. | authorlink = | title =Geographic Names of the Antarctic| publisher =United States Board on Geographic Names | series = | volume = | edition = | date =1995 | location = | pages =461 | language = | url =https://pubs.usgs.gov/fedgov/70039167/report.pdf | doi = | id = | isbn =9780160618604 | quote=}}

An episode of the TV series M*A*S*H is called “They Call the Wind Korea” (S7, E8 - originally aired 10/30/78.{{cite book | last =Diffrient | first =David Scott | authorlink = | title =M*A*S*H* | publisher =Wayne State University Press | series = | volume = | edition = | date =2008 | location = | pages =71 | language = | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CAdN-I5KqFUC&pg=PR79&dq=They+Call+the+Wind+Korea&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjp88CCzrKMAxUYFzQIHYpHMikQ6AF6BAgMEAM#v=onepage&q=They%20Call%20the%20Wind%20Korea&f=false | doi = | id = | isbn =9780814335529 | quote=}}

Robin the Frog twice breaks into the song on The Muppet Show (S2, E12 - originally aired 11/4/77)

Two-time Tony Award winner John Cullum sings the song in character at a karaoke bar during the ER episode "Be Still My Heart".

The film version of the song is featured in the end credits to 50 First Dates where it accompanied the dedication to the late Stanley Sandler that was written by his son and 50 First Dates star Adam Sandler.

Broadway and recording star Robert Goulet considered it "a personal favorite",{{Cite news

| last = Hamblin

| first = Dora Jane

| title = Handsome Sir Robert, The Lady-Slayer: Gangway for Goulet

| newspaper = Life magazine

| location = New York

| pages = 86–94

| date = April 26, 1963

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RkkEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22They+call+the+wind+Maria%22&pg=PA93

| access-date = March 25, 2011}} and a version by Jack Barlow charted at number 58 on Hot Country Songs.{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|date=2008|page=43|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}}

Other notable acts who have performed the song include:

• 101 Strings{{Cite web

| title = Romantic Classics (3 Disc Box Set) (with 5 Exclusive Downloads)

| publisher = Walmart.com

| date = October 26, 2010

| url = http://www.walmart.com/ip/15190255

}}

• Ed Ames
• Baja Marimba Band
• Leon Bibb{{Cite web|title = The Ed Sullivan Show: Mar 10, 1963: Kaye Stevens, Wayne & Shuster, Leon Bibb, Guy Lombardo Orchestra|url = http://www.tv.com/shows/the-ed-sullivan-show/mar-10-1963-kaye-stevens-wayne-and-shuster-leon-bibb-guy-lombardo-orchestra-110805/|website = TV.com|access-date = 2015-11-05|archive-date = 2012-11-26|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121126070550/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-ed-sullivan-show/mar-10-1963-kaye-stevens-wayne-and-shuster-leon-bibb-guy-lombardo-orchestra-110805/|url-status = dead}}
• Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers{{Cite web

| title = Recording: They Call the Wind Maria

| publisher = Second Hand Songs:a cover songs database

| url = http://www.secondhandsongs.com/performance/85148?sort=performer

| access-date = March 28, 2011}}

• The Browns{{Cite book

| last = Bogdanov

| first = Vladimir

|author2=Woodstra, Chris |author3=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas

| title = All music guide: the definitive guide to popular music

| publisher = Hal Leonard Corporation

| year = 2001

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xR7MdpuSlAEC&q=%22They+Call+the+Wind+Maria%22+The+Browns&pg=PT609

| isbn = 978-0-87930-627-4}}

• Arthur Conley
• Sam Cooke{{Cite book

| last = Strong

| first = Martin Charles

|author2=Peel, John

| title = The great rock discography

| publisher = Canongate U.S.

| year = 2004

| pages = 329

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_WoRAPJQ58sC&q=%22They+Call+the+Wind+Maria%22+discography&pg=PA329

| isbn = 978-1-84195-615-2}}

• The Country Gentlemen{{Cite web

| title = Discographie des Country Gentlemen

| publisher = Rocky 52: Fan de Rockabilly de Rock'n'Roll et de Country Music

| url = http://www.rocky-52.net/chanteursc/country_g.htm

| access-date = March 28, 2011}}

• Vic Damone{{Cite news

| last = Forester

| title = Electric Rhythm and Blues

| newspaper = The Age

| location = Melbourne

| date = January 11, 1973

| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=S9xUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6358,1773953&dq=they-call-the-wind-maria+vic+damone&hl=en

| access-date = March 27, 2011}}

• Eddie Fisher{{Cite book

| title = Schwann long playing record catalog, Volume 18, Issues 1-2

| year = 1966

| publisher = W. Schwann Inc.

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2-oLAQAAMAAJ&q=%22They+Call+the+Wind+Maria%22+Eddie+Fisher

}}

• Gila Bend{{cite web

| title = Kim Chee Cowboy (1993)

| publisher = Still Sane Records – 084-92182

| url = https://www.discogs.com/Gila-Bend-Kim-Chee-Cowboy/release/3436474

| website = www.discogs.com

| year = 1993

| access-date = August 26, 2019}}

• Richard Kiley{{Cite news

| last = Voedisch

| first = Lynn

| title = Star-filled gala betrays subtlety of Lerner's tunes

| newspaper = Chicago Sun-Times

| location = Chicago

| date = November 24, 1989

| url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36E8A1ABD8D23&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

| access-date = March 27, 2011

| archive-date = October 25, 2012

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121025025731/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB36E8A1ABD8D23&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

| url-status = dead

}}

• Frankie Laine{{Cite web

| title = Wheels of a Dream: Frankie Laine

| website = Amazon

| url = https://www.amazon.com/Wheels-Dream-Frankie-Laine/dp/B000005Z7B

| access-date = March 28, 2011}}

• Vaughan Monroe and his Orchestra{{Cite news

| last = Desiderio

| first = Bob

| title = 1951 concludes amid boom in real estate

| newspaper = Daytona Beach News-Journal

| location = Daytona Beach, Florida

| date = December 1, 2001

| url = https://news.google.com/archivesearch?scoring=a&q=%22They+Call+the+Wind+Maria%22+Vaughn+Monroe+source:%22-newswire%22+source:%22-wire%22+source:%22-presswire%22+source:%22-PR%22+source:%22-release%22+source:%22-wikipedia%22&spell=1

| access-date = March 27, 2011}}

• Jim Nabors
• P.J. Proby
• John Raitt{{Cite news

| last = Dyer

| first = Richard

| title = John Raitt, Baritone Highlights of Broadway; Under Open Skies Capitol Double Play CD

| newspaper = Boston Globe

| location = Boston

| date = June 18, 1992

| url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61789957.html?dids=61789957:61789957&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+18%2C+1992&author=Richard+Dyer%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&desc=JOHN+RAITT%2C+BARITONE+HIGHLIGHTS+OF+BROADWAY%3B+UNDER+OPEN+SKIES+Capitol+Double+Play+CD&pqatl=google

| access-date = March 27, 2011

| archive-date = November 6, 2012

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121106053547/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61789957.html?dids=61789957:61789957&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+18,+1992&author=Richard+Dyer,+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=JOHN+RAITT,+BARITONE+HIGHLIGHTS+OF+BROADWAY%3B+UNDER+OPEN+SKIES+Capitol+Double+Play+CD&pqatl=google

| url-status = dead

}}

• Pernell Roberts{{Cite web

| last = Roberts

| first = Pernell

| author-link = Pernell Roberts

| title = Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies

| publisher = MSN Music

| url = http://music.msn.com/music/album/pernell-roberts/come-all-ye-fair-and-tender-ladies/

| access-date = March 27, 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120919164335/http://music.msn.com/music/album/pernell-roberts/come-all-ye-fair-and-tender-ladies/

| archive-date = September 19, 2012

| url-status = dead

}}

• Zoot Sims{{Cite web

| last = Myers

| first = Mark

| title = Zoot Sims: Bossa Nova Sessions

| work = JazzWax

| publisher = All About Jazz

| date = November 19, 2009

| url = http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=45685

| access-date = March 28, 2011}}

• Bryn Terfel
• Stan Wilson{{cite web |url=https://www.jazzdisco.org/verve-records/clef-records-catalog-78-45-rpm-89100-5000-series/ |title= Clef Records Catalog |author= |website=JazzDisco.org |access-date=January 14, 2019}}
• Earl Wrightson{{Cite news

| title = TV Concert Stars Lois Hunt

| newspaper = Chicago Tribune

| location = Chicago

| date = December 10, 1961

| url = https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/574155362.html?dids=574155362:574155362&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+10%2C+1961&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=TV+Concert+Stars+Lois+Hunt&pqatl=google

| access-date = March 27, 2011

| archive-date = November 6, 2012

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121106055425/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/574155362.html?dids=574155362:574155362&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+10,+1961&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=TV+Concert+Stars+Lois+Hunt&pqatl=google

| url-status = dead

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Songs from musicals

Category:Songs with music by Frederick Loewe

Category:Songs with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner

Category:1951 songs

Category:The Kingston Trio songs

Category:Jack Barlow songs

Category:Wind in culture