Song of the Week 24: Ridin' The Wind

This instrumental, “Ridin’ The Wind,” is the second biggest hit from British band the Tornados. It originally was produced by Joe Meek and written by rhythm guitarist George Bellamy in 1963. The record predated and influenced the ‘spaghetti western’ work of Ennio Morricone in the ‘Dollars Trilogy.’ George Bellamy is still living and is the father of Matt Bellamy, the leader of the rock band Muse. Muse’s “Knights Of Cydonia” is considered to be a tribute both to George and to Joe.

A Little Farther West’s version of “Ridin’ The Wind” slows the song to a gentle gallop and foregoes the multiple key changes of the original for one whole tone modulation near the end. What comes through is the strong melody line and the understandable influence of both the song and first recording.

This makes 24 “Songs of the Week” … half of our recorded output to date. It’s time to take a break and a little rest before we embark on a new album for release next year. We will pick up the weekly focus sometime in the future. Thanks for listening.