Wand'rin' Star

"Wand'rin' Star"
Single by Lee Marvin
B-side	"I Talk to the Trees" (Clint Eastwood)
Released	1970 (1970)
Length	4:30 (album version) 2:59 (radio edit)
Label	Paramount
Songwriter(s)	Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) Frederick Loewe (music)
Producer(s)	Tom Mack

"Wand'rin' Star" is a song that was originally written by Alan Jay Lerner (lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) for the stage musical Paint Your Wagon in 1951.

Lee Marvin recording

"Wand'rin' Star" was a number one single in the UK for three weeks ^[1] and in Ireland for two weeks for Lee Marvin in March 1970. The song also peaked at number 10 in Australia. ^[2]

Background

When the film of the musical was made in 1969, Lee Marvin took the role of prospector Ben Rumson. Not a natural singer, Marvin nevertheless sang all of his songs in the film, rejecting the idea of miming to another singer's voice. Despite the film being a box office flop, the soundtrack became a success. Orchestrated and arranged by Nelson Riddle, Marvin's version of the song "Wand'rin Star" became a number 1 single in Ireland and the UK, keeping The Beatles at number 2 in the UK with their single "Let It Be". Marvin never released a follow-up single, so he is considered a one-hit wonder.

Cover versions

• A sound-alike cover appeared on the 1970 album Top of the Pops, Volume 10 , with one reviewer using terms like "laryngitic croak" and "gargling gargoyles" to describe how he felt about the cover. ^[3]
• "Wand'rin' Star" was covered by English comedian and novelist Julian Clary; his version was released as a single in the United Kingdom in 1990, backed with the self-penned track "Uncanny and Unnatural".
• Shane MacGowan and The Popes rendering was included on their 1997 album The Crock of Gold .
• German dance group Scooter covered the song on their 2021 album God Save the Rave .

Popular culture

• In 2002, the song was played at the end of Joe Strummer's funeral. ^[4]
• The song was mentioned in the words of "Build a Fire" by the KLF. The last lines are, "We'll stop for lunch, in some taco bar./Lee Marvin on the jukebox, 'Wand'rin' Star.'"

References

1. "All The Number 1 Singles > 1970's". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
2. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 194. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
3. [Top of the Pops, Vol. 10 – Various Artists at AllMusic]
4. Singleton, Phil (24 January 2003). "An Audience with Glen Matlock". God Save the Sex Pistols. North Bar, Blackburn. Retrieved 7 October 2018.