They Call the Wind Maria 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!" 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." Theater writer Thomas Hischak said that "in one of the film's few pleasing moments, Harve Presnell gave full voice to 'They Call
Wild Is the Wind (song) Wild Is the Wind (song) "Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington. The track was originally recorded by Johnny Mathis for the 1957 film "Wild Is the Wind." The song was very popular and was one of five songs nominated for an Academy Award; it was sung by Johnny Mathis at the March 1958 Oscar presentations. Mathis' version of the song was also released as a single by Columbia Records (4-41060) in November 1957, and reached No. 22 on the "Billboard" chart. The song has been recorded many times, including twice by Nina