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) Into the Forest. Randy Crawford covered the song on her 2001 album "Permanent" (a.k.a. "Play Mode"). Scottish singers Storm Gordon (as featured on her 2001 album-debut "Radio Wonderlust Vol. 1") and Billy Mackenzie, have also recorded the song. Billy MacKenzie's version appeared posthumously on the 2001 EP "Wild Is the Wind" and on the 2005 album "Transmission Impossible." TV on the Radio sampled Nina Simone's version on the song "Say You Do" on their self-released 2002 debut "OK Calculator." In 2003, Barbra Streisand recorded the song for her album "The Movie Album" (2003), and filmed a music video. Amel Larrieux