Windy (song)


"Windy" is a pop song written by Ruthann Friedman and recorded by the Association. The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1967, becoming the group's second U.S. No. 1 hit following "Cherish" in 1966. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 4 song for 1967.
The lead vocals were sung primarily by guitarist and new band member Larry Ramos along with vocalist Russ Giguere. Ramos, who was of Filipino descent, was one of the few Asian-American lead singers at the time to have a number one hit single.

Composition

Friedman was introduced to the Association by her friend and Beach Boys lyricist Van Dyke Parks. She wrote "Windy" in waltz time, but the group's producer Bones Howe changed it to the more common [Time signature|] to ensure the song's commercial appeal.
Friedman had written the song about a man but the Association changed the gender in the lyrics. In an interview with Songfacts, she said:
However, in another interview with Songfacts in 2014, she explained that the song was about herself:
A demo of the song, recorded by Ruthann Friedman appears on her album, Windy: A Ruthann Friedman Songbook.

Recording

The process of recording the vocals was exhausting. The session started in the early afternoon and ended at 6:30 a.m. the next day, and the group then took an 8:30 a.m. flight to a live performance in Virginia. The band was so tired of recording that producer Bones Howe gathered everyone in the studio to sing the track's ending, including songwriter Ruthann Friedman.
Because of the poor sales of the Association's last album Renaissance, on which the group performed all of the songs, Howe recruited session musicians for "Windy" and the rest of the Insight Out album in order to achieve a radio-friendly sound. The identity of the session musicians who played on the final version of the single is uncertain because the song was recorded during several sessions, but it is likely that Hal Blaine played drums, Joe Osborn played bass, Ray Pohlman played guitar and Larry Knechtel played keyboards.

Personnel

According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians played on the track.

Notable cover versions