"Mandolin Wind" is a song written by

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

. It was first released on Stewart's 1971 album ''

Every Picture Tells a Story ''Every Picture Tells a Story'' is the third studio album by Rod Stewart. It was released on 28 May 1971. It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles. It went to number one on both the UK and US charts and finished third in the Jazz & Pop ...

'' and later as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of a single from that album, his version of "

(I Know) I'm Losing You "(I Know) I'm Losing You" is a 1966 hit single recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, written by Cornelius Grant, Eddie Holland and Norman Whitfield, and produced by Norman Whitfield. The group performed the song live on ...

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

issued the song as a 7-inch single in mid-1977. It has also appeared on numerous Rod Stewart compilation and live albums, including ''

Sing It Again Rod ''Sing It Again Rod'' is the first compilation album by Rod Stewart released in 1973. The album is notable for its Peter Corriston-designed die-cut album sleeve (shaped like an old fashioned glass, and through which a smiling Stewart can be se ...

'', '' Storyteller – The Complete Anthology: 1964–1990'' and '' Unplugged...and Seated''. In 1972, "Mandolin Wind" was recorded by

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

for their album ''

Stories We Could Tell ''Stories We Could Tell'' is a country rock album by The Everly Brothers, released in 1972. It was reissued as '' Stories We Could Tell:The RCA Years'' by BMG in 2003 and included additional tracks, all stemming from the successor album ''Pass th ...

'', and in 1977 it was recorded by

Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-fin ...

for his album ''Strike Anywhere''. It has also appeared on Everly Brothers and Earl Scruggs compilation albums. "Mandolin Wind" has been highly praised by music critics. In his review of ''Every Picture Tells a Story'' in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', John Mendelsohn refers to the song as being "nearly as good" as the #1 single off the album, " Maggie May." ''Rock: The Rough Guide'' went further, calling the song the highlight of the album. Stewart Mason of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the song "every bit...equal" to "Maggie May," and Allmusic's

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

called the song "unbearably poignant." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said it was "somewhat reminiscent of the introspective moments of 'Maggie May." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said it was "great despite 5:32 length." In its review of ''Every Picture Tells a Story'', ''Billboard'' called "Mandolin Wind" an "excellent Stewart composition," and in its review of ''Stories We Could Tell'' the magazine noted that the song offered "great single potential." Rod Stewart biographers Tim Ewbank & Stafford Hildred refer to the song as "a stunning

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

." The song combines elements of

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. It uses mostly acoustic instruments, with a particularly prominent

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

part. Stewart has stated that he "always thought the mandolin was such a romantic-sounding instrument." Stewart has stated that his "goal in life is to play 'Mandolin Wind' and make it sound like the record." The identity of the mandolin player on "Mandolin Wind" is unclear. The liner notes state that "the mandolin was played by the mandolin player in

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

" but that Rod Stewart had forgotten his name. In 2003, Ray Jackson claimed to be the mandolin player on the album, at least for the song "Maggie May." Jackson is the mandolin player from English folk-rock band Lindisfarne. Mason attributes the mandolin playing to Martin Quittenton. The liner notes to ''Every Picture Tells a Story'' list Quittenton only as the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

player. In his 2015 book, "Elton John, From Tin Pan Alley to the Yellow Brick Road," which chronicles the star's rise to fame from the start of his solo career in the late sixties to the end of the seventies, author Keith Hayward indicates the mandolin player might have been Davey Johnstone in one of his earlier session appearances prior to joining Elton John's band as his guitarist.

References

{{Authority control Rod Stewart songs 1971 songs Songs written by Rod Stewart The Everly Brothers songs Earl Scruggs songs 1971 singles Song recordings produced by Rod Stewart Mercury Records singles