Though it’s not as well known as “My Way” or “New York, New York,” most people associate this song with Sinatra. Someone who loved and lost like Frank has a perfect feel for Johnny Mercer’s rueful lyrics, and his vocals, like Nelson Riddle’s arrangement, start quietly and builds to a crescendo. But those lyrics aren’t the original ones for the tune. Those were in German.
Johnny Mercer first heard the song being sung by a Danish singer and wrote English lyrics to match Heinz Meier’s composition, keeping the theme of the German lyrics, which used the summer sirocco winds as a metaphor for a love affair. Mercer was one of Sinatra’s favorite lyricists, but Sinatra wasn’t the first to record Mercer’s version. That would be Wayne Newton, who made it the title track of a 1965 album. Bobby Vinton and Perry Como also gave it a crack before the year was out. Somehow, Wayne Newton’s chirpy voice doesn’t really sell the heartbreak.
Recorded for the “Strangers in the Night” album, “Summer Wind” was released as a single that reached No. 25 on the Hot 100, a disappointing performance after the title track hit No. 1 and “That’s Life,” the third single from what became Sinatra’s best-selling album, reached No. 4. But it’s grown in stature over the years, maybe because it’s often featured in soundtracks.
