"Catch the Wind" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan.

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

released "Catch the Wind" backed with "Why Do You Treat Me Like You Do?" as Donovan's debut release (Pye 7N.15801) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 28 February 1965. The single reached No. 4 in the United Kingdom singles chart.

Hickory Records Hickory Records is an American record label founded in 1954 by Acuff-Rose Music, which operated the label up to 1979. Sony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV) revived the label in 2007. Originally based in Nashville, and functioning as an independe ...

released the single in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in April 1965 (Hickory 45-1309), where it reached No. 23 in the United States

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

. '' Cash Box'' described it as a "medium-paced, folk-styled low-down bluesey romancer," with a

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

-like vocal. In May 1965,

released a different version of "Catch the Wind" on Donovan's debut LP record album

What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid ''What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid'' is the debut album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK four days after his nineteenth birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records (catalog number NPL 18117). Terry Kennedy, P ...

(NPL.18117). While the single version featured vocal

echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

and a string section, the album version lacked those elements and instead featured Donovan playing harmonica. When Epic Records was compiling '' Donovan's Greatest Hits'' in 1968, the label was either unable or unwilling to secure the rights to the original recordings of "Catch the Wind" and Donovan's follow-up single, "

Colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

". Donovan re-recorded both songs for the album, with a full backing band including

Big Jim Sullivan James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English musician whose career started in 1958. He was best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of t ...

playing guitar and Mickie Most producing.

Cover versions

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

from "Johnny Rivers Rocks The Folk" (1965) *

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

from "

More of That Guitar Country ''More of That Guitar Country'' is the twenty-seventh studio album by US country musician Chet Atkins. It is a follow-up to his ''Guitar Country'' release and was more successful. His rendition of "Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph earned Atkins a hit ...

" (1965) *

Melinda Marx Melinda Marie Marx (born August 14, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and musician who had a brief movie career. She is the daughter and only surviving child of Groucho Marx and his second wife, Kay Marvis Gorcey. Life and work Marx appear ...

(1965) in Vee Jay Records * Eero Jussi and the Boys recorded it as "Tuuli Kuiskaa Vain" in Finnish (1965) *

Reinhard Mey Reinhard Friedrich Michael Mey (born 21 December 1942) is a German "Liedermacher" (literally "songmaker", a German-style singer-songwriter). In France he is known as ''Frédérik Mey''. By 2009, Mey had released 27 German albums, and generally ...

recorded a German version, "Geh und fang den Wind" (1965) The translation was done by Joe Menke. *

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revol ...

from ''

Just Like Us! ''Just Like Us!'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders. Produced by Terry Melcher and released on January 3, 1966, by Columbia Records, it featured the U.S. hit single " Just Like Me". Unlike their later alb ...

'' (1966) *

The Blues Project The Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artfu ...

from ''

Live at The Cafe Au Go Go ''Live at The Cafe Au Go Go'' is the debut album by the American band The Blues Project, recorded live during the ''Blues Bag'' four-day concert on the evenings of November 24–27, 1965 at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City. The recording finish ...

'' (1966) * Cher from " Chér" (1966) *

Siluete Siluete ( sr-cyr, Силуете, trans. ''The Silhouettes'') were a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1961. They were one of the pioneers of the Yugoslav rock scene. Soon after the formation, Siluete, fronted by charismatic ...

from ''Tvoj rođendan'' (1966) *

The Castiles The Castiles were a Freehold, New Jersey-based rock and roll band that featured vocalist/guitarist/harmonica player Bruce Springsteen, and was formed by guitarist/vocalist George Theiss, with various lineups during its existence. They recorded two ...

(1967) *

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

from "

Gentle on My Mind "Gentle on My Mind" is a song that was written and originally recorded by John Hartford, and released on his second studio album, '' Earthwords & Music'' (1967). Hartford composed the song after watching ''Doctor Zhivago'' in 1966, as he was i ...

" (1967) * Peter Fonda on the Chisa label, as the B-side to his version of

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

' "November Night" (1967) *

Claudine Longet Claudine Georgette Longet (born 29 January 1942) is a Franco-American singer, actress, dancer, and recording artist popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to American singer and television entertainer Andy ...

from "Colours" (1968) *

Dottie West Dorothy Marie Marsh West (October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Along with her friends and fellow recording artists Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, she is considered one of the genre's most in ...

from "

What I'm Cut Out to Be ''What I'm Cut Out to Be'' is a studio album by American country music artist Dottie West featuring the title song written by Red Lane. It was released in March 1968 on RCA Victor Records and was produced by Chet Atkins. It was West's eighth stud ...

" (1968) * Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs from " Nashville Airplane" (1968) *

The Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

from "Traces/Memories" (1969) * Eartha Kitt from "Sentimental Eartha" (1970) * Timothy Barclay as a (1970) single *

We Five We Five was a 1960s folk rock musical group based in San Francisco, California. Their best-known hit was their 1965 remake of Ian & Sylvia's " You Were on My Mind", which reached No. 1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and ...

(1970) on the album ''Catch the Wind''. This version was released as a single in 1971. *

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...

from "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1971) *

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

from ''

'' (1977) *

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) was an American country music singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number One: " I Can Tell By the Way You Dance (You ...

from ''Never My Love'' (1978) * Susanna Hoffs from '' Susanna Hoffs'' (1994) and also appeared on the UK CD single for the song "All I Want". * Four to the Bar from "

Another Son ''Another Son'' was the second full-length album and final recording by Four to the Bar, released in 1995. The album was a radical departure from their first, 1994's ''Craic on the Road''. The band is listed as producing the album. Engineer Tim ...

" (1995) * The Irish Descendants frpm "Gypsies and Lovers" (1995) *

Arjen Anthony Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/ rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as t ...

from ''

Strange Hobby Strange Hobby is an uncredited cover album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen, released in 1996. The album and the booklet contained no information about Lucassen and did not explain who was responsible for the recordings, to make the album even more "str ...

'' (1997) * Judith Durham from " Mona Lisas" (1996) *

Donnie Munro Donnie Munro (Scottish Gaelic: Donaidh Rothach /dɔnɪ rɔhəx/) (born 2 August 1953) is a Scottish musician, and former lead singer of the band Runrig. A native speaker of Scots Gaelic, much of his work is in that language. Early life Munro ...

from On the West Side (1999) *

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Hennes ...

from "

Room In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passageway, another room, or the outdoors, that ...

" (2004) *

The Spill Canvas The Spill Canvas is an American alternative rock band from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Known for their hits "All Over You" "Our Song" and "Staplegunned", as well as several emo classics like "All Hail the Heartbreaker" "The Tide" and "Polygraph, ...

from " Denial Feels So Good" (2007) *

Liane Carroll Liane Carroll (born 9 February 1964, London) is an English vocalist, pianist and keyboardist. Jazz critic Dave Gelly of ''The Observer'' has described her as "one of the most stylistically flexible pianists around, with a marvellous, slightl ...

from "Slow Down" (2007) *

Jimmy LaFave Jimmy LaFave (July 12, 1955 – May 21, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. After moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, LaFave became a supporter of Woody Guthrie. He later became an Advisory Board member and regular performer ...

from " Cimarron Manifesto" (2007) * Adam Bomb and the WMD's from "Live from Tehran" (2009) *

Rickie Lee Jones Rickie Lee Jones (born November 8, 1954) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author. Over the course of a career that spans five decades, she has recorded in various musical styles including rock, R&B, pop, soul, and jazz. A two ...

from "Devil You Know" (2012) *

Tommy Keene Tommy Keene (born Thomas Clay Keene; June 30, 1958 – November 22, 2017) was an American singer-songwriter, best known for releasing critically acclaimed rock & roll/power pop songs in the 1980s. He has a longtime cult following among fans of ...

(2013) from "Excitement at Your Feet" *

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

and

Mimi Fariña Margarita Mimi Baez Fariña (April 30, 1945 – July 18, 2001) was an American singer-songwriter and activist, the youngest of three daughters to a Scottish mother and Mexican-American physicist Albert Baez. She was the younger sister of t ...

recorded a duet which appeared on the "Generations of Folk" series (Volume 3, Classic Harmonies) (2016) *

John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...

on his album "Wooden Heart" (2017) *

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

from ''

The Best Is Yet to Come "The Best Is Yet to Come" is a 1959 song composed by Cy Coleman to lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It is associated with Frank Sinatra, who recorded it on his 1964 album ''It Might as Well Be Swing'' accompanied by Count Basie under the direction ...

'' (2021)

Miscellaneous uses in the media

*In 1985, the TV show ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs, two M ...

'' used the song at the beginning of the episode "Golden Triangle (Part II)". *In 1989, the TV show, ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy/drama television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super ...

'' used the song at the end of the episode "Brightwing". *In 1992, the movie '' The Efficiency Expert'' used the song. *In 2001, the TV show " Heartbeat" used the song in the show "Old Masters" (season 11, episode 5) *In 2002, the TV show '' Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends'' (series 3, episode 1) used the song during a scene at a hypnosis conference in Las Vegas. *In 2005, the TV show ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

'' used the song at the end of the episode "A Perfect Day". *In 2006, the TV show '' Alias'' used the song at the end of the episode "No Hard Feelings". *In 2006, the movie ''

Flicka ''Flicka'' is a 2006 American family adventure drama film loosely based on the 1941 children's novel '' My Friend Flicka'' by Mary O'Hara. The film is directed by Michael Mayer and written by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner. The novel had pr ...

'' used the song. *In 2007, GE Ecomagination used the song in a television commercial promoting their achievements in wind power. *In 2009,

thatgamecompany Thatgamecompany, Inc. (stylized as thatgamecompany) is an American independent video game development company founded by University of Southern California students Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago in 2006. The company was a developer for Sony Co ...

used the song in a promotional advertisement for the PlayStation Network title ''

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

''. *In 2009,

MassMutual The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, also known as MassMutual, is a Springfield, Massachusetts-based life insurance company. MassMutual provides financial products such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term ...

used the song in a personal financial services commercials. *In 2009, the movie ''

The Invention of Lying ''The Invention of Lying'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by comedian Ricky Gervais and writer Matthew Robinson in their directorial debuts. The film stars Gervais as the first human with the ability to lie in a worl ...

'' used nearly the entire song following the scene in which the protagonist's mother dies. *In 2009, the movie ''

Charlie and Boots ''Charlie & Boots'' is a 2009 Australian film starring Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson. It had the best opening weekend for any Australian film in 2009 when it was released on Father's Day (1 September 2009). The film features many small towns in ...

'' used the song in the final scene, in which the two protagonists fish together. *In 2011, the TV show '' Parenthood'' used the song at the end of the 8 November episode, "In-Between". *In 2015, the TV show ''

Catastrophe Catastrophe or catastrophic comes from the Greek κατά (''kata'') = down; στροφή (''strophē'') = turning ( el, καταστροφή). It may refer to: A general or specific event * Disaster, a devastating event * The Asia Minor Catastro ...

'' used the song at the end of the "Episode 4".

References

Works cited

* * * * * * * *

External links

Catch The Wind (Single) – Donovan Unofficial Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catch the Wind 1965 songs 1965 debut singles 1971 singles Songs written by Donovan Donovan songs Johnny Rivers songs Cher songs Bruce Springsteen songs Glen Campbell songs The Lettermen songs We Five songs Buck Owens songs Eartha Kitt songs Joan Baez songs Paul Revere & the Raiders songs Jack Barlow songs Pye Records singles