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
They Call the Wind Maria 100 Western songs of all time. The song gained renewed popularity during the American folk music revival. In 1959, it was included on the Kingston Trio's first live album, "...From the Hungry i", which reached #2 on the Billboard Pop chart and won a RIAA gold record in 1960. It was also included on the Smothers Brothers first album, "The Songs and Comedy of the Smothers Brothers! Recorded at the Purple Onion, San Francisco", released in 1961. Other folk singers who performed the song include Josh White and Burl Ives. Musical historian John Bush Jones wrote that the song "so